Malcolm Turnbull's moves to combine the energy and environment portfolios has won a mixed response, as Victorian Liberal Josh Frydenberg's record in the competing areas comes under renewed scrutiny.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Greenpeace slammed Mr Frydenberg's appointment to replace Greg Hunt in the expanded portfolio as a blow to the Great Barrier Reef, while Climate Institute boss John Connor said the upcoming review of the government's climate and energy policy framework could deliver progress.
The move follows Labor's lead in combining energy and environment under Mark Butler.
Mr Connor said it could see an end to the current "hodge-podge" of climate and energy policies and help the government meet its Paris agreement obligations.
"The integration of energy and environmental policy is clearly a linchpin of 21st century economic policy," he said.
"I think it is good to combine those responsibilities and accountabilities within the one portfolio so you're not seeing a situation where they are warring ministries and constituencies coming to the cabinet table."
Former Greens leader Bob Brown said Mr Frydenberg would bury Australia's environmental hopes and aspirations.
"The pro-nuclear, pro-coal Frydenberg has been whingeing about environmental campaigns against him in his seat of Kooyong," Mr Brown said.
"On the basis of his form, that campaign now goes national and international".
The new brief will require a careful balance between the sometimes competing demands of the two portfolio areas and the often combative positions of the respective sectors.
In December, Mr Frydenberg said coal was not incompatible with increased renewable energy and he believed it would continue to play a vital role in power generation.
Coal remained critical to the transition to cleaner electricity generation, Mr Frydenberg said.
He has previously supported an end to Victoria's moratorium on onshore gas exploration and praised Margaret Thatcher's record on environment and climate change.
Greenpeace campaigner Nikola Casule said Mr Frydenberg's views on climate change were "an embarrassing relic from a different era".
"For Malcolm Turnbull to appoint a minister who still believes that there is still a strong moral case for coal even during the worst coral bleaching in the Great Barrier Reef's history is clear show of contempt for the Australian public," he said.
Australian Conservation Foundation chief executive Kelly O'Shanassy welcomed the single ministry.
She called on Mr Frydenberg to establish an effective plan to clean up Australia's energy supply, including an orderly phasing out of coal-fired power.
"Australia's coal-powered energy is polluting and contributes to global warming, which is dangerous to people and our environment.
"This year's mass bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef, a direct result of warmer seas, has provided a stark wake-up call that climate change is hitting Australia hard and we must quickly shift our energy systems from dirty to clean," Ms O'Shanassy said.
