Tanya Plibersek facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids The Honourable Tanya Plibersek MP
Official portrait, 2022

Minister for the Environment and Water
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 June 2022
Prime Minister	Anthony Albanese
Preceded by	Sussan Ley
Deputy Leader of the Opposition
In office 14 October 2013 – 30 May 2019
Leader	Bill Shorten
Preceded by	Julie Bishop
Succeeded by	Richard Marles
Deputy Leader of the Labor Party
In office 14 October 2013 – 30 May 2019
Leader	Bill Shorten
Preceded by	Anthony Albanese
Succeeded by	Richard Marles
Minister for Health and Medical Research
In office 14 December 2011 – 18 September 2013
Prime Minister	Julia Gillard Kevin Rudd
Preceded by	Nicola Roxon
Succeeded by	Peter Dutton
Minister for Human Services
In office 14 September 2010 – 14 December 2011
Prime Minister	Julia Gillard
Preceded by	Chris Bowen
Succeeded by	Brendan O'Connor
Minister for Social Inclusion
In office 14 September 2010 – 14 December 2011
Prime Minister	Julia Gillard
Preceded by	Simon Crean
Succeeded by	Mark Butler
Minister for Housing
In office 3 December 2007 – 14 September 2010
Prime Minister	Kevin Rudd Julia Gillard
Preceded by	Brian Howe (1996)
Succeeded by	Mark Arbib
Minister for the Status of Women
In office 3 December 2007 – 14 September 2010
Prime Minister	Kevin Rudd Julia Gillard
Preceded by	Julie Bishop
Succeeded by	Kate Ellis
Member of Parliament for Sydney
Incumbent
Assumed office 3 October 1998
Preceded by	Peter Baldwin

Personal details
Born	Tanya Joan Plibersek (1969-12-02) 2 December 1969 (age 55) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Political party	Labor
Spouse	Michael Coutts-Trotter (m. 2000)
Alma mater	University of Technology Sydney Macquarie University
Occupation	Politician
Signature

Tanya Joan Plibersek, born on December 2, 1969, is an Australian politician. She is currently the Minister for the Environment and Water in the government led by Anthony Albanese. She has been a Member of Parliament (MP) for Sydney since 1998. Before her current role, she was the deputy leader of the Australian Labor Party (Labor Party) from 2013 to 2019. She also held important jobs in earlier governments.

Tanya was born in Sydney. Her parents came to Australia from Slovenia. She grew up in a place called Oyster Bay. Tanya went to university and studied journalism. She also earned a degree in public policy. Before becoming a politician, she worked for the New South Wales Government. She helped people in the Domestic Violence Unit.

Tanya was elected to Parliament in 1998 when she was 28. She became a minister in 2007. This was when the Labor Party won the election. She was the Minister for Housing and Minister for the Status of Women. Later, she became the Minister for Human Services and Minister for Social Inclusion. In 2011, she became the Minister for Health. After the 2013 election, she was chosen as the deputy leader of the Labor Party. She held this role until 2019. In 2022, she became the Minister for the Environment and Water.

Early Life and Education

Tanya Plibersek was born in Sydney. She is the youngest of three children. Her parents, Joseph and Rose, came to Australia from small villages in Slovenia. They arrived after World War II. Her father worked on the Snowy Mountains Scheme. He later worked for Qantas as a plumber.

Tanya grew up in Oyster Bay. This is a suburb in Sydney. She went to Oyster Bay Public School. She also attended Jannali Girls High School. She was the top student at her high school. Tanya joined the Labor Party when she was 15.

She studied journalism at the University of Technology Sydney. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. Then, she completed a Masters in Public Policy and Politics. This was at Macquarie University. After university, she worked for the New South Wales Government. She helped people in the Office for the Status and Advancement of Women. She also worked for two Senators, Bruce Childs and George Campbell.

Political Career

Official portrait, 1998

Tanya Plibersek was elected to the House of Representatives in 1998. She was 28 years old. She won the seat of Sydney for the Labor Party. She worked hard to win the election. She wrote to many people and attended community meetings.

In Opposition (1998–2007)

After the 2004 election, Tanya joined the shadow ministry. This is a group of opposition politicians who watch over government departments. She was responsible for youth, women's issues, and childcare. She kept these roles when Kevin Rudd became the Labor leader.

In Government (2007–2013)

When the Labor Party won the 2007 election, Tanya became a minister. She was the Minister for Housing. She was also the Minister for the Status of Women.

Helping with Housing

As Minister for Housing, Tanya started important programs. She created the National Rental Affordability Scheme. This aimed to build 50,000 affordable rental homes. She also invested $6 billion in social housing. This built 21,600 new homes. It also repaired 80,000 existing homes. These projects were finished on time and within budget.

Plibersek in 2010 at a sod-turning ceremony for a Rudd government social housing program, along with Bob McMullan, Joy Burch and Kate Lundy

She also set up the Housing Affordability Fund. This helped people buy their first homes. In 2008, she released a plan called The Road Home. This plan aimed to reduce homelessness by half by 2020.

Supporting Women

As Minister for the Status of Women, Tanya worked to reduce violence against women. She helped create a national plan for this in 2009. She also spoke at a United Nations event in 2009. Australia officially joined an agreement to promote gender equality. This showed Australia was serious about women's rights.

Improving Health

In 2011, Tanya became the Minister for Health. She started a program called Grow Up Smiling. This was a $4 billion plan for children's dental care. It expanded Medicare-subsidized dental check-ups for children.

She also introduced free Gardasil vaccinations for boys. This vaccine protects against certain cancers. Before this, it was only for girls. Australia was the first country to do this. She also helped put in place plain packaging laws for tobacco. This helped smoking rates drop to 13%.

When Tanya was Health Minister, Australia had excellent cancer survival rates. She also helped add 1,300 hospital beds. She supported 60,000 more doctors and nurses. She oversaw funding for new health facilities. These included cancer centers and medical schools.

In Opposition (2013–2022)

Tanya Plibersek speaking at New Colombo Plan in 2013

After the 2013 election, Tanya was chosen as the deputy leader of the Labor Party. This also made her the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. She worked alongside the new Labor leader, Bill Shorten.

She was the Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs. Later, she became the Shadow Minister for Education and Shadow Minister for Women. She was re-elected in the 2019 election. After the Labor Party lost that election, she decided not to run for leader. She said it was not the right time due to family reasons.

Anthony Albanese became the new Labor leader. Tanya was then appointed Shadow Minister for Education and Training. In 2021, she also became the Shadow Minister for Women.

In Government (2022–Present)

After the Labor Party won the 2022 election, Tanya was appointed Minister for the Environment and Water. This is her current role.

Political Views

Tanya Plibersek is part of the left faction of the Labor Party. This group generally supports more government involvement in the economy. They also support social programs.

Economy and Jobs

Tanya believes the government should invest in the economy. This helps create jobs and fairness. She wants to see a policy of full employment. This means all Australians who can work should be able to find a job. During the 2020 economic downturn, she supported government spending. This was to help the economy recover. She believes Australia should build and make more things. She also thinks we should care for people. This creates secure jobs with good pay.

Education

Tanya has always supported investing in education. As the Shadow Minister for Education, she developed many policies. These covered schools, universities, and vocational training. She proposed increasing school funding by $14 billion. She also wanted to create more university places.

Energy

Tanya strongly supports renewable energy. She believes in moving towards clean energy production. She thinks the renewables industry can create new jobs. It can also help local manufacturing. She says it will lower carbon emissions and reduce power prices. She has supported programs to help homes install solar panels. She has also spoken against government money for new coal power plants.

Housing

After the 2007 election, Tanya became the Minister for Housing. She introduced policies to grow housing and help the economy. These included the First Home Owners Boost. This gave money to people buying new homes. She also created the National Rental Affordability Scheme. This encouraged building homes for low and middle-income Australians. She also oversaw $6 billion for social housing. She believes new investment in social housing is important for economic recovery.

Welfare

Tanya supports increasing unemployment benefits. She believes the current amount is too low. She says it can trap people in poverty.

Social Issues

First Nations People

Tanya supports an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. This is based on the Uluru Statement from the Heart. She believes this is important for Indigenous affairs. She also wants to 'close the gap' in health and education.

Australian Republic

Tanya supports Australia becoming a Republic. This means Australia would have its own head of state. It would not be the British monarch. In 1999, she campaigned for this change.

LGBT Rights

Since the 1990s, Tanya has worked to remove discrimination against same-sex couples. She has spoken about this in Parliament many times. She believes that passing these laws was a proud moment for her. She has also marched in the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade.

As deputy leader, Tanya pushed for the Labor Party to support same-sex marriage. She helped introduce a bill to make same-sex marriage legal. She did not support the 2017 postal vote on the issue. However, she strongly campaigned for the 'yes' vote.

Multiculturalism and Citizenship

Tanya has Slovenian heritage. She strongly supports multiculturalism. She believes that people from different backgrounds make Australia stronger. She has called for children to learn the Australian citizenship pledge. She believes that people can be proud of their country and still want to improve it.

Foreign Policy

Foreign Aid

As Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, Tanya opposed cuts to foreign aid. She believes Australia should help other countries.

Iraq

Tanya opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq. She believed Australia should not invade without United Nations approval. She stated this in Parliament.

East Timor

In 2016, Tanya suggested Australia should redraw its maritime border with East Timor. She said the dispute was harming relations. This position was later adopted by the government. A new border agreement was signed in 2018.

Israel

In 2002, Tanya spoke in Parliament about Israel. She said it was a state that ignored UN resolutions. She mentioned its leader was responsible for massacres. She criticized the US for supporting Israel. These comments gained attention later. However, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry expressed satisfaction with her. They noted she had developed friendly relations with the Jewish community. She visited Israel and Palestine in 2014.

List of Roles

Tanya Plibersek has held many important roles since 1998:

2004–2006: Shadow Minister for Work and Family, Child Care and Youth
2004–2005: Shadow Minister for Women and Community
2006–2007: Shadow Minister for Human Services, Housing, Youth and Women
2007–2010: Minister for Housing
2007–2010: Minister for the Status of Women
2010–2011: Minister for Human Services
2010–2011: Minister for Social Inclusion
2011–2013: Minister for Health
2013: Minister for Health and Medical Research
2013–2019: Deputy Leader of the Opposition
2013–2019: Deputy Leader of the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party
2013–2016: Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Development
2016–2019: Shadow Minister for Education and Shadow Minister for Women
2019–2022: Shadow Minister for Education and Training
2021–2022: Shadow Minister for Women
2022–Present: Minister for the Environment and Water

Personal Life

Tanya Plibersek lives in Sydney. She is married to Michael Coutts-Trotter. He works for the New South Wales government. They have three children.

In 2010, Tanya had a baby boy. She was on maternity leave. The other political parties agreed to a 'pair'. This meant her absence did not affect votes in Parliament. Her older brother, Ray Plibersek, was elected to the Sutherland Shire council in 2016. Tanya enjoys bushwalking and reading Jane Austen novels.