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Shadow Education Minister Jonathan Duniam warned Tuesday that Liberal Party frontbenchers could stage a "mass exodus" if the party adopts net zero emissions by 2050 "at any cost," backing colleague Andrew Hastie's threat to quit the opposition leadership team over climate policy.
Speaking on Sky News, Duniam said most Liberal frontbench members and party room colleagues oppose unlimited spending on emissions reduction targets that could damage Australia's economy.
"If we just said net zero at any cost by 2050, I think you'd find there'd be a mass exodus," Duniam told Sky News. "The reality is that most of the members of our front bench and indeed most of the members of our party room are interested in making sure that whatever we do, if it is to retain a net zero by 2050, doesn't come at whatever the cost might be."
The comments follow Hastie's weekend threat to resign from the shadow cabinet if the Liberal Party commits to achieving net zero emissions by 2050, setting up a potential internal battle over the party's climate policy direction.
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When pressed repeatedly whether he would follow Hastie to the backbench, Duniam avoided a direct answer but emphasized party unity against costly climate policies.
"Our party room, I'm pretty certain, based on the conversations I've had, including with our own leader, Susan Lee, is that adopting net zero at any cost is bad policy," Duniam said. "And that is something that I don't think many people in our party room, if anyone, is going to countenance."
Duniam described Hastie as "a man of integrity and one who is consistent about his views," noting the threat aligned with positions Hastie expressed immediately after the last election.
The shadow minister criticized the government's approach to emissions reduction, particularly targeting Monday's climate risk report released ahead of expected new 2035 emissions targets from Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
"The timing, I have to say, is passing strange given we're about to receive these new targets for 2035," Duniam said. "It seems to me that they're looking for cover for targets which will, in their words, be ambitious, I think will be economically damaging for our country."
Duniam accused the government of withholding crucial cost information from Australian households and businesses while promoting the benefits of climate action.
"What they won't give us is how much it's going to cost to Australian households and businesses to meet those targets under their plan," he said. "And while they'll tell us how much it costs not to act, they won't tell Australians how much it costs to act."
The shadow minister dismissed Monday's climate analysis as insufficiently reviewed and overly speculative.
"The analysis they released yesterday hasn't even been properly finally reviewed, so it's all very speculative and nebulous," Duniam said. "And we will base these targets that Chris Bowen and Anthony Albanese will table later in the week, or next week, whenever it might be, on these sort of rubbery projections out 60 plus years."
Duniam argued the government was attempting to isolate climate policy from broader economic considerations, calling for a comprehensive debate about impacts on power bills, food supplies and business operations.
"Labor want to have a debate just about net zero, as if it has no impact on the rest of the economy," he said. "I refuse to allow them to do that."
The shadow minister criticized the government's safeguard mechanism, claiming it had "disastrous impact on some of these big manufacturers in our country and parts of the resources sector."
He also questioned Australia's climate efforts given limited action from major global emitters.
"Net zero at any cost in Australia means going it alone," Duniam said, referencing China and India's emissions policies. "Net zero taking into account the fact that we need to have a functioning economy is a very different proposition."
When challenged about reconciling emissions reduction with economic concerns, Duniam insisted the positions were consistent, arguing for protecting emissions-intensive industries while pursuing climate goals.
"Net zero at any cost is something that only stupid people would pursue, frankly," Duniam said. "We have to get balance in this debate. We can say we want to save the planet by reducing emissions. Great. But at what cost? Do we want to shut down the economy?"
The internal Liberal Party tensions over climate policy emerge as the government prepares to announce 2035 emissions targets, with Duniam suggesting the party leadership under Susan Lee shares skepticism about unlimited climate spending.
Tuesday's Sky News interview revealed the depth of potential opposition within Liberal ranks to adopting Labor's climate framework, with Duniam indicating broad party room resistance to economic costs associated with aggressive emissions reduction.
The dispute highlights ongoing conservative resistance within the Liberal Party to comprehensive climate action, potentially complicating efforts to develop bipartisan climate policy as Australia faces pressure to strengthen emissions commitments ahead of international climate negotiations.
Hastie's resignation threat and Duniam's warning of broader frontbench departures suggest climate policy could trigger significant Liberal Party internal restructuring if leadership pursues net zero commitments without addressing conservative economic concerns.
The comments underscore persistent divisions within Australian politics over balancing environmental goals with economic considerations, as both major parties navigate voter expectations on climate action while managing internal factional pressures over policy direction and implementation costs.
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