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The prospect of a Coalition split has been removed ahead of a joint partyroom meeting on Sunday, with Nationals Leader David Littleproud declaring victory in forcing the Liberals to drop their commitment to net zero emissions, while also claiming his party’s position could drive Coalition immigration policy.
“This isn’t the first time the Nationals have set the policy agenda and the Liberals have followed,” Littleproud said on Saturday, referring to his party’s decision to oppose the Voice to parliament months ahead of former Liberal leader Peter Dutton.
Nationals Leader David Littleproud and Opposition Leader Sussan Ley taking their seats for question time at Parliament House last week.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
Liberal Leader Sussan Ley announced on Thursday that her party would ditch net zero, wind back the Albanese government’s interim climate targets and scrap existing emissions reduction measures, such as pollution limits for big companies and support for electric vehicle buyers.
The net zero debate was viewed as a test of Ley’s leadership, with her most likely rivals conservative MPs Angus Taylor and Andrew Hastie.
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Ley was voted leader with the support of Moderate MPs but declined to express her own views, aiming to foster debate and avoid captain’s calls on policy.
“In essence, they’ve accepted the National party’s policy,” Littleproud said.
It had been an open question if the Liberals could form a position compatible with the Nationals, whose MPs unanimously rejected net zero and the government’s climate and energy policies, which are focused on boosting renewable energy development to reach ambitious emissions reduction goals, earlier this month.
The Liberals’ Right faction won the internal argument in a 60-40 split of MPs on Wednesday, with the party forming a plan that mirrored the Nationals’ and dashed hopes of Moderate faction MPs, who had argued to retain in policy at least an aspiration to reach net zero emissions.
Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen on Saturday accused the Coalition of ignoring scientists’ warnings on global warming, claiming “the National party is calling the shots” on Coalition policy.
The Liberals and Nationals are set to hold a joint partyroom meeting of the Coalition on Sunday. The meeting was called to finalise the opposition’s climate change and energy policies ahead of parliament’s final sitting days in the last week of November.
“Our two parties have got to a position that they accept what the National Party has done … I hope that tomorrow the Liberal Party and the National Party will get to consensus,” Littleproud said.
The Nationals split from the Liberals less than the three weeks after the Coalition’s stunning May election loss, citing major policy differences. The Coalition was reunited after a 48-hour separation.
Ley has had a testy relationship with the Nationals since winning the rural NSW seat of Farrer in the 2001 election, vacated by former Nationals MP and deputy prime minister Tim Fischer.
This masthead reported on Saturday that Ley faces a fresh test of her leadership, with Nationals and conservative Liberals now focused on immigration, blaming the current rate of intake for elevated house prices.
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Littleproud emphasised the point on Saturday.
“We should have an immigration policy that works for Australia and that’s what the National party will gain,” he said.
Ley pre-empted the challenge over migration when she spoke at the annual John Howard Lecture on Thursday.
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