Minister furiously rejects claim that Nationals should receive $250bn for net zero agreement
Claims the Nationals will be paid out with $250bn for agreeing to net zero has triggered stunning scenes in parliament.
Environment
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Resource Minister Keith Pitt has slammed suggestions that convincing the National Party to agree to net zero will require a hefty payout from the government.
Earlier this month, Mr Pitt told the Australian Financial Review that a $250bn loan and insurance facility may be required to get the Nationals on board with the 2050 emissions target.
“No matter what happens, we need to find a way to fund the resources sector and provide insurance,” Mr Pitt told the AFR.
“If we want to look after 300,000 jobs, provide power to 70 per cent of homes, the Australian government will have to become the lender of last resort.”
But the Resource Minister furiously rejected suggestions that the Nationals’ support for Net Zero would come with a $250bn price tag when confronted about his past comments in Question Time on Thursday.
“I absolutely reject that. I did not say at any stage there is a price,” he said.
“We are having a collegiate discussion with our colleagues, we are having a collegiate discussion in the Nationals party room.”
But Mr Pitt has not been the only Nationals member to indicate that the party’s support for net zero may come with a price tag.
“Money makes the world go around, mate,” Agriculture Minister and Deputy Nationals leader David Littleproud told the ABC when questioned about his party agreeing to the climate target.
“We don’t want to ask for billions of dollars, that is not responsible.
“We think we can achieve it by being smarter than that and using the mechanisms that are already there rather than going for a cash grab.”
The Coalition has been in hot debate over the net zero target for weeks now, with the Nationals already rejecting a 2030 zero emissions deadline.
Barnaby Joyce is expected to announce the National’s final position on a net zero target of 2050 sometime on Thursday evening.
‘NO PANTOMIME’: JOYCE ON NATS NET ZERO RESISTANCE
On Wednesday, Mr Joyce denied the Nationals’ resistance to a net zero emissions target is nothing more than a “pantomime”.
Scott Morrison is due to take the commitment to a major UN climate summit in Glasgow next month.
He has pitched the plan as a positive for the economy but the Nationals have demanded more time to consider the target.
Mr Morrison has made it clear he will forge ahead with the climate commitment at Glasgow even if the Nationals are not on board, telling a Liberal Party room earlier in the week he did not need the Coalition junior partner to sign off on the deal.
On Tuesday, outspoken Senator Matt Canavan accused the Prime Minister of “gaslighting” the Nationals, and claimed the party had yet to see detailed modelling on the impact of any commitment.
Speaking with Sky News, Mr Joyce downplayed perceptions that net zero had already been rubber stamped.
“That's maybe some people’s views, but … this is no pantomime, we wouldn’t go through this if we weren’t mindful of a whole range of outcomes,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.
“We're not here just to waste our time, like, to put ourselves under pressure, for no apparent purpose.”
Colleague David Littleproud also sought to downplay criticism on Wednesday morning, denying the Nationals were holding the Prime Minister hostage over net zero.
“Our party room only saw this plan less than 36 hours ago. We are trying to move as quickly as we can and be respectful and pragmatic of the process,” Mr Littleproud told ABC News Breakfast.
“The vast majority of the party room wants to move forward, but they want to secure regional Australia’s future but also grow it.”
Asked if the Nationals had named a price to support net zero, Mr Littleproud denied he was seeking a “cash grab”.
“We aren’t thinking about 30 pieces of silver,” he said.
“We are thinking more about the policy settings to ensure we protect regional Australia and help grow it … We don’t want to ask for billions of dollars, that is not responsible.”
But have they demanded the government fund a new coal mine in Queensland? The deputy Nationals leader replied: “No”.
“We are not getting into individual projects.”
Meanwhile, independent MP Helen Haines took aim at the government for dropping any ambition to lift midterm targets.
The Indi MP – who represents regional and rural residents in northeastern Victoria – told ABC Radio National her constituents had the most to lose.
“They're thinking about next year’s crop and the crop after that. So I think the inevitable thing here is that rural and regional Australians have the most to lose by lack of a plan, and the most to gain by a really solid plan,” Dr Haines said.
“You know you don‘t wake up in 2049, and suddenly find that you’ve magically achieved that goal.
“So of course, there needs to be midterm targets and there needs to be a clear pathway forward.”
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