LNP must resist net-zero policies despite Greens’ march: Canavan

Despite doing well in Queensland the LNP must focus on the ‘forgotten people’ in its rebuild, Matt Canavan has declared.

The Queensland LNP should stick to its pro-mining-jobs platform despite the surge in support for the Greens in Brisbane, Senator Matthew Canavan has declared.

A significant surge in support for the Australian Greens within the inner suburbs of Brisbane is expected to challenge the major parties, which must secure broad appeal across the decentralised state.

Despite a poor showing nationally for the LNP Senator Canavan – an outspoken supporter of the mining industry – insists the party “remains in a strong position” in Queensland.

The LNP will lose the two inner-city seats with Trevor Evans defeated in Brisbane and Julian Simmonds in Ryan.

However, against expectations, the party has held the regional Queensland seats of Leichhardt and Flynn and the Bribe Island seat of Longman.

“This is an excellent result for the LNP in Queensland,” Senator Canavan said.

The Queensland senator, whose vocal opposition to the net-zero climate target likely cost the LNP votes in the inner city, the party was at a “high watermark” in Queensland going into the election and still won two-thirds of seats.

Matt Cavanan is an outspoken supporter of Queensland coal and mining.

Senator Canavan denied the Coalition’s loss in Brisbane meant voters cared more about the environment than mining jobs in regional Queensland.

He warned against the party redesigning its policy platform in the sunshine state and said it would rebuild by focusing on the “forgotten people”.

“The people in West End, while lovely, are not forgotten … they’re in the outer suburbs and in the regions,” he said.

“We have to return to kitchen-table issues.”

A national review into the Coalition’s election loss is expected to analyse the erosion of support for its moderate MPs in inner-city seats to the teal independents and Greens.

Senator Canavan’s comments come as a senior LNP source declared there was internal anger after the party was “willing to let Canavan and Colin Boyce go off the reservation on climate change.”

“They were allowed to shift the goalposts on climate change after everyone compromised and agreed with each other,” the source said.

“They still went off the reservation.

“Is losing Trevor and Julian worth it to get Colin Boyce into parliament?”

The state Labor government is expected to detail its transition to renewables in a 10-year energy plan later this year.

Energy Minister Mick de Brenni has said the Palaszczuk Government won’t close any publicly-owned coal-fired power stations before 2030 – a pledge experts say will make it difficult to reach a 50 per cent renewable energy share within the decade.

Griffith University politics expert Paul Williams said while the LNP can be “proud” of its Queensland campaign he said Senator Canavan must temper the pro-coal rhetoric.

“It’s servicing Queensland regional voters well … it’s grease to the wheel, but it’s not going to get them back into government,” he said.

Mr Williams said the progressive march in the inner city and swings to the LNP in the regions proved there was “no single Queensland constituency”, but declared LNP would remain in the political wilderness if it continued to dismiss climate change.