Former NSW Liberal Treasurer Matt Kean has been named the new chair of the federal government’s Climate Change Authority.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made the surprise announcement on Monday, just days after Mr Kean quit state parliament.
Mr Kean will lead the independent statutory body which advises the Commonwealth on climate change policy.
‘As a former NSW Treasurer and minister for energy and the environment, Matt Kean is uniquely qualified to lead the Climate Change Authority and I am so pleased that he has accepted the government’s invitation to take up the vacancy,’ Mr Albanese said.
‘Matt Kean is an outstanding appointment for this job.
‘Mr Kean understands the opportunity that the transition to clean energy represents for our nation.
‘He understood it as a member of the NSW government, and he understands it as someone who has focused his working life in recent years on making a difference, not just today but for generations to come.
‘And he also understands the folly that walking away from the renewables transition.’
The decision to appoint Mr Kean puts him at odds with the Liberal Party, which has announced a nuclear-forward approach to provide energy.
Mr Kean hinted that he will not be looking at nuclear as part of the country’s energy mix in a subtle swipe at his former party.
‘In 2019, I was appointed as Energy Minister by Gladys Berejiklian and I was told the first day on the job that in the next decade… the state’s coal-fired power stations would come to an end and we needed a mechanism to replace that capacity,’ he said.
‘We looked at all options. Including nuclear… the advice that I received at the time which was most compelling was from the chief scientist of New South Wales … his advice to me was to bring nuclear into the system it would take far too long and would be far too expensive for New South Wales.’
Mr Kean will replace Grant King who has resigned as chair of the Authority.
‘The Climate Change Authority has an important role to play in providing independent advice to the government of the day based on facts, science, evidence, engineering and economics,’ Mr Kean said.
‘If we get the transition right, we can not only put downward pressure on electricity bills for families and businesses right across the country but protect our environment and make our economy even stronger.
‘I intend to follow that tradition and continue to carry myself as I did as the New South Wales energy and environment minister, the Treasurer of New South Wales who oversaw the $115billion budget, and that’s to take a pragmatic approach to ensuring that we deliver for families, the economy and protect the environment and build bipartisan consensus where possible.’