Liberals Set to Unveil Energy Policy After Contentious Party Meeting
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Liberal Party lawmakers will announce a new energy and emissions reduction policy by midday Thursday after reaching what Shadow Energy Minister Dan Tehan called “pretty much unanimity” on guiding principles during a heated party room debate.
Tehan said he will present a submission to the Shadow Ministry at 9 a.m. Thursday, followed by a formal policy announcement with Deputy Leader Susan Ley. The move ends weeks of internal wrangling over whether to abandon or modify the party’s climate commitments ahead of the next federal election.
“By around midday tomorrow, you will very clearly know what our energy and emissions reduction policy is as a Liberal Party,” Tehan told reporters outside the meeting room.
The announcement comes as the coalition faces pressure from multiple directions: One Nation leader Pauline Hanson demanding complete abandonment of emissions targets, younger voters concerned about climate action, and energy-dependent industries seeking relief from rising power costs.
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Principles Put Forward
Tehan distributed principles to colleagues during the meeting, including two foundation statements that he said received broad support.
“Energy affordability must come first and must be the focus along with reliability,” Tehan said, describing the first principle. “And then the second principle is that we have to be serious when it comes to addressing emissions reduction, because we want to be able to show very clearly that this is an issue the whole party room takes seriously, and we want to do our part when it comes to emissions reduction.”
The shadow minister handed out a document containing two guiding principles and eight additional principles underneath, though he did not release the full details to reporters.
“There was pretty much unanimity when it came to those principles,” Tehan said.
He repeatedly emphasized that “everyone wants to make sure that our policy, our energy policy and our emissions reduction policy is in the national interest.”
Passionate Debate Behind Closed Doors
Despite claims of unanimity on principles, Tehan acknowledged intense discussion during the meeting.
“Obviously, there was very, very passionate discussions in the room because energy and emissions reduction is an issue that everyone cares deeply about,” he said.
Tehan praised colleagues for their engagement throughout what he called a four-part process that included forming a working group, one-on-one discussions with lawmakers, and consultations led by senators Simon Kennedy and Jane Hume.
“Can I say that colleagues really appreciated the process,” Tehan said. “They thought that it was fantastic that we could all come together and debate the issues in this way.”
Multiple times during his brief press conference, Tehan stressed the need for party unity once the policy is announced.
“Everyone again struck an accord by saying we have to come together, we have to have a policy, and then we’ve all got to unite behind that policy,” he said. “And that’s what I’ve got to do now, is I’ve got to go away and finalize that submission.”
Pressure From the Right
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, speaking minutes before Tehan’s press conference, predicted the Liberals would not go far enough in abandoning climate commitments.
“I don’t believe they’ll get rid of net zero completely,” Hanson said in an interview on Sky News. “I think there will be some emissions targets that they will keep and they won’t get out of the Paris Agreement.”
Hanson claimed her party forced the National Party to abandon net zero commitments earlier this year, creating pressure on the Liberals to follow suit.
“We actually forced the National Party to take that lead and they then have put pressure on the Liberal Party to do the same,” she said. “So we’ve actually set the agenda for both these major political parties.”
The One Nation leader called for complete abandonment of emissions targets.
“We need to get rid of it completely, get out of the Paris Agreement, get back and take control of our own country and get rid of the rubbish with all this climate emissions, carbon emissions,” Hanson said.
Immigration Also Driving Voter Shift
Hanson identified two policy areas driving voters away from the coalition toward One Nation: climate policy and immigration.
“Definitely equals the two of them, mass immigration,” she said when asked why coalition support has declined in recent polls. “We’ve actually had in September the highest immigration numbers since 2023 on record for the month of September, which was nearly 36,000 people.”
She criticized the Labor government for not responding to public concerns about immigration levels.
“The Labor Party have not listened to the Australian people about mass immigration,” Hanson said.
What Comes Next
Tehan declined to provide specifics about what the final policy would include, saying he needed to finalize his submission based on the day’s discussions.
When pressed on what “being serious on addressing emissions” would look like in practice, Tehan said: “I’ll be working through that this evening, following the contributions today.”
Asked whether the policy would align Australia’s emissions targets with other developed OECD countries, Tehan again deferred to Thursday’s announcement.
“What you will hear tomorrow is our formal policy,” he said.
Despite acknowledging the passionate debate, Tehan maintained optimism about achieving party unity.
“I still think and have always thought right throughout this process that it is possible for us to unite and that’s my job now tonight is to go away and do that,” he said.
The shadow minister said he still had “plenty to write” before presenting to the Shadow Ministry.
“I’m going to respect my colleagues and I’m going to respect my shadow ministerial colleagues,” Tehan said. “My job now is to respect what was said in the room today, to now take that away, form a shadow ministerial paper, take that to the Shadow Ministry tomorrow.”
A High-Stakes Balancing Act
The Liberal Party faces competing pressures as it attempts to craft a policy that satisfies multiple constituencies. Energy affordability has become a major concern for voters facing rising power bills, while the party’s traditional base includes both climate-concerned urban moderates and regional voters skeptical of emissions targets.
The Nationals, the Liberals’ coalition partner, abandoned net zero commitments earlier this year under pressure from their rural base and One Nation. That decision increased pressure on the Liberals to follow suit or risk appearing out of step with their coalition partner.
However, the Liberals hold multiple seats in urban areas where voters, particularly younger demographics, expect action on climate change. Any policy seen as abandoning emissions commitments could cost the party support in these electorates.
Tehan’s emphasis on both energy affordability and “being serious” about emissions reduction suggests an attempt to thread this needle, though the specifics of how the party will balance these goals remain unclear.
Process Praised Despite Divisions
Throughout his remarks, Tehan repeatedly praised the consultation process and thanked colleagues for their engagement.
“Can I first start by saying thank you to the colleagues, but with the way they continue to engage on this issue of energy and emissions reduction,” he said at the start of his press conference.
He noted that “a lot of people who stood up and said how much they appreciated the engagement that had taken place, and especially the Liberal Party meeting today, to be able to flesh out these issues.”
“I’ve always protected the sanctity of our party room and I’m going to continue to do that because my colleagues deserve that,” Tehan said when asked about the vote count or level of support.
The shadow minister said the party room meeting was “part of the process that we’ve been undertaking, a four-part process” that began with forming a working group “under the auspices of Susan and of David.”
The Overnight Task
Tehan cut the press conference short, explaining he needed time to finalize his submission for the morning Shadow Ministry meeting.
“I’m happy to take a few questions from you now, but I’d also ask that it’s going to be a few because I’ve got to go away and prepare a submission tomorrow, which I obviously have to take to the shadow ministry,” he said.
After taking several questions, he ended the session: “I’ve got to say through all the contributions in the room today everyone again struck an accord by saying we have to come together, we have to have a policy, and then we’ve all got to unite behind that policy.”
The policy announcement Thursday will provide clarity on where the Liberal Party lands on one of the most contentious issues in Australian politics. Whether Tehan succeeds in uniting the party behind the final policy remains to be seen, but the shadow minister expressed confidence in the outcome.
“The overwhelming thing that came out of the meeting for me was that everyone wants to make sure that our policy, our energy policy and our emissions reduction policy is in the national interest,” Tehan said. “That became incredibly clear.”
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