The fight is not over: Liberal Party moderates go to war on net zero
Moderate Liberals are warning Sussan Ley should not take their support for granted as they run an internal campaign to convince MPs the Coalition would be unelectable if it dumped net zero.
Moderate Liberals say Sussan Ley should not take their support for granted as they run an internal campaign to convince MPs the Coalition would be unelectable if it dumped net zero, with the Opposition Leader to face instability no matter what decision she makes on climate and energy policy.
Moderates and other climate-conscious Liberals are furious that Ms Ley has taken so long to land on a position on net zero, arguing that the delay has allowed the Nationals to set the agenda and built momentum for dropping the commitment.
While Ms Ley is expected to dump any commitment to net zero as top conservatives come out against the goal, moderates say the internal fight is “not over yet”.
This is despite deputy Liberal leader Ted O’Brien being in favour of dumping net zero, along with powerbrokers key to Ms Ley’s leadership: Alex Hawke and James McGrath.
The MPs supportive of net zero say the goal is required under Paris, with the Coalition to effectively back hitting the target in the second half of the century if it opts to stay within the international agreement. They also say the Liberals will fail to win back city seats if it drops the words “net zero” from its platform.
The Liberals are expected to finalise their policy by the sitting week beginning November 24, with a united Coalition position to be finalised soon after.
Liberal conservatives back the Nationals position for setting medium-term “ambitions” in line with the average emission reductions achieved by OECD nations.
The Nationals policy would see Australia aim to lower emissions by 30 to 40 per cent of 2005 levels by 2035, about half of Labor’s 62 to 70 per cent emissions reduction target.
The momentum for dropping net zero within the Liberals gathered pace on Sunday in a leadership meeting after it was strongly advocated by leading conservatives Angus Taylor, James Paterson, Jonathan Duniam and Michaelia Cash.
Only South Australian senator Anne Ruston backed keeping net zero in the meeting, with Mr Hawke, Senator McGrath and Mr O’Brien also signalling they were in favour of dumping it.
Anthony Albanese used parliament on Tuesday to lash out at the Coalition’s push to oppose net zero. “For many in business, there will be a lot of eye-rolling about this, simply because business had hoped that the broad fundamentals were settled,” the Prime Minister said in question time.
Liberal senator Andrew McLachlan told The Australian dumping net zero would be a retreat in the Coalition’s position since Tony Abbott signed up to Paris.
Senator McLachlan said former prime minister Scott Morrison and former energy minister Mr Taylor signed up to a net-zero by 2050 target and “made a promise on behalf of our nation to the rest of the world”.
“Instead of undermining their commitments to reduce emissions, we should be exploring ways to achieve it, while leaving no Australian behind,” Senator McLachlan said. “We were on track to reduce emissions under the stewardship of Angus Taylor. I fail to see what has changed, or why we need to retreat from targets we committed to in government.”
Moderate Andrew Bragg said Australia would be a “pariah” state if it left the Paris Agreement, which he said required signatories to commit to be hitting net zero by the end of the century.
“I don’t think this should turn into a silly debate about whether you’re going to use two words or not. I think we’re better than that in Australia,” he told Sky News.
“We’ve been part of these agreements for a long time, and I think it’s not the agreements themselves that are driving the bad domestic outcomes.”
Opposition industrial relations spokesman Tim Wilson said the Liberals should not be “National Party-lite”.
“Sussan did an excellent job in May… when the National Party sought to split off and rather than simply chasing them, she stood her ground because she knows that once she loses moral authority, you can’t get it back,” he told Sky News. “You need to stand up as the leader of the party for the Liberal Party and for its right to make its own decisions and to stand on its own two feet.”
Victorian Liberal senator Jane Hume said the party should “absolutely” retain a commitment to net zero.
“We have an international commitment and let’s face it, the National Party have said that they are still committed to the Paris Agreement. That’s a good thing,” Senator Hume said.
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