Do we like Tanya Plibersek?
Our score: 7 out of 10. A long, steady record on the right side for LGBTQ+ people, women and workers, with mixed votes on trans protections and a contested gas call.
On gay rights she's been in the trenches for years. In 2015 she wanted Labor MPs bound to back same-sex marriage, telling Sky that “marriage equality is a matter of legal discrimination”. She has voted for marriage equality, and against a plebiscite and against celebrants refusing to marry same-sex couples. The trans side is patchier: the site's tally gives only 33% agreement with its transgender rights and protections policy, and 45% on LGBTI protections. That reflects votes on bills, and we found no anti-trans words from her.
On the planet, the votes lean green: for a carbon price, the Paris Agreement and net zero by 2050. She also voted against a policy of no new fossil fuel projects. As environment minister in March 2025 she signed an extension pushing the Woodside North West Shelf decision past the election. Liberal Senator Michaelia Cash called it an “absolute disgrace and act of cynical political manipulation”. Her office said the department needed more time and that the legal process applied.
In July 2025 she said the alleged workplace behaviour of NSW MP Mark Latham would get someone sacked elsewhere, calling it “completely unacceptable”. He is accused of secretly photographing female colleagues, and a former partner made further allegations. He has denied the former partner's claims. Plibersek said she had seen no evidence of the alleged conduct but had long doubted him as a political figure.
Her messiest moments are small. In 2023 Senator Linda Reynolds sent her a defamation concerns notice over a Sunrise interview in which she suggested the alleged assault on a young woman had been covered up by her employers. Reynolds's notice alleged her comments were defamatory, and Plibersek said all legal options were on the table. The article reports no outcome. In 2024 a hot mic caught her telling someone not to say anything horrible about a Liberal frontbencher on Sky.
The June 2026 Sunrise chat shows what she's up to now. As Social Services minister she argued that One Nation was “making, actually making life harder for people”, and that nothing in its policy bank would ease the pressure. Joyce replied that getting rid of net zero was a priority for that party. That's a policy stoush, not a scandal.