State of the environment report must be released immediately: Sarah Hanson-Young

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said releasing the latest five-yearly state of the environment report must be the first priority for Labor's environment minister after being sworn in this week.

Authored by independent experts, the report examines the state of Australia's environment and the pressures it is facing.

One of the chief co-authors told The Canberra Times that while it included some positive findings, the report pointed to the deterioration of "many different aspects of the environment".

Former environment minister Sussan Ley was handed the report in December, but resisted pressure to table it in parliament before Australians went to the polls earlier this month.

Labor, the Greens, some crossbenchers and advocacy groups lashed the secrecy, arguing Australians had the right to know about the true state of the environment before casting their vote on May 21.

The minister is required to table the report within 15 sitting days of receiving it.

Parliament's lower house only sat for 10 days this year before the election was called, meaning Ms Ley was within her rights to withhold its release.

The timing means the incoming Labor government would be required to table it within the first sitting fortnight of parliament's return.

But Senator Hanson-Young, who is the Greens' environment spokeswoman, said the report must be made public at the first possible opportunity. It was understood the report could be tabled "out of session" ahead of parliament's return.

"The new environment minister, as soon as they're minted this week, must release the state of the environment report on day one. That's the first thing they should do," Senator Hanson-Young said.

"The Australian people have paid for this report. It belongs to us and the public has a right to know what the experts have identified as the perilous situation that our environment and wildlife are in."

Senator Hanson-Young said the Coalition's decision to "hide" the report reflected its attitude toward environmental protection.

The Canberra Times contacted Ms Ley's office for comment, but did not receive a response. The Farrer MP is expected to be picked as the Liberals' new deputy leader at a party room meeting on Monday.

Western Australian Biodiversity Science Institute chair Ian Cresswell was one of the three lead authors on the report.

He wouldn't be drawn on the politics surrounding the timing of the report's release, but indicated he would've preferred it was made public earlier.

"I am representing a group of over 30 authors, so of course we were keen that our work, which we worked very hard on for several years, was made available at the earliest opportunity," he said.

Dr Cresswell said as with each state of the environment report since 1996, the latest snapshot contained a mix of good and bad news.

"It contains information that suggests the deterioration of many different aspects of the environment," he said.

"It also contains good news of where we've started to do good work to help improve environmental conditions. So it's not all bad news."

Dr Cresswell wasn't fussed if the report was made public on parliament's first sitting day or once the 15-day deadline was reached.

Australian Conservation Foundation national biodiversity policy advisor Sophie Power urged the incoming environment minister to publish the report, and provide a response to it, as soon as possible.

"The last one was in 2016 and since that time there's a lot that has happened, particularly in terms of climate impacts, bushfires, floods, extreme weather events, which would have really heavily impacted on Australia's environment," she said.

Griffith MP Terri Butler would have likely been the next environment minister had she not lost her Brisbane-based seat at the election.

NSW senator Jenny McAllister is widely tipped to be elevated to cabinet as her replacement, and would be a natural fit for the portfolio having co-founded Labor's environmental activist network.

The Canberra Times understands the new minister would be briefed on the report before releasing it.

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