Albanese Blasts Liberals as 'Clown Show' Over Climate Divisions, Turkey Blocks Pacific COP Bid
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese launched a blistering attack Wednesday on the Liberal Party’s climate divisions, accusing the opposition of abandoning science and describing their coordinated entry into a party room meeting as a “clown show” that signals deep fractures on energy policy.
Speaking after signing a defense treaty with Indonesia, Albanese said the coalition is “walking away from climate action because they fundamentally do not believe in the science in climate change,” warning that retreating from emissions targets would damage regional relationships and hurt the economy.
“Australians cannot afford to keep paying the price of coalition infighting when it comes to climate policy and energy policy,” Albanese said at a press conference in Sydney.
The prime minister seized on images from Tuesday showing Liberal MPs walking together into their party room meeting in what some characterized as a show of solidarity but Albanese called “a sign of division.”
“These were people, many of whom have either challenged or resigned from the front bench,” Albanese said. “This was a sign of opposition to Susan Ley’s leadership and it was a rather extraordinary moment.”
The political salvos came as Turkey maintained its veto of Australia’s bid to host a UN climate conference in partnership with Pacific nations, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan writing to Albanese in the last 24 hours to reaffirm his position.
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Liberal MPs Marched ‘In Formation’
Albanese described the Liberal MPs’ coordinated arrival as deliberately staged for cameras.
“The pictures was very deliberate for Pupa to gather beforehand in formation, in formation, in order to send that message,” he said. “And that message was surely received.”
The gathering included Angus Taylor walking with his counterparts, Albanese said, calling it “a rather extraordinary moment.”
“Not so much by the party room, because that’s a matter for them, their clown show that they’ve become,” Albanese said. “It was a sign for the Australian people of how divided they are.”
The prime minister said the coalition’s consideration of abandoning net zero emissions targets by 2050 contradicts policy set by former Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
“Bear in mind net zero by 2050 is a policy that was put in place as a government by Scott Morrison,” Albanese said.
Regional Relationships at Stake
Albanese warned that retreating from climate commitments would undermine Australia’s relationships in the region, particularly on security matters. He cited discussions with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, who he referred to as “President Bobo” during dinner conversations Tuesday night.
“President Bobo last night over dinner spoke about the actions that Indonesia is taking because of rising sea levels in Indonesia, including the work they’re doing with the Netherlands about protecting Jakarta from rising sea levels,” Albanese said.
He said work taking place in the Pacific and with ASEAN neighbors “will all be undermined if there is a view that Australia doesn’t believe in what they regard very much as an existential challenge, a challenge for their environment, but also a challenge, of course, for their economy as we go forward.”
Indonesia is taking action on rising sea levels, working with the Netherlands to protect Jakarta, Albanese said. Pacific and ASEAN neighbors view climate change as an existential threat to their environment and economies, he said.
“It would also damage our relationships in the region, including relationships on security,” Albanese said of the coalition’s approach.
Coalition’s Climate Legacy
Albanese blamed coalition governments for current energy challenges, saying 10 years of “denial and delay” created pressure on the electricity grid.
“We had 24 out of 28 coal-fired power stations announce their closure or bring them forward,” Albanese said of the coalition years in office. “We had during that period as well a failure to invest in new energy and we know that the cheapest form of new energy is renewables.”
The closures and outages of coal-fired power stations occurred because “they have reached the end of their life,” not convenience, Albanese said.
“Companies which run coal-fired power stations don’t make a decision to just close out of convenience,” he said. “They close because they’ve reached the end of their life.”
The failure to have certain climate policy meant inadequate replacement of aging infrastructure, Albanese said. New coal-fired power stations haven’t been built “because of the economics of that,” despite rhetoric from the opposition, he said.
“In spite of the rhetoric of those opposite and some of the people marching into the Liberal Party room in order to deny the existence of climate change, the fact is that there haven’t been new coal-fired power stations built because of the economics of that,” Albanese said.
Defending Renewables
The prime minister defended his government’s energy strategy, emphasizing renewables backed by storage and gas.
“We’re delivering our energy plan,” Albanese said. “Have no doubt the coalition approach would hurt Australians. It would lead to less investment, less reliability, less jobs, less economic growth.”
Renewables represent the cheapest form of new energy, backed up with batteries and gas for firming capacity, Albanese said.
“What we know is that renewables are the cheapest form of new energy,” he said. “We’re making sure that we back that up with batteries and with gas as well for firming capacity. And that is the way to deliver the path that Australia needs.”
Asked about power bills, Albanese said Australians are “paying the price of the inaction and the climate wars that were conducted over a decade by the Coalition.”
“What we need is investment certainty for the business community,” he said. “They say as well that that is what they need.”
Turkey Maintains COP Veto
On Australia’s bid to host the UN climate conference in partnership with Pacific nations, Albanese confirmed President Erdogan is maintaining Turkey’s opposition despite recent correspondence.
“President Erdogan has written to me in the last 24 hours,” Albanese said. “He is maintaining his position in response to Australia maintaining our position.”
No Conference of the Parties has ever been held in the Pacific region, Albanese said. COPs have been held in Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, “but never one in this part of the world where Pacific countries like Tuvalu and Kiribati are literally under threat of their very existence.”
Australia will continue advocating for hosting rights, Albanese said. He has spoken with Pacific neighbors in the last 24 hours, including Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape and Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr.
“We’ll continue to advocate for Australia to host the COP in partnership with the Pacific, and I believe as the overwhelming support of the Western Europe group of which we are a part under the UN rules,” Albanese said.
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change rules give any country at the current COP meeting in Baku the right to effectively veto hosting decisions, Albanese said. If a veto occurs, the default position sends the conference to Bonn, Germany, home of the UNFCCC.
“We don’t want to see that happen,” Albanese said. “We want to see Australia host in partnership with the Pacific, and that has the strong support of our neighbours.”
Neo-Nazi Rally Condemned
Albanese condemned a neo-Nazi rally outside New South Wales Parliament, calling the anti-Semitic display unacceptable.
“I am concerned about the gathering that was there,” Albanese said. “I condemn it unequivocally. There’s no place in Australia for the anti-Semitic display that we saw outside New South Wales Parliament House.”
Asked about reports that one participant was identified as a South African national and whether his visa would be reviewed, Albanese declined to comment on individuals.
“I’m not about commenting on individuals because I don’t know what the status of individuals are,” he said.
He noted the irony of migrants protesting migration.
“People who come to Australia and then say that they’re anti-migrants coming to Australia, I think that speaks for itself,” Albanese said.
His understanding is neo-Nazi groups are attempting to register as a political party in New South Wales and the state government is responding, Albanese said.
Nauru Meeting Defended
Asked why meetings with Nauru’s president were kept “under access,” Albanese rejected the premise.
“We didn’t,” Albanese said. “There was a Pacific Security College leadership program. It was attended by Nauru, Marshall Islands, the Federated State of Micronesia, Kiribati and Palau. We have regular meetings that take place. Nothing secret about it.”
Political Focus
Albanese framed the climate debate as primarily about policy rather than politics.
“I think that this isn’t primarily about the politics for me,” he said. “This is about policy. The politics will look after itself if good policy happens.”
Good policy means moving toward the cheapest form of new energy, delivering investment certainty for business and ensuring jobs and economic growth, Albanese said.
“It’s not going backwards,” he said. “What we know is that the pace of change in society is fast. If you stand still, the world moves past you.”
He referenced the Liberal Party’s worst electoral result since 1943 at the last election.
“The idea that the lesson that the Liberals have learnt from their defeat at the last two elections and the last election where they had their worst result since 1943 is that they need to be more right-wing, more sceptical, more in denial about climate change and continue to engage in those climate wars,” Albanese said.
He said Australia needs to move forward rather than backward.
“I think Australians want Australia to move forward,” Albanese said.
The Liberal Party’s potential abandonment of climate targets would contradict what Pacific neighbors want and what Indonesia and ASEAN neighbors are calling for, Albanese said.
“I think people will certainly look at the Liberal Party policy as quite contradictory to what our Pacific neighbours want, to what Indonesia and our ASEAN neighbours are calling for as well,” he said.
The prime minister’s press conference in Sydney rather than Canberra allowed him to exploit coalition divisions while avoiding detailed questioning about his own renewable energy rollout challenges.
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