Tony Abbott: NEG has priorities upside down

Tony Abbott has questioned the objectives of the NEG and refused to rule out crossing the floor over the vote.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott. Picture: AAP

Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott has warned of consequences similar to the results of the Longman by-election when the Liberal Party fails to be a “strong party of the centre-right”, while reiterating the possibility that he could cross the floor over the National Energy Guarantee vote.

EXPLAINER: How does the NEG work?

In an interview with Graham Richardson on Sky News on Wednesday night, the member for Warringah blamed a divergence from a “strong, distinct, vigorous and sensible” Liberal Party for pushing voters traditionally of the centre-right towards One Nation.

He said that while John Howard successfully kept One Nation at bay when it first emerged by championing those qualities, the current government was now losing voters to Pauline Hanson.

Abbott criticised those who “demonised” One Nation voters, saying the party appealed to “decent people” who are concerned with some of the issues tackling the country,

Bringing up the issue of increasing power prices as one such area that the government had been failing, Abbott questioned the objectives of the National Energy Guarantee, and refused to rule out the possibility that he would cross the floor when it came to Parliament.

Pushed by host Graham Richardson that it was not in his “DNA to cross the floor,” Abbott responded that crossing the floor was not a forbidden idea within the Liberal Party.

He criticised the National Energy Guarantee policy for having its “priorities upside down”, calling for a policy that instead preferences reductions in price and security of supply as opposed to reducing coal emissions.

.@TonyAbbottMHR: The only time the power prices came down in the last decade was when the Abbott government abolished the carbon tax. The problem is, there's a focus on emissions reduction, not pricing.

MORE: https://t.co/eX5aKMOxDh #Richo pic.twitter.com/eMLXnkc39e

— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) August 8, 2018

He spoke of the need to not “just keep coal in the system” for the next few years, but for a “long time to come.”

Abbott said the guarantee had been pitched to win favour from Labor states, and said that “contest”, rather than consensus, was the best way to win an election.

On the issue of population growth after Australia reached 25 million citizens on Tuesday night, Abbott spoke of the need to reduce the rate of increase, saying that while many are in favour of migration, “that doesn’t mean you have to be in favour of the current rate of migration.”

.@TonyAbbottMHR: We hit the 25 million mark in 16 years rather than 40. We haven't built 40 years worth of infrastructure in 16 years. The problem is not migration, but it doesn't mean we have to be in favour of the current rate of migration.

MORE: https://t.co/eX5aKMOxDh #Richo pic.twitter.com/JNJP4mxILf

— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) August 8, 2018

He warned that Labor’s priorities on this issue were shaped by the party being “in the pockets of ethnic activists.”