November 12, 2025 • 17 mins
The Coalition is in the middle of a major internal showdown over its climate policy, after the Nationals recently announced they were dumping their support for net zero.
Yesterday, Liberal MPs gathered in Canberra to discuss whether the party should maintain its commitment to net zero by 2050. Those talks will inform the Shadow Cabinet’s next decision, as it meets today to determine the party’s position.
But it’s a joint meeting with the Nationals on Sunday where the Coalition's final stance on net zero will be hashed out.
Today, we’ll bring you up to speed on what’s going on, and what it means for Australia’s future climate goals.
Hosts: Emma Gillespie and Billi FitzSimons
Producer: Orla Maher
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Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Already and this this is the Daily This is the
Daily ohs oh, now it makes sense.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Good morning and welcome to the Daily OS. It's Thursday,
the thirteenth of November. I'm Emma Gillespie.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
I'm belief at Simon's.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
The Coalition is in the middle of a major internal
showdown over its climate policy. This is after the Nationals,
of course, recently announced that they were dumping their support
for net zero. Yesterday, Liberal MPs gathered in Canberra to
discuss whether the party should maintain its commitment to net
zero emissions by twenty fifty and those talks will inform
(00:43):
the Shadow Cabinet's next decision as it meets today to
determine the party's position. But it's a joint meeting with
the Nationals on Sunday when we'll find out the Coalition's
final stance on net zero. And today we're going to
bring you up to speed on everything that's going on
and what it meant for Australia's future climate goals.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
This story has been moving so quickly, so it's been
a bit hard to keep up with all the different updates,
but it all centers around net zero, so I think
that's a good place to start. What does net zero
actually mean?
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Yet, I think a lot of people don't know what
net zero actually means, So this is an important piece
of the puzzle. Net zero means balancing the amount of
greenhouse gases that we put into the atmosphere with the
amount we remove. So by twenty fifty, the goal is
that any emissions Australia produces would be offset by removing
(01:41):
an equivalent amount from the atmosphere. Now, this is achieved
through things like renewable energy, carbon removal initiatives that includes reforestation.
There's a whole raft of measures that are part of that.
But it is important to note that net zero doesn't
mean zero emissions. It means the emissions that we can't
eliminate we balance through those removal activities.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
I think I've said this on the podcast before, but
whenever I think of net zero, I think of a bathtub,
and that bathtub is full of water, and if you
add more water, you have to take that amount out
of the bathtub as well, exactly, And that's how I
think of That is a great Archimedee's bath analogy.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Net zero, you may or may not know, is a
commitment that the government made in twenty twenty one under
Scott Morrison's leadership, so that was a coalition government, but
it's an initiative that has had the support of both
major parties. It's a target that the Coalition and Labor
have committed to until very recently.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
Until very recently, and that's why we're talking about it
today exactly. And we're focusing on the coalition's policy. And
so both the Liberal Party and the National Party, who
make up the coalition, we're both in agreement that net
zero by twenty fifty was a good thing and that
was a policy that they adopted and took two elections.
But now it appears that that's changed. Yeah, how has
(03:06):
it changed?
Speaker 2 (03:07):
Well, to put it simply, Billy, the Nationals has changed.
The Nationals has shifted its position, and that in turn
has changed everything. So earlier this month the Nationals party
room voted formally to abandon net zero by twenty fifty.
Now that was after months of uncertainty, division and signposting
(03:28):
from Nationals leaders that the target was going to be
dropped by the party. But this created immediate problems for
the Liberals because, as you mentioned, the Coalition is a
formal alliance between those two parties. They campaigned together, they
work together in opposition at the moment, or when they're
in government together. They are technically separate parties with their
(03:50):
own policies, but they need to come to the table
and agree on these kinds of issues. And when the
Nationals walked away from net zero, it left the Libs
in this really different position of either sticking with the
commitment and going without the support of their coalition partner,
or following the Nationals and dumping net zero two.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
And so why did the Nationals walk away from net zero?
Speaker 2 (04:14):
A big one for the Nationals here is the cost
of energy. So the Nats claim that household energy prices
have shot up under net zero policies, and so we
need to walk away from this commitment to drive down
household power prices. Now, energy experts flag that there are
a raft of reasons for energy prices increasing and net
(04:35):
zero is not solely to blame. David little Proud, who
is the leader of the Nationals, also believes that the
current net zero target is too ambitious. He thinks that
Australia is punching above its weight on a global scale,
that we're doing more than our fair share of emissions
reductions and that when you consider the amount that we
emit on a global scale, that there is an unfair imbalance.
(04:58):
Little Proud also said he wants to protect industries like mining, agriculture,
manufacturing in the regions which he argues are being quote
torn apart by the government's energy policies.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Okay, so that is the National Party where they stand.
They are united in walking away from net zero. And
then we have the Liberal Party who yesterday had the
meeting to decide what their position on net zero is.
We don't know the outcome of that meeting, but we
know they had it and from what I can see,
there is a lot of internal fighting within the Liberal
(05:30):
Party about their stance on this.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Yeah, is that right? It is far from clearcut. The
Liberal Party does not have the solid, uniform kind of
commitment that the Nationals has landed on two walk away,
and this has caused massive tension. The Liberal Party has
essentially been split into two camps on this issue within
its own party, let alone the two camps of the coalition.
(05:54):
So on one side of the Liberal Party right now,
you have the moderate faction. These are the nps that
typically represent urban or inner city seats where voters do
tend to care more about climate action and climate policy.
Now by and large, the moderate Liberals want to keep
the net zero commitment. They believe that it is a
good policy and that dumping it importantly could cost them
(06:16):
votes and could cost them more seats after an historic
loss at the recent federal election. On the other side,
you have the conservative or right faction of the Liberal Party,
and these MPs argue that net zero policies are driving
up energy prices. They want to prioritize lowering power bills
over these climate commitments, and they would be more aligned
(06:37):
with whether nationals have fallen on the issue. The Albanesi government.
In the meantime, the Labor Party is committed to net
zero by twenty fifty and it has said repeatedly that
abandoning the target would be reckless.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
So they've been quite critical of the fact that the
Liberal Party is still discussing whether or not to have
net zero exactly, and so just staying on the Liberal Party.
Who are some of the he figures on either side
of the factions in the Liberal Party.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Yeah, one of the most prominent moderates that we've heard
from is Andrew Bragg. A Liberal senator. He has actually
said that he would consider quitting the Shadow cabinet if
the party decides to pull out of the Paris Agreement.
Now that is the international Climate treaty, and the net
zero target is part of Australia's legal obligations under the treaty,
(07:26):
which is why you might hear net zero and Paris
kind of discussed interchangeably. But Andrew Bragg has been really
clear that he supports lowering omissions. He doesn't think Australia
should walk away from its international commitments. There are other
senior Liberal officials who have previously said firmly and confidently
that they support net zero, but in the recent weeks,
(07:46):
since these divisions have intensified, they have either walked back
those comments or have you know, quietened down on them
and said, let's leave it up to these meetings this
week to find out what will happen on the Conservative side.
So the Liberal policians who want to walk away from
net zero, you have Shadow Cabinet ministers like Angus Taylor
and Michaylia Cash. They have spoken in favor of dumping
(08:08):
net zero at a recent leadership meeting. According to a
report by the Australian. And then in between all of
that we have the Opposition leader, Susan Lee, who is
frankly Billy caught in the middle of all of this,
trying to hold the party and the coalition together.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
She's trying to unite a party that does not want
to be united, seemingly. So we had this meeting yesterday
of the Liberal Party MPs. I know we mentioned before
that we don't really know what happened yet, but what
do we know?
Speaker 2 (08:39):
So we do know that yesterday at midday the Liberal
Party room met in Canberra. It's actually not a sitting week,
so politicians had flown home to their electorates and they
were recalled to Canberra specifically for these talks. Essentially, what
happened yesterday was a chance for all Liberal MPs and
senators to share their views on whether they think net
(09:02):
zero is worth sticking to or whether the party should
walk away. So it was a chance for everyone to
express their opinions hear each other out. That included some
research that the party conducted on voters' views on climate action,
so that was presented. The Shadow Energy Minister Dan Teen
also presented some findings from a policy review that he
(09:23):
has been leading, but no decisions were made. Like I said,
this was just an opportunity for everyone to have their
say before the leadership makes a call, and that is
happening later today.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
So there is another meeting today where the leadership team
of the Liberal Party will actually decide what the policy is.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Yeah, there is a lot of scheduling here to get
your head around. So once you figure out what net
zero is and why half of the coalition wants to
walk away from it, then you have to figure out
the process of how they're going to come to the table.
So the Liberal Shadow Cabinet will meet today, that's the
senior leadership team of the party, and they will try
to land on a policy position based on everything they've
(10:03):
heard at the previous day's meeting. So they'll try to
bring together the learnings and the opinions that were presented yesterday.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
I quite like that system here everyone's perspectives and then
go away and make a decision. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
I suppose it's a nice idea in theory if it works,
But there are ultimately three big questions for shadow cabinet
to answer. First, they need to figure out do they
stay committed to twenty fifty. Is net zero twenty fifty
a target for them or are they dumping it? Second,
what happens to Australia's commitment to the Paris Agreement? So
(10:37):
we have international, legally binding obligations. How will the coalition
move forward with the international climate treaty that Australia signed?
And Third, how are they going to lower power prices?
So if they abandoned net zero or not, what will
the strategy be there? Because the Liberal Party has tabled
that that is a key priority.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
And just in case anyone is confused when we say
they are deciding whether or not to abandon net zero,
this is if they got into government at the next
election in Australia, which isn't until twenty twenty eight, they
are deciding what their policies to take to that election are. So,
because they're not in government at the moment, it's not
immediately a tangible decision.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
There won't be an immediate impact on how Australia's climate
targets are being reached, but a lot could change in
the future.
Speaker 1 (11:28):
Yes, definitely. Okay, so that is the meeting that is today,
But then you said that there is another meeting. We
love all the meetings. There is another meeting on Sunday,
and that is with the Nationals.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
Yes, so Sunday is the big one if you have
to think about it in that way. Today is when
the Liberal Party will decide what its approach to net
zero will be. The Nationals has already decided its approach,
which is abandoned. On Sunday, those two parties will come
together as the coalition. They will hold a joint meeting
(12:04):
where as a whole they will determine their final position
on net zero. This meeting could be very short. It
could be quick and easy if the Liberals decide today
the Shadow Cabinet decides that they're going to walk away
from net zero. But if there is a point of
tension that contradicts what the Nationals have decided, then it
could be a long day. The challenge is that whatever
(12:27):
the Liberals decide, they then need to negotiate with the Nationals,
and we already know where the Nats stand. So even
if the Liberals decide that they want to keep net zero,
they'll have to figure out how that works with their
coalition partners. And this is where Susan Lee's leadership will
really be tested. Even further she needs to find that
position that doesn't split the coalition, but also that doesn't
(12:51):
alienate too many of her colleagues and ultimately too many
future potential voters.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Yeah, you just brought up splitting the coalition. I was
going to say, we have already seen this year that
net zero is an issue that the Coalition is willing
to partly split over. They then came back together, but
it is within possibility that they could split again over
net zero. Experts saying that.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Yeah, there is a genuine concern about whether the Coalition
can come out the other side of this issue. They
obviously did experience that brief split earlier this year that
you mentioned Billy. Net zero is believed to have been
a factor in that breakup. So if the Liberals don't
want to dump net zero or don't want to shift
on the target, you could see that conversation rearing up again.
(13:40):
There's also a world where, you know, if Liberals dump
net zero in line with what the Nationals are calling for,
moderate MPs may become increasingly vocal, potentially moved to the
cross bench. That would be a big hit to the Liberals,
very diminished presence in parliament. Environment Minister Murray Watt. Of course,
Labor Minister has called this internal debate another example of
(14:04):
the tail wagging the dog. So his implication there is
the National Party, despite the fact that it has a
smaller representation in Parliament, that it's dictating the terms of
the Liberal Party's agenda. Many commentators are also pointing out
that Susan Lee is in a lose lose position as
opposition leader. She has inherited these problems. She is leading
(14:26):
a coalition that is divided after a historic election loss.
And what next for her is anyone's guess.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
I think that's a whole other podcast and it's super
interesting what is happening with Susan Lee's leadership. She obviously
says that she still has the support of the party,
but there have been some MPs who have not supported
her very publicly. Yeah, but yeah, I think that's a
whole other podcast potentially. But just to finish on this,
I know he briefly touched on it before, but what
(14:55):
does this mean for Australia's climate policies because they're not
in government, Yes, but it would still impact I guess
the landscape.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
Exactly and immediately the impact would be uncertainty so this
would fundamentally change the climate policy landscape in Australia. And
while the Coalition is not in government, this creates policy uncertainty,
especially in the world of business investors overseas, investors potentially
looking to spend money long term on you know, local
(15:27):
renewable projects, clean energy infrastructure. If there is a signal
of a dramatic shift in Australia's political future when it
comes to climate targets, that could impact a lot of
that investment. That could see a lot of that money
dry up depending on who wins the next election in
twenty twenty eight. There's also the question of Australia's international standing.
(15:49):
What happens to the Paris Agreement. We are a signatory
to that treaty. Walking away from net zero would put
us at odds with most developed nations. There is so
much up in But I guess any suggestion that this
wouldn't matter because the Coalition is not in government is
possibly a little naive. We have to really wait for
(16:09):
Sunday to hear where the coalition will land. That's when
we'll find out their official position, and there'll be plenty
to say from there.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
Well, we will keep a close eye on today's meeting,
and then on Sunday's meeting, and on the decision that
comes out of that. Emma, thank you for explaining that.
Thank you Philly, and thank you so much for listening
to this episode of The Daily Ods. We'll be back
in your ease this afternoon with your evening headlines, but
until then, have a great day and keep an eye
on those meetings. My name is Lily Maddon and I'm
(16:43):
a proud Aarunda Bungelung Calcuttin woman from Gadigol Country. The
Daily os acknowledges that this podcast is recorded on the
lands of the Gatigol people and pays respect to all
Aboriginal and Torres Strait island and nations. We pay our
respects to the first peoples of these countries, both past
and present.
Already and this this is the Daily This is the
Daily ohs oh, now it makes sense.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Good morning and welcome to the Daily OS. It's Thursday,
the thirteenth of November. I'm Emma Gillespie.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
I'm belief at Simon's.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
The Coalition is in the middle of a major internal
showdown over its climate policy. This is after the Nationals,
of course, recently announced that they were dumping their support
for net zero. Yesterday, Liberal MPs gathered in Canberra to
discuss whether the party should maintain its commitment to net
zero emissions by twenty fifty and those talks will inform
(00:43):
the Shadow Cabinet's next decision as it meets today to
determine the party's position. But it's a joint meeting with
the Nationals on Sunday when we'll find out the Coalition's
final stance on net zero. And today we're going to
bring you up to speed on everything that's going on
and what it meant for Australia's future climate goals.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
This story has been moving so quickly, so it's been
a bit hard to keep up with all the different updates,
but it all centers around net zero, so I think
that's a good place to start. What does net zero
actually mean?
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Yet, I think a lot of people don't know what
net zero actually means, So this is an important piece
of the puzzle. Net zero means balancing the amount of
greenhouse gases that we put into the atmosphere with the
amount we remove. So by twenty fifty, the goal is
that any emissions Australia produces would be offset by removing
(01:41):
an equivalent amount from the atmosphere. Now, this is achieved
through things like renewable energy, carbon removal initiatives that includes reforestation.
There's a whole raft of measures that are part of that.
But it is important to note that net zero doesn't
mean zero emissions. It means the emissions that we can't
eliminate we balance through those removal activities.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
I think I've said this on the podcast before, but
whenever I think of net zero, I think of a bathtub,
and that bathtub is full of water, and if you
add more water, you have to take that amount out
of the bathtub as well, exactly, And that's how I
think of That is a great Archimedee's bath analogy.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Net zero, you may or may not know, is a
commitment that the government made in twenty twenty one under
Scott Morrison's leadership, so that was a coalition government, but
it's an initiative that has had the support of both
major parties. It's a target that the Coalition and Labor
have committed to until very recently.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
Until very recently, and that's why we're talking about it
today exactly. And we're focusing on the coalition's policy. And
so both the Liberal Party and the National Party, who
make up the coalition, we're both in agreement that net
zero by twenty fifty was a good thing and that
was a policy that they adopted and took two elections.
But now it appears that that's changed. Yeah, how has
(03:06):
it changed?
Speaker 2 (03:07):
Well, to put it simply, Billy, the Nationals has changed.
The Nationals has shifted its position, and that in turn
has changed everything. So earlier this month the Nationals party
room voted formally to abandon net zero by twenty fifty.
Now that was after months of uncertainty, division and signposting
(03:28):
from Nationals leaders that the target was going to be
dropped by the party. But this created immediate problems for
the Liberals because, as you mentioned, the Coalition is a
formal alliance between those two parties. They campaigned together, they
work together in opposition at the moment, or when they're
in government together. They are technically separate parties with their
(03:50):
own policies, but they need to come to the table
and agree on these kinds of issues. And when the
Nationals walked away from net zero, it left the Libs
in this really different position of either sticking with the
commitment and going without the support of their coalition partner,
or following the Nationals and dumping net zero two.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
And so why did the Nationals walk away from net zero?
Speaker 2 (04:14):
A big one for the Nationals here is the cost
of energy. So the Nats claim that household energy prices
have shot up under net zero policies, and so we
need to walk away from this commitment to drive down
household power prices. Now, energy experts flag that there are
a raft of reasons for energy prices increasing and net
(04:35):
zero is not solely to blame. David little Proud, who
is the leader of the Nationals, also believes that the
current net zero target is too ambitious. He thinks that
Australia is punching above its weight on a global scale,
that we're doing more than our fair share of emissions
reductions and that when you consider the amount that we
emit on a global scale, that there is an unfair imbalance.
(04:58):
Little Proud also said he wants to protect industries like mining, agriculture,
manufacturing in the regions which he argues are being quote
torn apart by the government's energy policies.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Okay, so that is the National Party where they stand.
They are united in walking away from net zero. And
then we have the Liberal Party who yesterday had the
meeting to decide what their position on net zero is.
We don't know the outcome of that meeting, but we
know they had it and from what I can see,
there is a lot of internal fighting within the Liberal
(05:30):
Party about their stance on this.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Yeah, is that right? It is far from clearcut. The
Liberal Party does not have the solid, uniform kind of
commitment that the Nationals has landed on two walk away,
and this has caused massive tension. The Liberal Party has
essentially been split into two camps on this issue within
its own party, let alone the two camps of the coalition.
(05:54):
So on one side of the Liberal Party right now,
you have the moderate faction. These are the nps that
typically represent urban or inner city seats where voters do
tend to care more about climate action and climate policy.
Now by and large, the moderate Liberals want to keep
the net zero commitment. They believe that it is a
good policy and that dumping it importantly could cost them
(06:16):
votes and could cost them more seats after an historic
loss at the recent federal election. On the other side,
you have the conservative or right faction of the Liberal Party,
and these MPs argue that net zero policies are driving
up energy prices. They want to prioritize lowering power bills
over these climate commitments, and they would be more aligned
(06:37):
with whether nationals have fallen on the issue. The Albanesi government.
In the meantime, the Labor Party is committed to net
zero by twenty fifty and it has said repeatedly that
abandoning the target would be reckless.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
So they've been quite critical of the fact that the
Liberal Party is still discussing whether or not to have
net zero exactly, and so just staying on the Liberal Party.
Who are some of the he figures on either side
of the factions in the Liberal Party.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Yeah, one of the most prominent moderates that we've heard
from is Andrew Bragg. A Liberal senator. He has actually
said that he would consider quitting the Shadow cabinet if
the party decides to pull out of the Paris Agreement.
Now that is the international Climate treaty, and the net
zero target is part of Australia's legal obligations under the treaty,
(07:26):
which is why you might hear net zero and Paris
kind of discussed interchangeably. But Andrew Bragg has been really
clear that he supports lowering omissions. He doesn't think Australia
should walk away from its international commitments. There are other
senior Liberal officials who have previously said firmly and confidently
that they support net zero, but in the recent weeks,
(07:46):
since these divisions have intensified, they have either walked back
those comments or have you know, quietened down on them
and said, let's leave it up to these meetings this
week to find out what will happen on the Conservative side.
So the Liberal policians who want to walk away from
net zero, you have Shadow Cabinet ministers like Angus Taylor
and Michaylia Cash. They have spoken in favor of dumping
(08:08):
net zero at a recent leadership meeting. According to a
report by the Australian. And then in between all of
that we have the Opposition leader, Susan Lee, who is
frankly Billy caught in the middle of all of this,
trying to hold the party and the coalition together.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
She's trying to unite a party that does not want
to be united, seemingly. So we had this meeting yesterday
of the Liberal Party MPs. I know we mentioned before
that we don't really know what happened yet, but what
do we know?
Speaker 2 (08:39):
So we do know that yesterday at midday the Liberal
Party room met in Canberra. It's actually not a sitting week,
so politicians had flown home to their electorates and they
were recalled to Canberra specifically for these talks. Essentially, what
happened yesterday was a chance for all Liberal MPs and
senators to share their views on whether they think net
(09:02):
zero is worth sticking to or whether the party should
walk away. So it was a chance for everyone to
express their opinions hear each other out. That included some
research that the party conducted on voters' views on climate action,
so that was presented. The Shadow Energy Minister Dan Teen
also presented some findings from a policy review that he
(09:23):
has been leading, but no decisions were made. Like I said,
this was just an opportunity for everyone to have their
say before the leadership makes a call, and that is
happening later today.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
So there is another meeting today where the leadership team
of the Liberal Party will actually decide what the policy is.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Yeah, there is a lot of scheduling here to get
your head around. So once you figure out what net
zero is and why half of the coalition wants to
walk away from it, then you have to figure out
the process of how they're going to come to the table.
So the Liberal Shadow Cabinet will meet today, that's the
senior leadership team of the party, and they will try
to land on a policy position based on everything they've
(10:03):
heard at the previous day's meeting. So they'll try to
bring together the learnings and the opinions that were presented yesterday.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
I quite like that system here everyone's perspectives and then
go away and make a decision. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
I suppose it's a nice idea in theory if it works,
But there are ultimately three big questions for shadow cabinet
to answer. First, they need to figure out do they
stay committed to twenty fifty. Is net zero twenty fifty
a target for them or are they dumping it? Second,
what happens to Australia's commitment to the Paris Agreement? So
(10:37):
we have international, legally binding obligations. How will the coalition
move forward with the international climate treaty that Australia signed?
And Third, how are they going to lower power prices?
So if they abandoned net zero or not, what will
the strategy be there? Because the Liberal Party has tabled
that that is a key priority.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
And just in case anyone is confused when we say
they are deciding whether or not to abandon net zero,
this is if they got into government at the next
election in Australia, which isn't until twenty twenty eight, they
are deciding what their policies to take to that election are. So,
because they're not in government at the moment, it's not
immediately a tangible decision.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
There won't be an immediate impact on how Australia's climate
targets are being reached, but a lot could change in
the future.
Speaker 1 (11:28):
Yes, definitely. Okay, so that is the meeting that is today,
But then you said that there is another meeting. We
love all the meetings. There is another meeting on Sunday,
and that is with the Nationals.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
Yes, so Sunday is the big one if you have
to think about it in that way. Today is when
the Liberal Party will decide what its approach to net
zero will be. The Nationals has already decided its approach,
which is abandoned. On Sunday, those two parties will come
together as the coalition. They will hold a joint meeting
(12:04):
where as a whole they will determine their final position
on net zero. This meeting could be very short. It
could be quick and easy if the Liberals decide today
the Shadow Cabinet decides that they're going to walk away
from net zero. But if there is a point of
tension that contradicts what the Nationals have decided, then it
could be a long day. The challenge is that whatever
(12:27):
the Liberals decide, they then need to negotiate with the Nationals,
and we already know where the Nats stand. So even
if the Liberals decide that they want to keep net zero,
they'll have to figure out how that works with their
coalition partners. And this is where Susan Lee's leadership will
really be tested. Even further she needs to find that
position that doesn't split the coalition, but also that doesn't
(12:51):
alienate too many of her colleagues and ultimately too many
future potential voters.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Yeah, you just brought up splitting the coalition. I was
going to say, we have already seen this year that
net zero is an issue that the Coalition is willing
to partly split over. They then came back together, but
it is within possibility that they could split again over
net zero. Experts saying that.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Yeah, there is a genuine concern about whether the Coalition
can come out the other side of this issue. They
obviously did experience that brief split earlier this year that
you mentioned Billy. Net zero is believed to have been
a factor in that breakup. So if the Liberals don't
want to dump net zero or don't want to shift
on the target, you could see that conversation rearing up again.
(13:40):
There's also a world where, you know, if Liberals dump
net zero in line with what the Nationals are calling for,
moderate MPs may become increasingly vocal, potentially moved to the
cross bench. That would be a big hit to the Liberals,
very diminished presence in parliament. Environment Minister Murray Watt. Of course,
Labor Minister has called this internal debate another example of
(14:04):
the tail wagging the dog. So his implication there is
the National Party, despite the fact that it has a
smaller representation in Parliament, that it's dictating the terms of
the Liberal Party's agenda. Many commentators are also pointing out
that Susan Lee is in a lose lose position as
opposition leader. She has inherited these problems. She is leading
(14:26):
a coalition that is divided after a historic election loss.
And what next for her is anyone's guess.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
I think that's a whole other podcast and it's super
interesting what is happening with Susan Lee's leadership. She obviously
says that she still has the support of the party,
but there have been some MPs who have not supported
her very publicly. Yeah, but yeah, I think that's a
whole other podcast potentially. But just to finish on this,
I know he briefly touched on it before, but what
(14:55):
does this mean for Australia's climate policies because they're not
in government, Yes, but it would still impact I guess
the landscape.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
Exactly and immediately the impact would be uncertainty so this
would fundamentally change the climate policy landscape in Australia. And
while the Coalition is not in government, this creates policy uncertainty,
especially in the world of business investors overseas, investors potentially
looking to spend money long term on you know, local
(15:27):
renewable projects, clean energy infrastructure. If there is a signal
of a dramatic shift in Australia's political future when it
comes to climate targets, that could impact a lot of
that investment. That could see a lot of that money
dry up depending on who wins the next election in
twenty twenty eight. There's also the question of Australia's international standing.
(15:49):
What happens to the Paris Agreement. We are a signatory
to that treaty. Walking away from net zero would put
us at odds with most developed nations. There is so
much up in But I guess any suggestion that this
wouldn't matter because the Coalition is not in government is
possibly a little naive. We have to really wait for
(16:09):
Sunday to hear where the coalition will land. That's when
we'll find out their official position, and there'll be plenty
to say from there.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
Well, we will keep a close eye on today's meeting,
and then on Sunday's meeting, and on the decision that
comes out of that. Emma, thank you for explaining that.
Thank you Philly, and thank you so much for listening
to this episode of The Daily Ods. We'll be back
in your ease this afternoon with your evening headlines, but
until then, have a great day and keep an eye
on those meetings. My name is Lily Maddon and I'm
(16:43):
a proud Aarunda Bungelung Calcuttin woman from Gadigol Country. The
Daily os acknowledges that this podcast is recorded on the
lands of the Gatigol people and pays respect to all
Aboriginal and Torres Strait island and nations. We pay our
respects to the first peoples of these countries, both past
and present.
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