 Following the 2019 state election Stokes was appointed as the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces in the second Berejiklian ministry, with effect from 2 April 2019.Stokes introduced a controversial bill in October 2019, following a concerted lobbying campaign by the NSW Minerals Council to stop planning authorities from considering the climate pollution of exported Australian coal when determining new mining projects.The introduction and consideration of the bill to roll back existing environmental protections was during a period of ‘catastrophic’ bushfire danger throughout New South Wales.