Thwaites entered Parliament at the 1992 election,as member for the inner city seat of Albert Park. Labor,having been in office for ten years,suffered a landslide defeat at the hands of the Liberal Party under Jeff Kennett. In the last three years of its term,Labor,under Joan Kirner,had presided over a sharp recession and a series of financial disasters including the forced sale of the State Bank of Victoria,and the collapse of Pyramid Building Society. Most commentators expected Labor to be in opposition for many years.
In the greatly reduced Labor Caucus,Thwaites gained rapid promotion. He became Shadow Minister for Health in January 1994,Shadow Minister for Health and Community Services in April 1996,and Deputy Leader of the Opposition in December 1996. Thwaites belonged to neither of the dominant factions of the Victorian Labor Party,the right-wing Labor Unity or the left-wing Socialist Left,and was an acceptable compromise candidate as Deputy to the then Opposition Leader,John Brumby.
Labor was again heavily defeated at the 1996 election,and it became apparent that the party could not recover under Brumby's leadership. Thwaites had been a loyal deputy to Brumby,although in March 1999 he supported moves to have Brumby resign. Thwaites could not become Leader himself because he had a small factional base,but instead supported Steve Bracks for the leadership. As Shadow Minister for Health,Thwaites campaigned against the Kennett Government’s cuts to health and the privatisation of ambulance services. He used Freedom of Information documents to highlight long delays in hospital emergency departments and health budget cuts. (“Austin in patient crisis,says Labor”,The Age,3 October 1996.) Thwaites also highlighted concerns about privatisation of ambulance dispatching to a private company,Intergraph,which the Auditor General found “at best involved serious mismanagement or,at worst,constituted corrupt activity”. (“State backs Intergraph reports bid”,The Age,3 September 1999). The Intergraph affair and concerns about hospital privatisation and ambulance services were major issues in the 1999 state election. (“Selloffs the big difference”The Age 9 September 1999. “Ambulance scandal threatens Kennett”The Age 28 September 1999).
Deputy Leader
In September 1999 Bracks polled surprisingly well in the election,and three rural independent members gave Labor the opportunity to govern as a minority government. As Deputy Leader,Thwaites became Deputy Premier and was given the senior Health portfolio,with a mandate to increase funding to the public health system which had been the subject of cutbacks under the Liberal government. He was also Minister for Planning from 1999 to February 2002. Shortly after taking office,Thwaites cancelled the proposed privatisation of the Austin Hospital and announced plans for the government to rebuild the hospital with public funds. (“Labor to cancel Austin hospital privatisation”The Age 28 October 1999) (“Can the new government fix health? The Age 20 November 1999). Like all state health ministers,he had only limited success in reducing waiting lists at public hospitals,but did succeed in restoring the numbers of nurses.
One of Thwaites first actions as Health Minister was to ban smoking in restaurants (“Butt out”Herald Sun 27 November 1999.) He later introduced legislation to ban smoking in gaming venues. (“Smokers butt out at pokies”Herald Sun 30 August 2002).
As Planning Minister,Thwaites put controls on high-rise development around Port Phillip Bay and introduced a residential planning code,Rescode,to preserve neighbourhood character in planning decisions. (“Limits put on bayside high-rise”Herald Sun 14 December 1999.) He also initiated Melbourne 2030,a 30 year strategy plan for Melbourne.
After the November 2002 state election,at which Labor was returned with a record majority,Thwaites was appointed Minister for Environment,Water and Victorian Communities. Thwaites’term as Minister for Water coincided with the millennium drought in southeast Australia that put significant pressure on urban and rural water supplies. Premier Steve Bracks and Thwaites led a major water saving campaign commencing in 2003 that by 2006 had reduced water use per head by 22 per cent [1] compared to the 1990s.
Thwaites introduced major reforms to water policy and legislation in Victoria including giving the environment a statutory right to water,reforming irrigation water rights and establishing sustainable water planning strategies. He also oversaw programs to return environmental flows to the Murray,Snowy and Thomson rivers.
In 2007,after Victoria had experienced its worst year of drought and the lowest streamflows in the state’s history,Premier Steve Bracks and Thwaites announced the Our Water Our Future plan which included a new desalination plant at Wonthaggi,modernising Victoria’s irrigation system to save water lost through inefficiencies,expanding a water grid across Victoria and increased recycling and water conservation. [2]
As Minister for Environment,Thwaites introduced measures to lower greenhouse emissions and water consumption. Victoria was the first state to introduce five-star energy efficiency requirements for new homes together with incentives for rainwater tanks and solar hot water. [3]
Thwaites also oversaw a major expansion of Victoria’s National Park system including creation of the Great Otway National Park, [4] and removed cattle grazing from the Alpine National Park. [5]
In the second term of the Bracks Government,Thwaites led the development of the government’s social justice strategy,A Fairer Victoria working with other social policy ministers. The strategy committed $788 million in the 2005 state budget and $818 million in the 2006 budget to tackle disadvantage across a range of areas including early childhood development,mental health,disability,and community development. [6] It was described by the head of the Brotherhood of St Laurence as “an unprecedented effort to make Victoria a better place for those who are disadvantaged and vulnerable. [7] ”
Thwaites was re-elected at Victorian elections 2006 with a comfortable but slightly reduced majority. While there was some speculation he might be dumped as Deputy Premier,Premier Bracks has supported him continuing in this role. In the cabinet re-shuffle after the election he became minister for climate change but lost the portfolio of Victorian communities. [8]
White Anting
In June 2007,amid rumours of Steve Bracks resigning as premier,there was a series of leaks from inside government about Mr Thwaites and his family being given free accommodation,lift passes,food and drink at ski resorts over the last five years without declaring it. The family stayed at government-owned apartments at the invitation of the management boards,which he had appointed. [9] [10]
Documents obtained under freedom-of-information laws show Thwaites made 17 taxpayer-funded visits to Victoria's snowfields and national parks between 2003 and 2007. He had eight stays at Tidal River on Wilsons Promontory,five trips to Mount Hotham and two each to Mount Buller and Falls Creek in the four years he was environment minister. Expenses for the trips,which each required at least one night's accommodation,totalled more than $17,500. [11]
