The Australian Minister for the Environment and Water is a position which is currently held by Tanya Plibersek in the Albanese ministry since 1 June 2022, following the Australian federal election in 2022.
[1] In the Government of Australia, the minister and assistant minister are responsible for the protection and conservation of the environment; to ensure that Australia benefits from meteorological and related sciences and services; and to see that Australia's interests in Antarctica are advanced.
The minister provides direction and oversight of the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (previously the Department of the Environment and Energy, and before that the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities) to develop and implement national policy, programs and legislation to protect and conserve Australia's environment and heritage.
The minister administers their portfolio through the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water and its environment component bodies, including: The following individuals have been appointed as Minister for the Environment, or any precedent titles:[2] Notes The following individuals have been appointed as Minister for Water, or any precedent titles: The following individuals have served as the Minister for Cities, or any other precedent titles:[3][4] The Minister for Sustainable Population was a ministerial portfolio administered through the Department of the Treasury responsible for "planning properly for the infrastructure needs, for the housing needs, for the transport needs, for the regional needs" of the Australian population of the future.
[5] Originally entitled the Minister for Population by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, his successor, Julia Gillard, renamed the portfolio to the Minister for Sustainable Population to reflect her policy changes on the matter of population growth and the need for a sustainable future for Australia, saying the change sends a clear message about the new direction the Government is taking.