Ley under pressure as Labor pushes environment reforms
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley faces a heated battle in the party hall in the final week of parliament this year as the government races to pass major environmental reforms.
Liberal insiders insist a leadership fight against Ms Ley is unlikely until 2026, but fights over immigration and climate change threaten to explode at home.
There is also speculation that the poor result in the latest News Poll could trigger a move against Ms Ley by her leadership rivals Andrew Hastie or Angus Taylor.
The respected poll, conducted by The Australian, found a slight deterioration in the coalition’s two-party preferred position, with Labor behind 58 to 42 per cent.
Ms. Ley’s net approval rating rose but remains toxic, rising from minus 33 to minus 29.
The survey also asked participants to indicate their preferred coalition leader.
The party’s first female leader was the first choice of 21 per cent of those polled, just ahead of Mr Hastie on 16 per cent and Mr Taylor on 9 per cent.
Mr Hastie is trailing Ms Ley in support among older voters and One Nation voters.
Speaking ahead of the news poll, opposition finance spokesman and senior Conservative James Paterson denied his colleagues were about to abandon the 63-year-old.
“Politicians are reluctant to comment on polls at the best of times, but it would be particularly unwise to comment on a poll that has not yet been published,” he told Sky News on Sunday.
“I’m sure they’ll say that no matter what the results are…we have more work to do,” Senator Paterson said.
Mr Hastie missed the last session of parliament after surgery on his shoulder but the Perth-based MP is scheduled to attend this week.
As Labor makes the final push to steer long-awaited environmental reforms through parliament, Environment Minister Murray Watt said the coalition’s dysfunction was making negotiations difficult.
“It has been difficult to conduct negotiations with the coalition over the last few months when their attention has been completely diverted from such issues by leadership struggles,” Senator Watt said.
Labor wants to pass a major overhaul of Australia’s environmental regulations, arguing the changes would better protect natural areas and speed up approvals of major infrastructure, energy and housing projects.
However, the government needs the support of either the coalition or the Greens to pass the laws.
After offering some concessions to win the support of the minor party, Senator Watt said he was still willing to reach an agreement with both parties.
“I’ve said throughout this process that no one can get everything they want,” he told reporters in Brisbane on Sunday.
“We’re willing to make some changes as long as it benefits both the environment and business.”
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