Liberals push to strike a net-zero compromise with Nationals
Senior Liberals are discussing a climate policy that would see Sussan Ley vow to repeal Australia’s net zero by 2050 laws but retain the aspiration under the Paris Agreement.
Senior Liberals are discussing a climate policy that would see Sussan Ley vow to repeal Australia’s net-zero by 2050 laws but retain the commitment under the Paris Agreement, in an aim to strike a deal with the Nationals and keep the Coalition united.
The Australian has been told members of shadow cabinet are canvassing the prospect of retaining in-principle support for net-zero but gutting laws tying domestic policy to a 2050 target.
This would include repealing the 2022 Climate Change Act that enshrined the Albanese government’s 2030 and 2050 targets in law, although Australia’s international backing of a net-zero by 2050 target would remain.
The proposal would allow the Opposition Leader to tell voters the Coalition aspired to reach net zero but would not be wedded to the target at any cost.
The internal deliberations came as Coalition MPs told The Australian that frontbencher Phillip Thompson was considering voting for Nationals defector Barnaby Joyce’s private member’s bill to abolish net zero by 2050 legislation if it was put to a vote by Labor.
Top Liberals are aiming to land on a model that would receive the support of the Nationals, arguing it would be unworkable for the two parties to have different positions on climate policy.
One senior member of Ms Ley’s team said net zero without “mandates” could be a way of bringing the Liberal and Nationals together, as MPs fear the issue could tear the Coalition apart.
The push for unity comes after conservatives James Paterson and Angus Taylor last week warned against a splintering of the Coalition amid internal discussions about a potential new structure for the centre right.
Senior Nationals sources told The Australian that the junior Coalition party would come to its own position on net zero ahead of any formal discussions with the Liberals.
Nationals leader David Littleproud has suggested the party will come out against net zero by 2050 by the end of the year, with senior sources saying this position will be fed into deliberations of the Coalition working group, led by energy spokesman Dan Tehan.
Senior opposition sources stressed the policy work was ongoing and a position was not finalised, with the working group to hold discussions over the next month in consultation with the backbench.
Some Liberals were not convinced that decoupling Australia’s domestic laws from international commitments would be electorally successful.
When asked whether the Liberals and Nationals could stay together if they reached different positions on net zero, Ms Ley on Monday said it was a “prospective question”.
“Right now we are in Coalition and it’s a Coalition I support, as does David Littleproud,” she told a Centre for Independent Studies event in Sydney.
Nationals senator Matt Canavan, who is conducting the regional party’s review with frontbencher Ross Cadell, said the Coalition should split if the Liberals retained support for net zero. “The net zero issue is now existential for the Nationals party,” he told Sky News
“If the Liberals maintain support for it, then what might be best is just for us to go our separate ways. We could put both policies to the electorate and the people can decide.”
The proposal being discussed by senior Liberals would effectively bring the party in line with Mr Joyce’s private member’s bill to repeal net zero by 2050 as a domestic law.
Coalition sources said Mr Thompson had told MPs he might vote for Mr Joyce’s bill if it was put to a vote in parliament, in a move that would likely force him off the frontbench and cause further instability for Ms Ley.
Mr Thompson, the assistant defence and NDIS spokesman, was contacted for comment.
Other Coalition MPs who have signalled they would support Mr Joyce’s bill are Tony Pasin, Garth Hamilton, Llew O’Brien, Michael McCormack, Rick Wilson, Senator Canavan and Alex Antic.
Liberal MPs also expect leadership aspirant Andrew Hastie to back Mr Joyce’s bill if Labor decides to put it to a vote in parliament in the final three sitting weeks of the year.
Liberal MPs say the position on climate change will be crucial for Ms Ley’s leadership and keeping the Coalition together, with Mr Joyce using the issue as an excuse to join One Nation, Mr O’Brien leaving the door open to quit the Nationals and supporters of Mr Hastie pushing for net zero to be dumped. Senior Liberal sources say the agriculture sector is expected to receive a carve-out on meeting any short-term carbon goals, while there is also a debate about exemptions for heavy industry.
The Coalition will not go to the election with any 2030 or 2035 targets, promising to set its own while in government.
Ms Ley said the Coalition would not be supporting net zero at any cost and would prioritise grid stability and price affordability. “That’s actually what this government appears to be doing, which is why we stood so firmly against the 2035 targets that they articulated recently,” she said. “I’m not anti-renewables but I’m anti the government’s policy, which is renewables at all cost and disregard for baseload power.”
Ms Ley said the Coalition would remove the moratorium on nuclear power and follow a “technology-agnostic approach”.
Referencing the Business Council of Australia’s modelling claim that Labor’s 2035 target could cost more than $500bn, Ms Ley said “all of this is subsidised by government and hidden … We don’t even know how much it is costing.”
Nationals MP Michael McCormack said he did not think the Nationals would retain support for net zero.
He urged senators Canavan and Cadell to complete their review into net zero “sooner rather than later”. “I don’t believe the National Party will decide to go with net zero. I’ve spoken to a number of my colleagues,” he told the ABC.
Mr Joyce said the Coalition’s performance at the last two elections showed net zero was not a good strategy. “The Coalition went to two elections supporting net zero,” he said.
“One, we went very, very badly. The second one, we had our political backside handed to us on a plate. So it’s not a very good policy if you want to win votes.”
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