Andrew Hastie, a high-profile Liberal frontbencher, said he could quit or be sacked from the Coalition's shadow cabinet if Opposition Leader Sussan Ley does not abandon a party target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
The Western Australian MP made the comments in an interview on ABC Radio Perth this week, saying the policy would render his role "untenable" and that he had "nailed my colours to the mast." "That leaves me without a job," Hastie said when asked how he would react if the Coalition pressed on with the net zero target.
Hastie, who is regarded by some within the party as a potential future leader, said his primary political mission was to strengthen Australia's economy and that energy security and affordability were his "bottom line." He called net-zero policy "a straitjacket for our economy and our country" and said he was "quite passionate about it."
The warning follows a decision by Ley to order a review of the Coalition's climate policy after the party's poor performance in the May election. The review is being led by the Coalition's energy spokesman, Dan Tehan, who has said the party is working "at pace" to develop a new position.
Hastie's stance adds to growing pressure on Ley to clarify the Coalition's approach to climate policy. Australia's first National Climate Risk Assessment was published on Monday and warned that climate change could reduce property values by more than A$600 billion by 2050 and increase heat-related deaths by over 400 percent. Hastie dismissed the assessment as "climate alarmism," saying it was put together by "politically compromised, economically insulated public servants" and arguing the government should prioritise lower energy prices and affordability.
The comments come amid a difficult week for Ley and the Coalition. A recent Newspoll showed Ley's net approval rating at negative 17 percentage points, with 32 percent of voters satisfied with her performance. Ley on Wednesday removed Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price from the Coalition frontbench after Price declined to declare support for Ley's leadership; Hastie described the demotion as "inevitable" and said he remained a supporter of Ley while also noting the condition that members of the shadow cabinet must back the leader.
Hastie's warning underscores divisions within the Coalition over climate and energy policy as the opposition seeks to rebuild after the election loss. Some Coalition MPs view an explicit net zero target as an economic constraint that could raise costs for households and industry, while others — and some independent analysts and business groups — point to the risks identified in the national climate assessment and call for clearer emissions-reduction plans.
Tehan's review is expected to canvass options for the Coalition's climate stance ahead of the next federal election, but no new policy has been formally adopted. Hastie's public ultimatum increases the stakes for Ley as she balances competing views in the party and responds to scrutiny of her leadership.
Hastie said if he left the frontbench over the issue he would welcome more time with his family, telling the ABC: "If I go out with the tide in two-and-a-half years that's great... I'll get a lot more time with my kids back."