Anthony Albanese uses Malcolm Turnbull climate action speech to attack PM

Anthony Albanese has seized on a leaked speech by Malcolm Turnbull savaging Scott Morrison’s “incoherent” energy policy.

Then PM Malcolm Turnbull and then Treasurer Scott Morrison just days before the leadership spill last year. Picture: Kym Smith

Anthony Albanese has seized on a leaked speech given by former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull savaging Scott Morrison’s “incoherent” energy policy.

In Question Time on Monday, the Opposition Leader asked the Prime Minister to respond to his predecessor’s scathing assessment of the government’s current climate and energy plan.

“Does the Prime Minister agree that it is time government members start acting like real Liberals and took effective action on climate change?”

The Prime Minister ignored the swipe and said emissions per capita were at their lowest level in 29 years.

“We continue to implement the policies that were first commenced by prime minister Turnbull when it came to emissions reduction,” Mr Morrison said.

“And of course that had most significantly included getting on with the project of Snowy 2.0, which has been brought to a final investment decision by this government.

“We will meet or Paris targets, but importantly we will meet the Kyoto 2020 targets and we will be able to beat our commitments.”

The showdown came after Malcolm Turnbull reignited Liberal tensions with a call to arms speech, telling party members they must never be Scott Morrison’s “quiet Australians” and must instead be “loud Australians” who stand up for their values on climate change.

Mr Turnbull told a private gathering of Liberal Party members, including two Cabinet ministers, that the Morrison government’s climate change policy was not “coherent” and urged the party’s moderate faction “to stand up for our values and get the ­outcomes, deliver the government and the policies Australians deserve”.

The Daily Telegraph reported that Mr Turnbull told the 250-strong audience Australia must not follow the path of authoritarian populism.

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Mr Turnbull made the comments during a 20-minute speech on Thursday night at a Liberal forum at the Rushcutters Bay yacht club in Sydney which doubled as his farewell.

Former Turnbull minister Christopher Pyne introduced Mr Turnbull and moderate faction leader Trent Zimmerman was the event’s MC. Two cabinet ministers attended, Simon Birmingham and Paul Fletcher, along with outgoing cabinet minister Arthur Sinodinos, who is replacing Joe Hockey as US ambassador, and Mr Turnbull’s Liberal successor in Wentworth, Dave Sharma. State Liberals in attendance included Rob Stokes, Gareth Ward and ­Gabrielle Upton.

The Member for North Sydney Trent Zimmerman was MC at the Liberal event.

Federal Minister for Communications and the Arts, Paul Fletcher, also attended.

The speech, and reference to the “quiet Australians” who Mr Morrison credits for his surprise election victory, has been interpreted by Liberals as a swipe at the PM. Following his ousting in August last year Mr Turnbull pledged not to be driven by hate and become a “miserable ghost”.

In his speech, Mr Turnbull said: “What we have got at the moment with this single issue [of climate change] which is a fundamental ­existential one ... we have got ourselves into a situation where our party is not able to present a coherent view, much to the shock of the ­business community, the ­energy sector.

“Billions of dollars of investment are being held back as a result, the government is actually creating uncertainty in the investment market and it is because people are taking something which should be a question of fact and science and physics and engineering, as I used to say, engineering and economics, and turning it into a question of ideology.

“So the real challenge for the moderates for all of us, for the Liberals in the Liberal Party is the one thing we ­cannot be, now or ever, is quiet Australians.

Malcolm Turnbull with Simon Birmingham who is Trade Minister in the Morrison Cabinet.

“We have to be loud Australians and stand up for our values and get the outcomes, deliver the government and the policies Australians deserve.”

In his speech, Mr Turnbull also spoke of how he got a lot done in a short time as prime minister, ­including same-sex marriage, national security legislation and the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.

Mr Turnbull, who lives at Point Piper nearby the harbourside venue, arrived by water taxi, The Tele reports.