Barnaby Joyce and Joel Fitzgibbon clash over zero net emissions target
Outspoken Nationals backbencher Barnaby Joyce and Labor’s agriculture spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon have traded barbs over the ALP’s ambitious zero net emissions target.
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Former National Party leader Barnaby Joyce and Labor’s agriculture spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon have clashed on live television over ambitious emissions targets.
Mr Joyce was labelled a “Neanderthal” by Mr Fitzgibbon, who also said the outspoken backbencher was like a “SCUD missile” looking for a political opportunity in a live TV interview on Sunrise.
It came after Labor leader Anthony Albanese said the party was committed to a net zero emissions target by 2050.
My Joyce fired back, saying Mr Fitzgibbon would “lose his job” over their emissions pledge.
Mr Fitzgibbon told Sunrise the majority of Australians wanted action on greenhouse gas emissions, and Labor wanted to demonstrate that it could be achieved without negatively impacting jobs or the economy.
But Mr Joyce claimed that Australians were against the target and “do not like the Labor Party”.
“You have it in front of you... they do not like you and they do not like the Labor Party and you standing there representing them,” Mr Joyce said.
“You’re going to take it out of the hide of the agricultural industry... this will come across all sectors.
“Last time, you had vegetation management laws. We had to leave the trees in their place to meet your (climate) equation.”
Mr Joyce - who once claimed Julia Gillard’s carbon tax would push the price of a Sunday roast to $100 - said the target’s impact on the agriculture industry would mean city dwellers would pay “a lot more for food”.
“You are like a SCUD missile looking for a political opportunity,” Mr Fitzgibbon said.
As Mr Joyce tried to interject by listing the Queensland seats Labor polled poorly at in the 2019 federal election, Mr Fitzgibbon said “you’re a Neanderthal”.
The fight then spilled over into the corridors of power at Parliament House, where both MPs squabbled in a debate filmed by Sky News.
Mr Joyce ridiculed the Labor MP over his party’s plan to reach the controversial target.
Mr Fitzgibbon said: “We’re going to reach out to these organisations including BP, Santos, other oil and gas companies and say ‘now you’ve made a commitment to zero net emissions, how can a Labor government work with you to help you meet your aspirations?’”
Mr Joyce said: “What a load of rubbish, what an absolute load of pig manure”.
“He’s going to reach out to you, he’s going to reach out to the coal mines and say ‘don’t worry fellas, we’re reaching out to you and saying you’re going to lose your job’” he said.
“Reaching out, is that how you’re going to do it?”
GREENS BILL HOPES TO SEE POLLUTERS PAY
Greens leader Adam Bandt believes coal, oil and gas companies should pay for the damage their products have caused Australians, just as asbestos and tobacco firms have done in the past.
Mr Bandt will introduce a new bill into parliament on Monday that would make fossil fuel companies liable for environmental damage, and allow damage payments to survivors of the recent bushfires.
The bill would also give governments the right to bring actions in their own right or on behalf of people affected.
“Coal, oil and gas companies are decimating agriculture and tourism and wiping out homes and communities,” Mr Bandt said.
“The law made asbestos companies pay and now it’s coal, oil and gas’ turn.”
The bill comes as parliament kicks off another sitting fortnight likely to be dominated by debate on climate change.
Labor has reaffirmed its commitment to a net zero emissions target by 2050.
Energy Minister Angus Taylor criticised Labor leader Anthony Albanese for announcing the policy without including costings or modelling on the economic impacts.
“He is all target and no plan ... (people) need an explanation,” Mr Taylor said.
However, all the states and territories as well as business groups support such a target, as do more than 70 other countries, including the UK and Canada.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison is also expected to face criticism over his bushfires royal commission, which will examine adaptation to a changing climate but not what needs to be done to mitigate it.
COALITION MAKES GAINS AS ALBO’S APPROVAL SLUMPS
The Coalition has closed the gap on Labor, recovering the ground lost after Scott Morrison’s fall in approval ratings following his handling of the Australian bushfire crisis.
Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese’s approval ratings have slumped to their lowest point since December, according to an exclusive Newspoll conducted for The Australian.
The Coalition’s primary vote remains at 38 per cent, three points below its election result.
Labor now trails the Coalition at 49-51 per cent, losing its previous lead of 52 per cent.
The Coalition appears to be recovering from a series of missteps which included the bushfire crisis, cabinet minister Bridget McKenzie’s “sports rort” affair, and the troubles of the National Party.
With big issues such as coronavirus and emission reduction targets to address climate change, but little legislation on the horizon, the Newspoll results suggest voters are dissatisfied with both major parties.
Scott Morrison saw a slight gain as preferred prime minister with a rise in satisfaction with his leadership performance to 38 per cent.
Anthony Albanese fell back into negative territory dropping eight points in approval to 39 per cent while disapproval of his leadership rose to 44 per cent.
The Greens, led by Adam Bandt, maintains its record high of 13 per cent while other minor parties and independents rose in support to 11 per cent.
COAL EXPORTS LIKELY IN 2050
It comes as Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese said he expects Australia will still be exporting coal in 2050 — despite Labor promising a net zero target by the same year.
The Labor leader told the ABC’s Insiders that his party’s zero emissions is “economy wide”.
When asked by host David Speers whether Australia would still be exporting coal in 2050, Mr Albanese replied: “I suspect we will. That will be determined by the market and by international agreement.”
Mr Albanese reaffirmed Labor’s 2050 target on Friday, although he is yet to release any details on how this will be achieved, drawing criticism from the Morrison government.
The coalition zeroed-in on Labor’s emissions reductions and renewable energy targets during last year’s election campaign, forcing the opposition into policy retreat after being defeated.
Mr Albanese said a 2050 net-zero target should be as non-controversial in Australia as it is in most nations.
“The climate wars have seen a decade wasted when it should have been a decade won,” he said on Friday.
“We should be a clean energy superpower — harnessing the wind and sun to spark a new manufacturing boom and power generations of jobs.” He points out 73 countries and all of Australia’s states and territories are already working towards the goal.
Labor’s medium-term plan to reach its target is expected to be outlined closer to the next election, due by mid-2022.
The government was quick to seize on the lack of a road map to accompany Friday’s policy goal.
“Anthony Albanese doesn’t have a plan to meet a 2050 target. He can’t tell you what it costs,” Mr Morrison told reporters in the Northern Territory. “He can’t tell you what industries will be affected. He can’t tell you how many jobs will go. He can’t tell you how much your electricity prices will go up. He can’t tell you whether he’s even going to put a tax on it.” Finance Minister Mathias Cormann decried it as “extremist and irresponsible”.
But opposition climate spokesman Mark Butler pointed to research from Melbourne University and the CSIRO showing the benefits to the entire economy far outweighed likely costs to government.
“The idea that we can talk about the cost of taking action without talking about the cost of not taking action is part of the problem about the debate over climate policy in this country,” he told ABC radio.
A Climate Council report from May estimated not acting would wipe $611 billion from the property market by 2050 and $211 billion from the economy through the loss of agricultural and labour productivity.
Labor says the 2050 goal is in line with scientific advice about what’s necessary to prevent global warming of 2C, and keep it closer to 1.5C. However, many environmental campaigners, while applauding the move, said the nation needed to move further or faster.
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“A decade of climate wars means we have lost precious time,” the Climate Council’s Will Steffen said.
The Australia Institute described the target as the least that was needed, while industry advocates the Ai Group said the goal was widely supported by businesses.
Meanwhile, financial services watchdog APRA announced it would add climate change risks to its stress tests of banks starting in 2020.