Helen Burnet welcomes new Minister for Environment and Climate Change

I welcome the appointment of Guy Barnett as Minister for the Environment and Climate Change, although I do not envy the task ahead. He inherits these portfolios at a time when the Government is making deep cuts to funding for environmental management and protection and action on climate change.

There is no shortage of work to do. I hope the new Minister is prepared to tackle the long-overdue reform of the Environmental Management and Pollution Control Act and continue the work of his predecessor in progressing the Marine Environment Act. If he is looking for a place to start, he could pick up the State of the Environment Report 2024 and begin implementing its recommendations.

Next on the list should be fixing the draft Threatened Species Strategy. Five years in the making, the current draft lacks the ambition and direction needed to halt the decline of Tasmania's threatened plants and animals.

I want to congratulate the Premier on his decision to appoint a Minister for Climate Change. At a time when Tasmanians are seeing the impacts of climate change reflected in rising insurance premiums, pressure on food production and growing costs to public infrastructure, this appointment could not be more timely. It shows the Premier is listening to Parliament. Just last month, the House of Assembly voted in support of my motion calling on the Government to appoint a Minister for Climate Change. I am pleased the Premier has listened to my requests and chosen to take the matter seriously.

I only hope Minister Barnett has more influence in Cabinet than his predecessor when it comes to driving action on climate change, because there is much work to be done. His first order of business should be responding to the recommendations of the Independent Review of the Climate Change Act, which was tabled in March, and advocating for a reversal of the Government's planned 80 per cent reduction in funding for the Climate Change Office and climate action programs.

At a time when climate impacts are accelerating around the world and increasingly affecting Tasmanian communities, businesses and households, the Government's failure to prioritise climate change until now has been difficult to understand. Today's announcement is a welcome step in the right direction, and I look forward to working constructively with Minister Barnett to ensure Tasmania is prepared for the challenges and opportunities that climate change presents.