Joel Fitzgibbon accuses own party of ‘ideological craziness’ over shock senate win

A Pauline Hanson no-show handed Labor a shock Senate victory, but an outspoken MP says it never intended to win.

Outspoken Labor backbencher Joel Fitzgibbon has accused his own party of “ideological craziness” over a shock victory he claims it never intended.

A government proposal to allow the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to fund carbon capture and storage was sunk by Labor and the Greens on Tuesday evening, after One Nation senator Pauline Hanson abstained from the vote.

Mr Fitzgibbon suggested the party intended to “make a point” while losing the vote, but “ideological craziness” had now cost them $192m towards carbon reduction.

“My colleagues won’t thank me, but this isn’t very clever. I’m not sure we were supposed to win,” he told 2GB Radio.

“Pauline not showing up, of course, gave us the victory I didn’t want.”

Joel Fitzgibbon has accused his own party of ‘ideological craziness’ over a shock Senate win on Tuesday evening. Picture: Gary Ramage / NCA NewsWire

Pauline Hanson abstained from the vote, meaning Labor and the Greens had the numbers to sink the plan. Picture: Gary Ramage / NCA NewsWire

Labor said although it supported carbon capture storage, which buried emissions underground, ARENA should only be used to fund renewable energy.

But Mr Fitzgibbon warned the outcome “sends the message” Labor was opposed to the proposal, which he said should be used to complement solar and wind energy.

“If people are serious about getting global emissions down, they should be embracing the idea of taking the carbon out of the fossil fuel process and burying it in the ground,” Mr Fitzgibbon said.

Mr Fitzgibbon said the government was proposing to put more money into ARENA, rather than moving funds allocated for renewables.

“So we’re not displacing windmills and solar panels; we’re going to do those, too. But people were hopeful we might do some new things as well,” he said.

“That opportunity is now passed us all because that money won’t be available.”

But Labor energy spokesman Chris Bowen claimed the government’s “energy chaos” had continued, saying the Senate had overruled an “outrageous attempt” to shift ARENA’s focus from clean energy.

“The parliament has decided that (Energy Minister) Angus Taylor is wrong. The parliament has overruled Angus Taylor’s watering-down of ARENA’s commitment to renewable energy. This was always wrong. It was probably illegal,” he said.

But Mr Taylor shifted attention from the government’s own rift over climate change, as the Nationals undermined plans for a net zero emissions target.

“Last night Labor cheered and clapped and patted themselves on the back by voting against jobs,” he told question time on Wednesday.

“This is what the Labor Party has become … cosying up to their Coalition partners, the Greens.”