Retiring NSW government minister Brad Hazzard has described the independents vying to win seats from Liberals in northern Sydney electorates as “a front for the Labor Party”, as he downplayed the threat of a teal wave at next year’s state poll.
The NSW government will campaign on its environmental credentials - including its commitment to halve emissions by 2030 - in its attempt to stave off the teal movement that helped the Coalition lose the federal election earlier this year.
The member for Wakehurst, Brad Hazzard.Credit: James Alcock
Simon Holmes à Court’s Climate 200 group on Sunday revealed it will target Liberal Environment Minister James Griffin in the state seat of Manly, and has selected independent challenger Joeline Hackman to replicate the local federal victories of Zali Steggall in Warringah and Sophie Scamps in Mackellar.
Other independent climate-focused groups are finalising candidates after two of Griffin’s colleagues, Infrastructure Minister Rob Stokes and Health Minister Hazzard, announced they would not recontest their seats of Pittwater and Wakehurst.
But Hazzard on Sunday downplayed the teal threat in his northern beaches seat. “It’s interesting isn’t it? The teals only seem to run in Liberal seats. They appear to be a front for the Labor Party,” he said, when asked if he thought Wakehurst would be vulnerable.
“All they’re really doing is trying to demolish good, Liberal candidates to support the Labor Party.
“In my seat, I think the local community knows that the history of the Liberal-Nationals in NSW is very pro-environment. I’ve been around for 32 years and I recollect that we were the very first government - not Labor - to introduce an environmental protection authority, nearly 30 years ago.”
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet also brushed off questions about whether the teal movement would threaten his MPs at the March state election, saying that judgment was for commentators to make, but he backed the state’s environmental credentials.
“I’m very passionate and believe that our candidates are incredibly strong, and our record speaks for itself,” Perrottet said.
“We have the strongest record on environment anywhere in the country. Our policies in relation to climate change, emission reductions, national parks, our return and earn scheme ... We have led the country on these policies.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said he was confident in his government’s environmental record.Credit: James Alcock
“So we’re very proud of our achievements in relation to that ... and we’ll be prosecuting that case.”
Climate 200 founder Holmes à Court last week said it had been “hard for the teals to find strong differentiation in states with almost-good-enough environmental credentials like Victoria and NSW”.
However, he said the NSW government had made three significant environmental missteps in recent weeks, providing a “gift” to the teals in next year’s NSW election.
Those were the resurrection of a native forestry bill which would have reignited the so-called “koala wars” which nearly split the Coalition in 2020, as well as plans to raise the Warragamba Dam wall, and the controversial appointment of a former Sydney Hydro boss to the premier’s office.
The premier on Sunday said he was confident of his government’s legacy, and the next steps would be proving that case to the electorate. “Halving emissions by 2030 was our policy. It wasn’t the federal government’s policy. We led that,” Perrottet said.
“Compared to the other governments around the country - Labor and Liberal - NSW Coalition has the strongest environmental credentials and climate change policies anywhere in the country, and I’m very proud to lead a government that does that,” he said.
“I’m very confident of our record and what comes next. Our job as a government is to prosecute the case.”
Climate 200 endorsed 19 candidates at the federal election, nine of whom were elected, and is supporting four candidates at the Victorian state election next weekend.
With Mary Ward