NSW Liberals leader backs ‘traditions’, but won’t budge on zero

Mark Speakman has promised big-spending infrastructure and privatisation in NSW, as party members question his ability to defeat Labor.

Mark Speakman maintains Liberals must stick with the party’s traditional values. Picture: Nikki Short

NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman has endorsed the clarion call from Angus Taylor and James Paterson to Liberals to stick with the party’s traditional values, as he says backing out of a net-zero emissions target in NSW would be disastrous for his electoral chances in 2027.

Mr Speakman – who is subject to continued rumblings over his leadership despite being in a stronger electoral position than his counterparts in opposition in other states – also laid out his ­vision to be a big-spending premier, saying he was open to reviving privatisation in the mould of former state Liberal leaders Mike Baird and Gladys Berejiklian.

Mr Speakman backed recent interventions by Mr Taylor and Senator Paterson in the party’s future direction, echoing that the Liberals couldn’t be “Labor-lite” and had to focus on “issues that matter to everyday people”.

“I agree with broadly what they said about the Liberal Party being the custodian of two great ­traditions: a conservative tradition that respects our tried and tested institutions but has them adapt over time; but also a liberal tradition that focuses on empowering individuals … It’s ­enterprise, rather than government that creates wealth,” he said.

Mr Speakman said he wouldn’t “stand on the sidelines and (give) advice to federal colleagues” but he wanted the state party to be “in the centre”. “But by that, I don’t mean Labor-lite or woke; I mean focusing on the issues that matter to everyday people, like cost of living, housing, transport”.

Amid ruptures in the federal Coalition over net zero – inflamed by former leader Barnaby Joyce’s impending ­departure from the Nationals – Mr Speakman said no state ­Coalition MPs had requested that support for the emissions target be revisited. “Net zero has been Coalition policy since 2016 in NSW; we should not go back on that,” he said.

Despite entering the next election in a better electoral position than his Liberal counterparts in other states, rumblings remain over Mr Speakman’s leadership. Picture: Nikki Short

“No Coalition MP has said to me ‘we should abandon net zero at a state level’, so I’m not giving advice about what the (federal party) should do, but at a state level, there is no suggestion.”

Mr Speakman watered down concerns of a splitting of the conservative vote in NSW, after members of Nationals branches in regional NSW detected to One Nation earlier this month amid the federal net-zero debate and Mr Joyce’s public comments about the target. ”It’d be terrible if it happened. I don’t feel here in NSW there’s that risk … Obviously, there’ll be policy debates within the Coalition, but whatever is happening federally, I don’t see that sort of thing happening in our NSW party …” he said.

The Minns government remains in minority by one seat in NSW, leaving the state Coalition in a stronger position than counterparts in Victoria (29 Coalition seats to Labor’s 54), South Australia (13 to 28), and Western Australia’s rump opposition of just 13 Coalition MPs against Labor’s 46.

Mr Speakman declared he would loosen the state’s purse strings to build new multi-billion infrastructure such as metro rail lines, declaring a small target strategy wouldn’t allow him to usurp Labor. “We will build metros … We’ll explain how we how we’re going to do it, because if we don’t, (Labor) will run the mother of all scare campaigns,” he said.

He added that privatisation – or “asset recycling” – would not be ruled out.

The NSW Opposition Leader has declared he won’t run a ‘small target’ campaign in 2027. Picture: Flavio Brancaleone

“We’ve made no decisions going forward, but we wouldn’t have a huge amount of the infrastructure we’ve got now if we didn’t have asset recycling,” he said.

Suggestions of a leadership change before Christmas remain within the party, with first-term MP Kellie Sloane the most popular alternative – although the member for Vaucluse maintains she is not interested in the role.

“There’s no hatred or animosity within the party towards Mark – he’s a nice bloke … he’s just not cutting through,” one NSW Liberal MP said. “Like the Labor Party, we might go through four more (leaders) ’til we find one that will (cut through).”

Liberal members fear a poor result at the 2027 election will consign the them to at least three terms in opposition. It also comes amid disquiet from MPs over a lack of policy following almost three years in opposition.

“When you’ve got a strong Premier like Minns, how do you actually defeat that?” another Liberal MP said. “You do it through policy … there’s been a drift (on policy) and we’ve got a year to progress our position on things.”

The Liberal added there was a “general consensus” of concern over a lack of cut-through from the party’s NSW leadership.

Mr Speakman declared he wouldn’t “keep looking over my shoulder” regarding a leadership challenge. “My focus is on policy development and arguing the case and differentiating ourselves to the (Minns) government,” the Opposition Leader said. “At the end of the day, the best way to succeed politically is to be focused on people and their needs and not focused on ourselves.”