Ley elected first woman to lead Liberals, nuclear advocate O’Brien is deputy, and baseload is the focus

Sussan Ley has become the first female leader of the federal Liberal Party, after narrowly beating rival Angus Taylor in a post-election party-room ballot, and immediate declared her support for reliable “baseload” power.

The former Liberal deputy defeated ex-shadow treasurer and former energy minister Angus Taylor by 29 votes to 25 in a party-room ballot of 54 members on Tuesday morning in Canberra following the crushing election defeat that saw former leader Peter Dutton lose his seat.

Ley’s deputy will be Ted O’Brien, the energy and climate spokesman who was the architect of the Coalition’s nuclear power proposal. He was elected after Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price decided not to contest the vacancy after Taylor failed to win the leadership contest.

Ley is the member for Farrer in south-west NSW, and like the senior members of the National Party, such as leader David Littleproud, Barnaby Joyce and Michael McCormack, represents a seat with a wealth of wind and solar project opportunities.

Littleproud retained his position as leader of the Nationals on Monday after beating off a challenge from Senator Canavan, who wants the Coalition to drop its support for net zero policies. Littleproud says the policy will be discussed.

In a press conference held on Tuesday afternoon, Ley declared her support for “reliable, baseload power”, despite the fact that the Australian Energy Market Operator, and most major utilities, say that the era of baseload is behind us, to be replaced by renewables and dispatchable power.

“There is no going back,” AEMO boss Daniel Westerman said last month. And the country’s biggest energy users agree, with Rio Tinto looking to replace coal power with wind, solar, and battery storage to cut costs and emissions.

Ley said Australia “needs to play its part” in reducing emissions, but warned that if energy policy is not done well, “we can crash the energy grid. We can cripple Australian manufacturing.” “

Asked again about net zero policies, Ley said: “Energy policy is part of our review. As I said, we have to have the right energy policy for the country. We have to start from the position of affordable, reliable baseload power.”

The Conversation notes that Ley has accepted the need for a renewable energy transition, but says it should be led by nuclear power and gas.

“She has suggested enormous wind turbines and large-scale solar farms are dominating the landscape in rural areas. She also claims renewable energy projects generate insurance risks because battery storage increases fire risks,” write academics Justine Bell-James and Samantha Hepburn.

“Ley has consistently voted against increasing investment in renewable energy, and is likely to seek to ensure policy addresses rising energy prices and reliability.”

The coalition now holds 42 of 150 lower house seats, less than half of Labor’s 93. Labor is targeting 82 per cent renewables by 2030, and its new cabinet and front bench was sworn in on Tuesday morning. Chris Bowen remains climate and energy minister.

Senator Price had teamed up with Taylor in a bid to become his second-in-command after defecting from the Naionals. AAP reports she arrived at her first Liberal partyroom meeting flanked by conservative senators Michaelia Cash, Jonno Duniam and Claire Chandler.

Her defection from the National Party to run as deputy angered former colleagues and some moderate Liberals who disagreed her brash style of politics would be a vote winner in the inner cities.

(with AAP)