Crunch time for Ley’s leadership as Liberals zero in
A meeting of Liberals could define the party’s long-term energy and climate plan, as MPs prepare for a showdown with coalition partner the Nationals.
Source: Sky News Australia
Sussan Ley’s leadership is on the line as Liberal MPs and senators meet on Wednesday for crucial talks on the party’s policy on climate change and energy.
The Liberals are widely expected to water down their commitment to net zero emissions by 2050, but will still retain some commitment to reducing carbon pollution.
A party room meeting has been called for midday in Canberra, where MPs will discuss their approach to the issue.
Energy and climate policy has increasingly become a proxy battle for Ley’s leadership, which some MPs say is under threat from rivals in the party’s conservative flank.
Senior Liberals have dismissed suggestions a challenge is mounting against Ley as Opposition Leader, despite one labelling a reported rival as an “exemplar” potential leader.
On Tuesday, shadow attorney-general Andrew Wallace said he backed Ley to remain in the role, but praised Angus Taylor who is widely seen as a possible challenger.
“He has been outstanding in [the defence portfolio] and I really do think that he has been an exemplar as a potential leader,” he told ABC TV.
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Liberal insiders have stressed Wednesday’s meeting will not include a vote, and will be only a discussion about policy.
The Liberal shadow ministry will meet on Thursday for the leadership team to finalise its energy plan.
The party will then need to negotiate with the Nationals. The Coalition partner has already promised to ditch net zero by 2050 and instead tie Australia’s carbon emissions to an average of OECD countries.
The Liberals and Nationals will attempt to thrash out a final agreement before a joint party room meeting on Sunday where the policy will, in theory, be officially endorsed.
After the Nationals agreed to dump net zero by 2050 as a policy, the Liberals have faced calls to follow suit, putting pressure on Ley’s leadership.
Coalition frontbencher Taylor was last week seen dining in Canberra with a splinter group of conservatives who have been vocal in their criticism of net zero, including Western Australian MP Andrew Hastie.
It sparked rumours Taylor or Hastie might be manoeuvring to challenge Ley pending the outcome of this week’s climate policy discussions.
Taylor brushed off suggestions he was planning a coup but was less than effusive in his support of his leader.
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“That’s just not right,” he told Nine’s Today program on Tuesday.
“I’m focused on making sure we’ve got the policies we need coming together to hold this government to account and to be contestable at the next election.”
Taylor ran in the leadership ballot for the Liberals following the party’s election loss in May, losing narrowly to Ley.
Wallace said his shadow cabinet colleague had set an example as a “vanquished” leadership candidate.
“Angus has not done one thing that I have seen, privately or publicly, that would confirm to me that he is trying to destabilise Sussan Ley,” he said.
Opposition communications spokeswoman Melissa McIntosh said she had always backed Ley as leader but played down suggestions of being involved as part of a future Liberal leadership ticket.
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong in having ambition in the future, but that doesn’t mean that you’re going to challenge or do anything about it right now,” she told Sky News.
“I’m happy where I am, and my laser focus is on being a strong voice for the people of my community.”
Any move to weaken Australia’s targets would be in breach of the Paris accord, University of Queensland climate and environmental law expert Justine Bell-James said.
“Under the Paris Agreement countries have to make these pledges every five years,” Bell-James said.
“Because of this mechanism that they call the ratchet mechanism, each successive one needs to be an increase in ambition.”
Latrobe University climate law expert Julia Dehm agreed, saying a future government would “certainly” be in breach of the Paris agreement if it went back on its promises.
Dehm said a ruling from the International Court of Justice in July that all countries had a legal obligation to tackle the “urgent and existential threat” of climate change was an additional barrier to watering down Australia’s climate targets.
“There is the potential for states to take Australia to the ICJ alleging that it hasn’t fulfilled its international climate obligations,” she said, adding a weaker emissions reduction goal would also cause reputational damage for the government.
-with AAP
