Liberals drift away from net zero, still obsessed with nuclear, after marathon talks

Australia does need to reduce its carbon emissions, Liberal members have agreed, but the party’s commitment to net zero by 2050 is in doubt after a meeting of backbenchers.

Around 25 to 30 MPs and senators held marathon talks with opposition energy spokesman Dan Tehan in Canberra on Friday. Tehan, speaking after the event, confirmed that nuclear is still top of mind.

“I think I would be speaking for pretty much every single one of my colleagues, we don’t think Labor is serious about reducing emissions if they won’t look at nuclear technology,” Tehan told reporters.

There were a number of notable no-shows at the three-hour talks, including the Nationals who were attending the first day of their federal conference.

Outspoken net-zero critic and potential leadership contender Andrew Hastie also didn’t attend because he was having surgery on his shoulder, which he hurt during a jiu jitsu lesson.

Speaking after the meeting, Tehan said it had been a productive few hours but wouldn’t give any commitments to net zero.

“There is a process that we have to go through, and it’s got to be a proper and thorough process,” he told reporters.

He said the party was likely to finalise its position six to nine months after the federal election, meaning a decision would likely be announced some time between November and January.

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said she wouldn’t accept “net zero at any cost,” claiming the government’s climate targets were not credible.

“If you don’t have affordable energy, you don’t have manufacturing,” she told reporters on the NSW Central Coast. “And if you have unaffordable energy, everything is unaffordable,” she said.

Asked about nuclear, Ley responded: “Nuclear is a technology that we should consider for the future. We are technology agnostic. It is not about one technology over another.”

Tehan has committed to further consultations with his Liberal and National colleagues as the coalition partners continue to thrash out their energy policy.

Source: AAP