Liberal deputy leader Ted O’Brien’s energy policy warning amid Coalition agreement talks
New Liberal deputy leader Ted O’Brien warns Australia “cannot afford” to get the energy transition wrong and reveals whether he thinks his party and the Nationals can work together.
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A key architect of the Coalition’s nuclear plan says his colleagues will have final say on keeping the policy, insisting he “refuses to believe” there isn’t a “pathway” for the fractured Liberals and Nationals to work together.
New Liberal deputy leader Ted O’Brien said getting energy right was “critically important” for Australia and promised the Coalition would be as “bold as we need to be … to deliver on a positive future”.
In an exclusive interview, Mr O’Brien declined to give his personal views on the Dutton-era policies like nuclear, a gas reserve and net zero, arguing this was “not in the spirit” of the “no captain’s calls” pledge made by Liberal leader Sussan Ley last week.
“I don’t want to look like I’m trying to push colleagues … in one direction or another,” he said.
Mr O’Brien, who was opposition energy and climate change spokesman last term and a key proponent of the Coalition’s plan to build seven nuclear reactors, said Australia “cannot afford” to get the energy transition wrong.
“As a dad of three little ones, the sort of Australia they are going to live in, in 2050 and beyond, in large part is going to be determined by how we manage energy,” he said.
While Ms Ley is yet to finalise a new Coalition agreement with Nationals leader David Littleproud, Mr O’Brien said he was confident the two parties would be able to find consensus on key policies.
“We work hard, we work together, because there is always a pathway,” he said.
“I refuse to believe there is not.”
One of nine children, Mr O’Brien was encouraged by his father to gain experience in the “real world” before entering politics.
This sparked a more than 20-year career in commercial business, including stints living in China and Taiwan, before he won the seat of Fairfax on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast on his second attempt in 2016.
Mr O’Brien said in business he learned how to “(bring) people together to achieve big outcomes”.
“That requires a lot of thinking, a lot of planning, a lot of negotiation and genuinely trying to bring people together who might otherwise have different views,” he said.
Mr O’Brien said he did not plan to speak publicly about the errors of the 2025 campaign, instead insisting the party needed to “listen to the Australian people”.
Asked if he shared Ms Ley’s view that everyone in shadow cabinet had to take responsibility for the result, Mr O’Brien said: “100 per cent, absolutely”.
He said there was “truth” in observations the party needed to engage women, young people and multicultural communities, including Chinese Australians, more.
Mr O’Brien, who speaks Mandarin, helped his colleagues record messages for Chinese Australian voters last term and said using skill sets like language would be an important part of how the Liberals rebuild trust with communities.
Originally published as Liberal deputy leader Ted O’Brien’s energy policy warning amid Coalition agreement talks
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