Malcolm Turnbull has effectively killed the National Energy Guarantee

Malcolm Turnbull is flanked by Treasurer Scott Morrison (left) and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg at this morning’s press conference to announce energy policy changes. Photo: Kym Smith

Malcolm Turnbull’s explanation for not legislating or even regulating the emissions target for the national energy guarantee is neither logical nor politically tenable.

The Prime Minister has effectively killed the NEG and left responsibility to the States.

His excuse for this full retreat on his own commitment to enshrining emissions targets was a lack of “bipartisanship” — that is, Labor supported a 45 per cent emissions reduction target.

This is a charade that doesn’t survive a moment’s scrutiny.

Turnbull has been forced to drastically change his signature energy policy three times since passing it through the Coalition Party room six days ago.

The changes were not made to satisfy Labor demands on emissions targets or levels of investment in renewables — they were made because of rebellious demands from within Government ranks.

At no time during that six days did Turnbull seek to negotiate with Bill Shorten to get it through the Parliament.

Turnbull has been forced to capitulate — irreparably damaging his authority and credibility — because of the growing opposition to his policy which continued and even grew as he gave ground bit by bit.

What’s more, the more he was forced to surrender, the more dissatisfaction with his leadership grew, with the NEG acting as a proxy for an accumulation of bad decisions that have alienated Coalition supporters and angered MPs.

The other illogical and impossible-to-believe claims in the last few days have been the spin from Simon Birmingham and Christopher Pyne that there is only a handful of dissidents who have disrupted the policy and that there is no leadership danger for Turnbull.

Given that the Education Minister and Leader of the House, both fervent Turnbull supporters and plotters, are the architects of the disastrous relations with the Catholic Education system which is a greater threat to the Coalition than the failure of the NEG, it is obvious why they would deny reality and seek to limit the non-existent trouble to a couple of trouble makers.

The threat to the NEG and Turnbull’s leadership is serious, growing and becoming more certain.

False shifting of blame and denial of reality is not going to help Turnbull.