Queensland Premier David Crisafulli on the federal Coalition

Crisafulli government’s energy plan, delivered earlier this monthIt has extended the lifespan of coal-fired power and scrapped renewable energy targets but is committed to reaching net zero by 2050 – Despite the endless questions this commitment.

When the Prime Minister announced his energy plans in this masthead, there were echoes of the message that frontbench MPs said he often delivered privately to the party room: “be normal”.

“My view on energy is that we must continue to find a basis that is free of ideology and that ensures that energy is affordable, reliable and sustainable,” Crisafulli said.

“I want to know that my government will give me the power to not continue the massive price increases we have seen in recent years.

“I want to know that in the summer, when cricket is on, the power won’t go out and I won’t miss my last few overs.

“And I want to know that my government is on track to reduce emissions, so I can do my part. [other] people all over the world. “I think this is quite normal.”

While the Prime Minister’s energy policy has resisted the Coalition’s national push to abandon net-zero emissions, his rejection of calls from within the federal branch, including leadership candidate Andrew Hastie, to halt immigration was less subtle.

“I never accepted the dog whistle,” the grandson of a Sicilian immigrant told this tag.

“We got better [from migration and multiculturalism] My criticism is towards governments that do not create their infrastructure.

“I think the vast majority of fair-minded people, when they talk about immigration, they’re talking about the pressures to put their children in shelter, and that’s a perfectly good discussion that we should have.

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“But this cannot be used as a trap for people who do not want to migrate, because that is a completely different story. We have to be compassionate. We have to be tolerant. We have to embrace people who want to come here like family.”

Although the coalition desperately needs a moderate leadership candidate in Canberra, Crisafulli flatly rejects the possibility of a federal bent.

“No, I really wouldn’t,” he says when asked if he would consider a federal role, before making a prediction about his South Australian contemporary, Labor Premier Peter Malinauskas, who has faced persistent questions and rumors about a move to national politics.

“Mali will do it. If Albo [Prime Minister Anthony Albanese] would stutter [at the May election]I think they would draft him.

“He comes from the Shoppies and they love federal policy,” he added, referring to the Shop, Distributive & Allied Employees Association (SDA), the powerful retail union affiliated with the Labor Party.

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