Libs slap down Nats’ coal push as Barnaby Joyce slams Coalition

The Treasurer has slapped down a push from the Nationals over coal after Barnaby Joyce issued a warning over the future of the Coalition.

The Liberals have slapped down a push from the Nationals to build more coal-fired power stations after Barnaby Joyce warned an alliance between the parties had become a “marriage of convenience”.

Nationals senator Matt Canavan on Tuesday called for the government to support coal in a bid to boost employment.

“Cheaper energy is a must to rekindle manufacturing jobs,” he wrote in The Australian.

“We believe the government should build a coal-fired power station because that remains Australia’s cheapest form of reliable power.”

The move has support on the Nationals’ backbench but was flatly rejected by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg on Wednesday.

RELATED: National Party leader Michael McCormack under pressure

Josh Frydenberg has flatly rejected a push from Matt Canavan for the government to build more coal-fired power stations. Picture: Mick Tsikas / AAP Image

“We are not about to fund a new coal-fired power station,” Mr Frydenberg told ABC Radio.

“What we are in the process of doing is encouraging security of supply, more affordable power and reducing our carbon footprint.”

Liberal MP Dave Sharma denied the “jury was out” on power, saying renewables clearly provided the lowest cost energy source.

“I want to see cheaper and more affordable power because that will add more reliable power because that will help boost our manufacturing sectors,” he told Sky News.

“But the way to do that is to help smooth the transition of all these renewables into the grid … and that’s exactly what we’re doing.”

Matt Canavan claims coal remains Australia’s ‘cheapest form of reliable power’. Picture: Toby Zerna

The Liberals and Nationals are divided on the future of coal. Picture: Ina Fassbender / AFP

The move could further drive a wedge between the Nationals and Liberals after Barnaby Joyce lit a match under tensions on Wednesday.

Mr Joyce lashed the Coalition as “no marriage of equals” and demanded the Nationals be given more powerful ministries.

Mr Joyce used an op-ed in The Australian to warn the Coalition had “devolved into a marriage of convenience” that damaged the party’s electoral chances.

The former Nationals leader demanded the party be granted more powerful ministry portfolios to avert electoral disaster, with regional issues “muffled or mute” under the current set-up.

Mr Joyce said “a Coalition has to be in fact and form to authentically live up to its name”, warning the government was propped up by regional seats won by the Nationals.

Barnaby Joyce has lashed the Coalition as ‘not a marriage of equals’. Picture: Mick Tsikas / AAP Image

Mr Joyce has warned of electoral disaster if the junior Coalition partner is not granted more substantial ministries. Picture: Kym Smith

“There is no ‘marriage of equals’. As time progresses, one party is completely dominated by the other, existing in the shackles of the expectation for harmony,” he wrote.

“For better or worse, till death will the Coalition part.”

Mr Joyce said the Nationals were entitled to a fifth cabinet position, which should include a “substantive” portfolio such as treasury, finance, Defence or trade.

Nationals MPs are angered that some of their ministers operate under purview of more senior Liberals.

Mr Joyce demanded the imbalance be fixed before the next election, which he said was likely to be at the end of this year.

But Nationals leader Michael McCormack dismissed the concerns on Wednesday, claiming they had never been raised directly.

“Seeing as he used the word of marriage, it’s a marriage of strength. We work well together,” he told reporters on Wednesday.

“Right across the nation, Liberals and Nationals are working together to build a better Australia.

“Regional people have very much placed their faith in the Nationals.

Mr Joyce has accused the Liberals of marginalising the junior Coalition partner. Picture: Tracey Nearmy / Getty Images

“They’re not worried about the power struggles in Canberra, they’re not worried about who might sit on a committee or what percentage of this and that is made up of the government.”

The comments were the latest salvo in simmering tensions between the current and former Nationals leaders.

Mr Joyce unsuccessfully challenged for the leadership in February, and in January he accused Mr McCormack of allowing funds allocated for the bush to be spent in cities.

Mr Canavan resigned after the attempted coup.

Mr McCormack claimed the leadership question had been resolved by the February ballot, but Mr Joyce warned tensions behind the scenes “did not bode well for any relationship”.

He also accused the Liberals of sidelining Mr McCormack but seating Mr Frydneberg to the right of the Prime Minister during question time, a place typically reserved for the Nationals leader.