Anthony Albanese, Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen and chair of the Climate Change Authority Matt Kean (Image: AAP/Lukas Coch) KEAN NOD ANNOYS COALITION COLLEAGUES Former NSW Liberal treasurer Matt Kean’s appointment by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to lead the Climate Change Authority has rankled his Coalition colleagues. Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce called Kean “treacherous” in a Sky News Australia interview, while another Nat, Matt Canavan , called Kean a member of “team reckless renewables” who was “living in [a] fantasy land”. Shadow Health Minister Anne Ruston , meanwhile, said the announcement was “another distraction”, according to Guardian Australia.
The Sydney Morning Herald’s David Crowe writes that “Albanese clearly see [the appointment] as a coup”. In The Australian , the appointment was described as Albanese “[escalating] his campaign against nuclear power”. Never mind that Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s proposal for seven nuclear reactors across Australia is only about a week old.
The reason conservatives are so upset is that Kean made clear immediately, at a press conference alongside Albanese, that he doesn’t support the idea of transitioning to nuclear power. Kean said that as a newly minted energy minister in NSW, “we looked at all options and made decisions based on economics and engineering, [acting on advice] it would take far too long and would be far too expensive for NSW. I didn’t want to bankrupt the state”.
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