Push for Ley to dump net zero emissions pledge as some Liberals fear ‘tail is wagging the dog’ | Coalition

Opposition leader Sussan Ley faces growing pressure from conservative Liberal MPs to abandon their commitments to net zero emissions by 2050, while the National Party’s new hardline tone is increasing tensions within the Coalition.

Forces close to leadership rival Angus Taylor have argued that the Liberals should abide by the National Party’s position announced at the weekend, while Ley has been called for to hold a special party room meeting this week to resolve the growing divide.

Some moderate Liberals wanted the meeting to be held as soon as this week, warning that further internal debate could weaken Ley’s embattled leadership and give the Albanian government a free pass on a hot political issue like rising energy prices.

Ley met with the Liberal leadership team at Parliament House on Monday ahead of a regularly scheduled meeting of Liberal and National MPs on Tuesday.

One possible pathway could involve the Liberal leadership group deciding a position in Canberra this week ahead of a special party room meeting before parliament restarts in the final two weeks of the year on November 24.

Ley’s supporters said the opposition leader was keen to resolve the issue as quickly as possible and believed the majority of Liberal MPs viewed net zero as a simple policy decision, while a small number of people on both sides of the debate wanted to agitate on the issue.

However, others in the Liberal caucus believe they should not rush to judgment with the National Party’s decision to cancel net zero commitments; They are conscious of the public argument that “the tail is wagging the dog” if the Liberal position is once again dictated by junior Coalition partners.

Speaking briefly outside a charity event, Ley downplayed the National Party’s decision, saying this was not unexpected and that Coalition processes would continue to determine a common Liberal-National position.

“I said the Nationals would make their decisions in their party room and the Liberals would similarly decide in our party room. But our joint energy working group has done an incredibly solid job to this point, it continues, and we can look forward to taking the Liberal party’s energy position and then coming together as a Coalition,” Ley said.

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A moderate MP told Guardian Australia that any decision that would gain support from the leadership group would find broad support in the wider Liberal party chamber, noting the divergent views between moderates and conservatives, including Ley’s deputy Ted O’Brien, senators James Paterson, Michaelia Cash and Anne Ruston, and lower house MPs Angus Taylor and Alex Hawke.

Taylor, Cash and Paterson are understood to be calling for net zero policies to be scrapped. However, the debate raised the possibility of a new split in the Coalition if the Liberals cannot agree on a compromise position.

The two parties had a brief post-election split after the Liberals refused to immediately embrace many National policies, including nuclear energy.

A moderate Liberal has said the net zero point debate is now a threat to the Coalition’s future.

But the MP said a “constraining factor” for the Liberals who want to maintain their net zero position was concerns it could destabilize Ley’s leadership.

Leading Liberal figure Andrew Bragg said net zero should be protected “in some way” and was confident the Coalition could accept such a position.

Bragg’s language confirmed that he is open to a watered-down version of the net zero by 2050 pledge Scott Morrison made in 2021.

Western Australian Liberal senator Dean Smith pleaded with colleagues on Monday to focus on Labor, insisting voters want the government to be held accountable for energy prices.

“We’re about to enter summer. Electricity prices are at the heart of cooling and refrigeration. I think Australians will feel first-hand the high cost of Labour’s energy policies.

“The key focus here is on Labour’s failures on energy policy, which are increasing costs for families, increasing costs for businesses and, sadly, as we have seen, driving major industrial enterprises into bankruptcy.”

Smith said he was a “strong coalitionist” and did not support calls for a new split between the Liberals and Nationals.

Victorian Sarah Henderson said the Liberal party should support the National Party’s stance on net zero.

“Electricity prices are rising rapidly, emissions are stabilizing and so I believe we will be in a position where we can work together to reject Labour’s net zero laws,” he said.

“We will carry out our own internal processes. I hope we will reach a position as soon as possible. I do not think this will continue for a long time.”

Frontrunner Melissa McIntosh said the opposition needs to be strong and united to get its message across to voters.

“I do not support net zero on behalf of my community because they are paying for it.

“This isn’t politics, it’s not ideology, it’s about people’s survival in suburban Australia. But we’ll come to a solution… and I’m sure we’ll develop a pragmatic energy policy that suits our voters.”

Liberal backer Rick Wilson became the latest to back Barnaby Joyce’s private member’s bill on net zero, speaking in support of parliament on Monday. He expressed concerns about “visual and noise pollution and potential adverse health impacts” from renewable energy projects.