NSW Treasurer Matt Kean has unashamedly boasted of being Australia’s “greatest environment minister” – in history!
This is according to his NSW Liberal Party colleague Catherine Cusack. After his stunning 2020 claim, Ms Cusack said she had waited for Mr Kean’s tone to shift “but he was being serious”.
- Mr Kean’s so-called koala protection legislation a sham and a “stain”.
- Cabinet-approved legislation “altered” before parliamentary vote.
- Job offered to support Environment Minister’s personal agenda.
Mr Kean, the leader of NSW’s radical Left faction, was appointed by Premier Dominic Perrottet as the State’s Treasurer in 2021, however, retained his existing environment and energy portfolios at the time.
He has more recently relinquished his environment role to factional acolyte James Griffin.
MISHANDLING
Ms Cusack has announced she would quit parliament in response to the Liberal government’s mishandling of environmental issues – particularly its 2021/22 flood response.
In a reveal-all that threw up few surprises to Liberal Party insiders, the departing MP also told of how Mr Kean had moved to undermine his government’s [then] deputy premier, of dealing out jobs to win political support and his mishandling of his divisive koala legislation.
In a report in Sydney’s Daily Telegraph newspaper last week, Ms Cusack said Mr Kean had asked her to “condemn then Deputy Premier John Barilaro to the media”.
“Matt Kean contacted me and asked: ‘Have you thought about going out and slamming the Nats on this koala thing?’. I replied: ‘Sure, if that’s what people want’,” Ms Cusack said.
“He phoned me and assured me that was what [then] Premier Gladys Berejiklian wanted.”
She said Mr Kean had also asked what job she wanted in exchange for her vote.
NOTHING
“He asked what I was offered in exchange for the vote and I said ‘nothing’ and he said: ‘Well, no wonder you won’t vote for it. What do you want?’. “And I said: ‘You can’t do deals on koalas’ and he said: ‘Catherine, how else do decisions get made?’,” Ms Cusack revealed.
The NSW upper house MP also described Mr Kean’s so-called koala protection legislation a sham and a “stain”.
She said the proposed legislation being put to parliament was dramatically different to what had been agreed in the Coalition cabinet room.
Media reports at the time revealed the government’s proposed koala legislation would bury NSW farmers in more “green” tape.
“It was clear that [National MP] Adam Marshall had changed the bill from what was approved in cabinet and it should not have even been in parliament,” Ms Cusack said.
“I said: ‘Matt, this bill is a stain on your reputation as environment minister’ and he was angry and said: ‘That’s rubbish. I’m one of the greatest, probably the greatest environment minister in Australian history.
STUNNED
“I was stunned and thought he was joking, but he wasn’t. He started talking about his energy bill,” Ms Cusack said.
“I said: ‘What about koalas?’ and he said: ‘I know nothing about that, that’s all Rob Stokes’. This was the minister who, six weeks earlier, had been completely winding me up to go into the media attacking the deputy premier.” PC
Meanwhile as the factional warriors do battle the dark green with red centre and the pale green with hollow centre pick up seats.
More like the greatest laxative in history. Green Kean will go down as a traitor.
Along with David Elliott and Brad ( health) Hazzard, they could well be given the boot, in spite of being in nominally safe seats. The ( non environmentally friendly) WD40 has been loosening rusted on liberal voters.
liberals are on the nose at the moment and could be in for a very nasty surprise come the US midterms. With luck, Trump will ferret out the truth about COVID. All political figures that complied with very bad advice when it should be abundantly clear that it is a scamdemic will be political history. As the SHTF will be more than likely in 2022, March 2023 the treachery will be fresh in voters minds.
Yes, Cliff, I agree with you! Matt Kean is a GOAT ie. the greatest hurdle of all time that the NSW Libs have to deal with before the elections. He was a subversive traitor and turncoat in the Federal election and his misguided surge to the left will bring the State Libs undone too. He has got to be relieved of his ministry and told to keep his mouth shut before the elections. Like you Cliff, my wife and I are considering leaving the Party if the Premier does not take affirmative action {on this issue and quite a few others too!}
Howard’s broad church has been a massive failure; turdball, kean and a herd of woke ratbags, most of whom were destroyed by the teals. If Dutton can’t get the libs back on track they are finished. Littleproud is a retrograde move. I simply can’t understand that.
Well, I think Matt Kean is the Greatest!! He’s the greatest mistake the Liberal Party NSW Division has made in decades. If he isn’t demoted or, better still, expelled from the Party by the end of this year I will be leaving the Liberal Party after 40+ years as a member. Enough is enough!
I know the ‘feeling’ Cliff. Soon there’ll be no one left ‘inside the ‘tent’ as it were to try & bring some common sense to the table. It will be QED for the Libs, albeit with few sensible options left for entre right campaigners to vote for next time around.
And, I suspect, in his own mind.