3 months ago
4
NSW Liberal Leader Kellie Sloane says her language has “softened” around net zero targets because the term is not understood by most voters and communities are more worried about power prices and the “bungled” rollout of renewables.
In an interview with the Herald on Tuesday, Sloane said her previous staunch support of net zero emissions by 2050 when she was environment spokeswoman had shifted after “listening to communities”. Now, she thinks the words “net zero” can be confusing and often divisive, she said.
Kellie Sloane visited the state’s most marginal electorate on Tuesday, held by her colleague Jordan Lane.Credit: AFR
Sloane, who was installed as the new opposition leader on Friday following a messy leadership battle, will have to find a compromise with her Nationals colleagues over net zero, after the Liberals vowed to stick to the 2050 target while the junior Coalition partner is non-committal.
She has also confirmed that the Coalition has no intention of changing its position on workers’ compensation reforms, despite strong criticism from business groups, which said businesses and the charity sector would be hit with major hikes to their insurance premiums.
Loading
Sloane on Monday said it would be her preference to have the workers’ compensation debate finalised in this final week of parliament, which is sitting on reserve days to pass a host of bills.
Instead, she said it was now likely that the issue would be pushed into the new year because the opposition had taken a “principled stand” on refusing to increase the so-called whole person impairment, a measurement of how much an injury has permanently reduced a person’s function.
“What will be important is for us to look at the actuaries’ reports, which, I believe, will become public at the end of December or into early January, to see the true position of the workers’ compensation scheme,” Sloane said.
“Labor’s response to this has been quite frankly outrageous in removing support for the most seriously injured workers, and it’s a principled stand that the opposition has taken.”
Loading
After her election to NSW Parliament in 2023, Sloane was immediately included in then-leader Mark Speakman’s shadow cabinet, in the role of environment spokeswoman. In that position, she criticised Labor for threatening to walk away from ambitious climate targets set by the former Coalition government.
She said she still supported the Coalition’s renewables road map, but her approach to net zero was “not a change of tune, but a softening of my language”.
“We can keep our eyes on the horizon, firmly fixed on where we need to be in a quarter of a century from now, but in the here and now, as well as being ambitious for a clean future, we have to address some of those pain points in communities and say how we’re going to support families,” she said.
“I’ve been listening to communities who are really genuinely worried about the impact on them of what, we think, has been a bungled rollout [of renewables].”
She said she was “agnostic” about energy technology, including nuclear.
“It must be the continued rollout of renewable energy firmed by gas and unfortunately, the dirty and expensive and unreliable coal-fired power stations still need to be on at the moment,” Sloane said.
She said she would not be making “bold announcements” before devising how to pay for major infrastructure, but asset recycling and public private partnerships could be explored to fund such projects as new metros.
“I want to be clear, I do not have my eyes on any assets [to sell],” Sloane said.
The former health spokeswoman said she also wanted a stronger focus on men’s health.
Loading
“I’d like to see us come up with a comprehensive men’s health strategy. There was one developed in 2018 under the former Coalition government, and it’s been gathering dust,” Sloane said.
Sloane said she also wanted more support for families, including vouchers that had helped families cover the costs of playing community sport.
“I’d love to bring back Active Kids in some form because I don’t see that as a handout. I see that as an investment in preventative health, supporting youth mental health, as well supporting local grassroots sporting organisations,” Sloane said.
Labor scaled back the popular $50 Active Kids vouchers when it came to office.
On Tuesday, Sloane took a walk in the state’s most marginal seat, Ryde, held by Liberal MP Jordan Lane by 50 votes.
One stop was Lim’s Bakery in Eastwood, which Sloane declared served the best banh mi around. It also carries good luck, it seems. Staff pointed out that every politician who had stopped for lunch at the bakery went on to win the next election.
“A recipe for success, I’m told,” Sloane said.
Sloane made her intentions for the visit to Eastwood clear.“It felt like an election campaign today. For me, the election campaign has well and truly started,” she said.
Be the first to know when major news happens. Sign up for breaking news alerts on email or turn on notifications in the app.
Most Viewed in Politics
Loading
