NSW poll proves environmentalists need more than dead fish

The Australian The Australian The Australian

Any illusions that a good heart on the environment, renewable energy and climate change would be enough to secure electoral victory were shattered by the NSW result.

The echo-chamber that thought dead fish and solar subsidies would carry Labor across the line has been exposed as talking largely to itself.

If the Murray-Darling drought crisis had an impact it was to push rural voters further to the right and into the hands of the more politically incorrect Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party.

Clearly, state and federal elections are fought on different issues and green groups have saved their money for the main event. But the NSW result challenges the wisdom of making the federal poll too heavily a climate change election, particularly in Queensland.

Bill Shorten and Barnaby Joyce both acknowledged the rise of smaller parties and independents.

But as vote counting started the predictions on the ABC were for Labor to storm home in the affluent suburb of Coogee and capture the north of the state due to concerns about climate change and dying fish in the Murray-Darling.

The wisdom was the Coalition would be punished for its environmental misdeeds. By the end of the night the opposite appeared true.

Voting in the key areas was too close to call with the ALP likely to limp across the line in Coogee, fail in Tweed Heads and with a question mark over Lismore.

When the Murray-Darling did feature voters broke to the right not left, more concerned about ­social costs and water allocations. It’s a problem for the Nationals but has delivered independents a government they can work with.

The reality for conservationists is Berejiklian’s re-election has dashed hopes for a major koala reserve on the mid-north coast and a wind-back of state forest logging.

It also has robbed climate change campaigners of the strong momentum they had going into the federal election.

The euphoria on climate change action on display after the Wentworth by-election now looks less certain.

Barnaby Joyce again highlighted how voter decisions, particularly in the bush, can be far removed from the daily commentary on environmental issues.

His message is of particular concern for Queensland where there is a to-the-death struggle over the Adani coalmine. The big question is how close Australian voters are to the sentiments playing out across Europe.

Last week in The Netherlands, a three-year-old party of immigration and climate sceptics unexpectedly swept provincial polls, transforming the outlook.

Germany has sided with pro-coal Poland and other Eastern ­European countries to stop the EU putting a high official public target on future emissions cuts.

The European parliament itself is bracing for a coming election ­result that could reshape the landscape on climate action.

Australia may well be at a different point of the cycle that once delivered government to Tony Abbott.

But there are lessons in the NSW result for environmentalists who find it difficult to consider a counter view.