The unequivocal message sent to the Coalition by voters in the election is completely lost to new opposition leader Peter Dutton, leading to confused and extremely negative media performance.
Regardless, the electorate was looking for serious policy action to address the existential threat of climate change affecting Australia just as seriously as anywhere else.
And yet, during his first appearance on ABC TV’s Insiders in his new role, Dutton couldn’t support the government’s plan to set the 43 percent emissions reduction target by 2030.
This is curious, as the Greens, particularly the “blue” independents who took six blue-striped Liberals seats, believe the goal is far from what is required.
“Our view is that we will end up… by about 35%” @PeterDutton_MP on whether he supports Labor’s target of 43% of cuts in emissions by 2030 #Insiders #auspol pic.twitter.com/IcAmdmLlCr
— Insiders ABC (@InsidersABC) June 18, 2022
“How Dutton thinks he can win these seats back by sticking to policies that have been so dramatically rejected is curious,” said a senior Labor insider.
At the very least, the liberal leader’s explanation shows that he finds dealing with the changed, new order difficult.
In the interview, he said: “I’m making it very clear to the Labor Party now that we don’t support the legislation, what is the position we have taken to the Australian people, and millions of people have voted for us on that basis.”
Millions don’t, and this dog in the manger pose is a recipe for maintaining the status quo at its best.
The government doesn’t need parliament to legislate its goal. It staged a grand signing ceremony in front of business and union leaders late last week to notify the United Nations of Australia’s new goal.
Energy Secretary Chris Bowen believes that businesses want more certainty to invest.
But Energy Secretary Chris Bowen says giving the target legal weight would provide the security businesses desperately need to unlock medium- and long-term investment decisions.
The fact that, after extensive modeling and research, the Business Council has adopted a target of 46 to 50 percent by 2030 still does not lead to reconsidering the Coalition.
Ironically, the final result of the Senate could be a marriage of convenience for the Liberals to join the Greens in voting down Labour’s goal.
It puts on a rerun of the 2009 episode in which the Greens rejected Labour’s emissions-reduction plan because they found it “locked in failure”, while the Coalition denounced it because it was gripped by coal-champion climate deniers.
Greens leader Adam Bandt has sharpened his rhetoric against the Labor target after the Energy Security Board released a discussion paper on a “capacity mechanism”.
The proposed mechanism left open the option of paying for coal and gas-fired generators to remain in production until sufficient solid renewable energy exists.
Bowen says he is not interested in a political party in parliament and insists the proposal provides underpinnings to ensure the electricity system remains reliable “as we drive the massive transformation of more renewables into the grid”.
“That’s what we were chosen for, and that’s what we do,” he said.
The states appear to trust Bowen far more than his coalition predecessor, Angus Taylor, when he insists the temporary mechanism is not a means to extend fossil fuel use but rather a way to safely end fossil fuel dependence.
Greens leader Adam Bandt wants more action in line with climate science.
Bandt believes the election of more Greens and climate action independents means voters want Parliament to act more in line with climate science calling for more ambitious emissions reductions.
He may be right, but at the same time, would those same voters prefer not to see legally defined goals achieved by an unholy alliance of the Greens, the Coalition, and Pauline Hanson?
Bandt says the Greens want to be constructive and ready to work with Labor for better results, but “so far, Labor’s approach has been taking it or leaving it”.
He says this approach has been rejected by voters, but that is only up to a point, and much remains to be done.
The fact remains that Labor’s target and climate plans for renewables, the grid, and electric vehicles are much more ambitious than the Coalition’s – so nothing has changed since the election.
Albanian is convinced that he must consolidate his credibility by fulfilling his election promises rather than drastically changing or scrapping them during the first meeting of the new parliament.
Dutton’s adherence to policies that have been rejected by most voters – proportionately, the Coalition’s numbers in parliament are the lowest in 76 years – is certainly self-defeating.
In their media appearances since the election, neither Dutton nor his treasury spokesman Angus Taylor has accepted any blame for the crisis caused by the failing energy market after nine years in power.
It fits Labor and raises early questions about Dutton’s political nous.
Paul Bongiorno AM is a veteran of the Canberra Press Gallery with over 40 years of experience in Australian politics
