Frydenberg faces climate fight in Kooyong

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg could face his toughest electoral battle since entering Parliament, with the man who headed the government's Clean Energy Finance Corporation, Oliver Yates, standing against him and vowing to target voters worried about the environment.

Mr Yates, a long-time Liberal Party member, said it was time to directly challenge climate change denialists within the government by taking on Mr Frydenberg in his blue-ribbon seat of Kooyong, in Melbourne's eastern suburbs.

Oliver Yates will run against the Treasurer as an independent in the upcoming federal election.Credit: Eddie Jim

Appointed by the ALP to head the $10 billion CEFC in 2012, Mr Yates has been a sharp critic of elements in the Liberal Party and its approach to climate change. This included walking out on a $10,000-a-table fundraiser in 2017 after a mock lump of brown coal was presented to then treasurer Scott Morrison.

Mr Yates, who is resigning as a Liberal member, will run as an independent. The fund manager ended his tenure at the CEFC in 2017.

He said the Liberal Party was ignoring the concerns of ordinary Australians and clear signs of climate change danger to the country, adding the only way to highlight the issue was to directly challenge sitting MPs.

"It's unfortunate that it's come to this. The Liberal Party really continues to be in denial about climate change and dealing with the interests of the Australian people," he said.

"I'd been hoping for many years that they would wake up to themselves and deal with this issue, but they haven't.

"They continue to ignore this core nonsense and I couldn't just stand by any longer."

Mr Frydenberg holds Kooyong – which has only been held by conservative MPs since its creation in 1901 – with a margin of 12.8 per cent.

At the 2016 election he defied a swing to Labor in Victoria, improving his margin by 2.3 per cent.

But in the recent Victorian byelection several parts of the seat swung wildly to the Labor Party. That included a swing of 9.1 per cent in the previously safe Liberal seat of Hawthorn, which was claimed by the ALP's John Kennedy.

Mr Yates said the key reason for standing in Kooyong was to highlight the government's "failed" approach to greenhouse gas emissions, but he signalled a wide range of other issues.

He said he had few troubles with Labor's proposed halving of the capital gains tax and that governments had failed to deliver proper infrastructure to deal with the nation's fast growing population.

He said there were clear problems with negative gearing, with Mr Yates suggesting a limit on interest deductability for rental properties or the number of properties that could be negatively geared as a way to curb the cost of the tax concession.

He also took aim at links between the Liberal Party and large businesses, accusing the government of trying to represent the interests of business at the expense of ordinary voters.

"Business is treated by the Liberal Party as if it's a vote in itself. Business is a creation of people, of individuals coming together and working together – the business itself shouldn't be treated as individual," he said.

"CEOs say their sole interest is to shareholders, that companies have the same rights as individuals.

"But they need to take into account the environment in which they operate and the social norms of their society. I believe business should be strong, but I don't believe that it should be superior to the individual."

Mr Yates' move follows the weekend decision by former Olympic skier Zali Steggall to stand against Tony Abbott in his safe Sydney seat of Warringah. One issue Ms Steggall is vowing to push is the government's stance on greenhouse gas emissions.

Health Minister Greg Hunt may also face a serious challenge, with suggestions former Liberal MP Julia Banks, who moved to the crossbench last year amid allegations of bullying, may stand against him in his Victorian seat of Flinders.

A ReachTEL poll conducted last week suggested Mr Hunt, who holds Flinders with a margin of 7.1 per cent, is now trailing the ALP 51-49.

Mr Yates said he gave himself a chance of defeating Mr Frydenberg. "I got told to pack my bags at the CEFC and that didn't happen," he said.