Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s energy policy needs backing of Labor
THE fate of Malcolm Turnbull’s signature energy policy now rests in the hands of Labor leader Bill Shorten. Nine Coalition MPs have said they may follow former PM Tony Abbott to cross the floor against the move to lock the Paris emissions reduction target of 26 per cent in law.
NSW
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MALCOLM Turnbull yesterday won a battle against a Tony Abbott-led rebellion over legislating emissions reduction targets but the fate of his signature energy policy now lies in Bill Shorten’s hands.
Nine Coalition MPs have said they may cross the floor in opposition to the Prime Minister’s move to legislate the Paris emissions reduction target of 26 per cent, forcing him to rely on Labor to pass the legislation in the Parliament.
And, in an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Mr Abbott said Liberal supporters were now being asked to fight for someone else’s values. He said Mr Turnbull misread the mood in the party room, where MPs had “grave reservations” on whether the National Energy Guarantee will lower power prices.
It would take only one MP of the dissenters — Mr Abbott, Andrew Hastie, Tony Pasin, Andrew Gee, Kevin Andrews, Craig Kelly or George Christensen — to cross the floor in the Lower House for the government to be forced to rely on support from Labor.
In the Senate, the government will entirely rely on Labor’s support, with Cory Bernardi and Pauline Hanson opposing the Paris emissions target, while Liberal senators Barry O’Sullivan and Eric Abetz have also threatened to cross the floor.
To try to shore up support, Mr Turnbull met Barnaby Joyce, Mr Andrews, Mr Christensen, Mr Gee and Mr Pasin yesterday afternoon to hear their concerns and try to convince them of the merits of the policy.
He had no plan to meet Mr Hastie, Mr Abetz or Mr Abbott who all objected to legislating the Paris targets, a position Mr Turnbull would not negotiate on.
In a victorious press conference, Mr Turnbull boldly declared he had secured “overwhelming” support for the NEG in the party room while conceding there were “concerns expressed” about prices.
“We are one step closer to cheaper and more reliable energy,” he said. “This policy is part of our suite of measures that are already seeing us turning the corner on electricity prices, but there is a lot more to do.”
Mr Turnbull urged Bill Shorten to support the policy.
“The Labor Party has to decide whether they want to support cheaper and more reliable electricity,” he said.
“Bill Shorten wrote to me last year … and urged me to adopt a bipartisan approach. Now is the time for him to support it and vote for it.”
Mr Abbott said the government risked defeat in Parliament because there was a “significant minority” of MPs with “grave reservations”.
“You couldn’t say they have had clear support. Speaker after speaker who was in favour of it was in favour with enormous reservations and qualifications, and there were many speakers who were not in support,” he said.
“Either the government risks defeat on the floor of the Parliament, or the Prime Minister is dependent upon Bill Shorten to get his policy through which is an extraordinary position for the leader of the Liberal Party to be so dependent on the leader of the Labor Party.”
Mr Abbott said this could cause further problems with the Liberal base which he said needs to be taken seriously.
“I’ve been saying for months we need to do more to ensure that a volunteer-based party feels that it’s being taken seriously and that the Liberal party volunteers feel that they are being asked to fight for their values and not for someone else’s,” he said.
Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg last night had a phone hook-up with his state counterparts where they agreed to release draft legislation for consultation in a step forward on the NEG.
Opposition energy spokesman Mark Butler confirmed Labor would try to amend the government’s proposed 26 per cent emissions reduction target to match its own policy for a 45 per cent target.
Mr Butler left the door open to supporting the government’s plan when Labor fails to successfully amend the target because it does not have the numbers on the floor of Parliament.
He said that if the Labor states agreed to the NEG, the Federal Party would not attempt to dismantle the policy and would simply fight for a higher emissions target.
Barnaby Joyce, who has publicly campaigned against the NEG, was understood to have given qualified support but flagged moving an amendment. Nationals sources said Mr Joyce was hesitant to cross the floor because he hoped to one day return to cabinet.