Former Energy Minister Matt Kean to Head Climate Change Authority

Newly appointed chair of the Climate Change Authority Matt Kean, former NSW minister, speaks to the media during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia on June 24, 2024. AAP Image/Lukas Coch

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has appointed former Liberal NSW state treasurer and energy minister, Matt Kean, to chair the Climate Change Authority.

It came less than a week after Mr. Kean announced his decision to exit the NSW Parliament after 13 years to pursue a “corporate career in the energy sector.”

Despite previously expressing support for small modular nuclear reactors, the former state treasurer has recently voiced strong opposition to the technology, putting him at odds with other Liberal members.

Mr. Kean will replace Grant King, the president of the Business Council of Australia, who will resign after more than three years in the gig.

What Does the Authority Do?

Established in 2012, the Climate Change Authority is an Australian government statutory body that conducts research and advises the government on implementing climate policy.

The agency provides advice on the 2035 greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets, the carbon farming initiative, and the climate safeguard mechanism. It also encourages higher investment in renewable energy generation.

The safeguard mechanism, which was backed by the Australian Greens, will require Australia’s largest emitters to limit their net emissions below a baseline limit.

However, Liberal Senator Simon Birmingham has previously raised concerns that the legislation could “stifle” gas investment, raise production prices, and impact Australian businesses.

The leadership role receives an annual base salary of $62,660 (US$41,569), according to the Climate Change Authority annual report (pdf).

Kean Understands the Importance Of Renewables: PM

Mr. Albanese said Mr. Kean is uniquely qualified to lead the authority.

Mr. Kean “understands the folly that walking away from the renewables transition represents for our nation and understands, as a former New South Wales treasurer, the certainty the business community needs in order to invest,” the PM noted.

“He understood it as a member of the New South Wales 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 the generations to come,” Mr. Albanese told reporters on June 24.

Mr. Kean said he had considered the nuclear as an energy option while serving as the NSW minister but claimed he did not want to “bankrupt the state.”

“We looked at all options, including nuclear. In fact, we looked at all options and made decisions based on economics and engineering,” he said.

“I did not want to bankrupt the state and I did not want to put those huge costs on to families.”

In 2022, Mr. Kean described small modular nuclear reactors as “exciting technology which may become available in the future.”

“Of course, we’d be open to looking at options like nuclear if they were commercially available,” Mr. Kean said in December that year, in an interview with Sky News Australia.

At the time, federal Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor hailed Mr Kean’s support for nuclear, adding the push needs “every horse in this race.”

But on June 24, Mr. Kean said he would “let the prime minister answer questions” about the Coalition’s nuclear energy plan.

He explained that his job, as the incoming head of the Climate Change Authority, is to “advise the government based on evidence.”

“That includes engineering evidence, economic evidence and scientific evidence and that’s what I intend to do,” the former NSW treasurer noted. “We need to make decisions based on facts.”

The Coalition’s Nuclear Policy

Mr. Kean’s previous stance on energy puts him at odds with the federal Liberal-National Coalition’s push for nuclear energy.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has promised to build seven nuclear power plants by 2050 at former coal power plants that will be part of the energy mix with renewables if he wins the next election.

“We know the government has a renewables-only policy, which is not fit for purpose,” Mr. Dutton said on June 19.

“No other country in the world can keep the lights on 24/7 with the renewables-only policy.”

Meanwhile, former NSW Liberal state executive member Matthew Camenzuli said he was “not surprised” by Mr. Kean’s appointment, and said he should resign from the Liberal Party.

In July, Mr. Kean resigned from the conservative environmental group Coalition for Conservation (C4C) over his conflicting position with the group on nuclear power.