Teal calls for snap climate election as rumours of cabinet reshuffle swirl

Anthony Albanese is facing calls to hold a snap election over the Coalition’s contentious nuclear plan as his opponent, Peter Dutton, readies for an early poll and rumours swirl about a cabinet reshuffle.

The prime minister has repeatedly said he wants to run the full length of the three-year term and hold an election around May next year. Labor MPs privately believe an election later this year remains a chance, but is not the preferred option.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, independent MP Monique Ryan and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Waiting until May to hold an election would be economically reckless, according to teal MP Monique Ryan, because Dutton’s nuclear plan had “jammed a stick into the spokes of the Australian economy” by throwing the green energy transition into doubt.

Ryan wrote to Albanese urging an early poll, allowing Australians to decide which climate mitigation policies they supported.

“I don’t make this request lightly,” Ryan said in her letter, which cites the Coalition-aligned business lobby groups’ warnings on the nuclear announcement stifling investment in renewable energy.

“Governments should, where possible, complete their full terms. I do not believe early elections should occur unless there are exceptional circumstances; however, these are exceptional circumstances, given the destabilising effect of the opposition’s policy announcements on our economy.

“Prime minister, the stakes have never been higher leading into a federal election. Our children and grandchildren’s economic future – their jobs, wellbeing, and prosperity – will be shaped by our response to climate change.

“Waiting until May next year to address these questions risks undermining the country’s economic future.”

This masthead’s Resolve Political Monitor last month showed Australians split on nuclear power with 41 per cent of voters backing the shift to atomic energy and 37 per cent rejecting it.

The survey showed 60 per cent of Coalition voters were in favour of nuclear while only 30 per cent of Labor voters and 28 per cent of Greens supporters agreed with it.

Dutton told Coalition colleagues at a party room meeting on Tuesday to be ready for an early election — pointing to Albanese’s decision not to attend a historic NATO summit in Washington next week as a sign the government was already campaigning.

Dutton had privately warned his MPs for several weeks that a September election was possible, according to three Liberals who spoke on background to detail party thinking.

The MPs cited three reasons for Dutton to sound the alarm: to put MPs on notice to ramp up fundraising efforts; to encourage shadow ministers to accelerate policy development; and to enforce discipline and focus.

Four Labor MPs, also speaking anonymously to discuss strategy, do not believe a September election is likely. However, they concede an election at the end of the year – for example, on December 7 – remains a possibility.

There has been growing chatter in Canberra since Monday of an imminent shake-up of Labor’s cabinet. Senior factional figures said it was not clear if Albanese was plotting a reshuffle, though they would not be surprised if an announcement occurred relatively soon after parliament rises for the long winter break at the end of this week.

Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney and Skills Minister Brendan O’Connor are both widely expected to retire at the end of this term of parliament, providing a trigger for a reshuffle. Burney said after the Voice referendum she was “more determined than ever” to keep working.

MPs have speculated that Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil, Immigration Minister Andrew Giles and Housing Minister Julie Collins could potentially be moved to different roles.

Agriculture Minister Murray Watt has been floated as an option to take either home affairs or housing. Labor sources said there was a view Watt, a barrister and combative parliamentary performer, should be given a role in which he was involved in daily political debate.

MPs suggested Giles could do a direct swap with Veterans Affairs Minister Matt Keogh or assistant minister Patrick Gorman and remain in the outer ministry.

The offices of Giles, O’Neil and O’Connor were contacted for comment.

Junior minister Malarndirri McCarthy and former NT deputy chief minister Marion Scrymgour are the two MPs being mentioned as a possible replacement for Burney.

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