Bob Brown, the founding leader of The Greens, is ready to make a plea to Tanya Plibersek: stand up in cabinet and be a voice against coal and gas.

While the party he used to lead is locked in a tense battle with the Labor party today over the safeguard mechanism, Brown says he believes Tanya Plibersek could actually become the best environment minister Australia has ever had – she just needs the support of the prime minister.

The Tarkine rainforest, in Tasmania's north west, is Australia's largest temperate rainforest and home to some of the country’s most endangered species. But now a mining company has started clearing the Tarkine, to build a new dam. Today, Bob Brown on the fight to save the Tarkine, and why the Morrison government is so hesitant to intervene.

As the federal government tries to hand power over environmental regulations to state governments, parallels have been drawn to the battles fought between activists and big business during the Howard years. Today, former Greens leader Bob Brown on how the legacy of John Howard’s environmental policies is shaping the current fight.