Aussie PM Scott Morrison Downplays Party Division on Net-Zero Targets

Prime Minister Scott Morrison speaks to the media during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on Oct. 26, 2021. AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has downplayed talk of division within the ranks of the coalition Liberal-National Party on the issue of net-zero carbon emissions commitments.

The catalyst for the debate was the Coalition’s candidate for the Queensland seat of Flynn, Colin Boyce, who said on April 26 that there was “wiggle room” in the Australian government’s commitment to decarbonising the economy by 2050.

This viewpoint was backed by Nationals Senator Matt Canavan, who told Sky News Boyce was “absolutely right.”

Nationals Senator Matthew Canavan at a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on Jun. 22, 2021. AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

“The Paris Agreement is not binding. It doesn’t bind any nation. In fact, we’ve just seen in the last few weeks that Boris Johnson, the UK prime minister, has paused his nation’s climate change commitments, his nation’s net-zero commitments. So none of this is binding on us, and nor should it be,” Canavan said.

He added that 2050 was a long way off, and instead, Australia’s commitments for the next few years should be to “defend our nation” amid rising tensions with China in the South Pacific and Indo-Pacific.

Downplaying Boyce’s comments, Morrison said the political candidate meant there was wiggle room in the pathway to achieving net-zero, but not in the government’s “absolute” commitment to the climate agenda.

“Everybody knows that Matt hasn’t been supportive of that position. There’s no news there,” Morrison told reporters on the campaign trail on April 27.

The prime minister said Canavan’s position was not the position of the centre-right Coalition but noted that his party brings supporters and voters with a diversity of perspectives. Traditionally, the Nationals represent regional and rural voters, often in blue-collar districts.

The Liddell coal-fired power station in the Hunter Vally of New South Wales, Australia. Taras Vyshnya/Adobe Stock

Citing fear amongst voters about the opposition centre-left Labor party introducing the equivalent of a carbon tax if elected, Canavan said people are concerned about their jobs and the cost of living.

“I think a lot of people have been shocked in the last few days to hear this because there hasn’t been a lot of reporting on it,” Canavan told Sky News.

He said Labor’s policy would target “not just coal mines” but “66 businesses in Western Australia,” including all iron ore mines, gas facilities, gold mines, and nickel mines.

“This is a massive mining tax,” he said.

Labor Denies Carbon Tax

However, Labor Deputy Leader Richard Marles ducked questions from a reporter on whether coal mines would have to buy carbon credits, handing it to the shadow treasurer, Jim Chalmers.

“Our policy is designed not to disadvantage our exporters against the companies and the countries with which they compete around the world,” Chalmers said.

Australian Sen. Penny Wong in the Senate at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on Dec. 2, 2019. Tracey Nearmy/Getty Images

After similarly attempting to duck questions on the issue, Senator Penny Wong, Labor’s foreign affairs spokeswoman, echoed Marles and Labor MP Chris Bowen, saying, “No coal project will face a carbon constraint ... that will make them internationally uncompetitive.”

Wong said Labor would not stop new coal and gas projects but noted that Labor sought a “realistic pathway to get to net-zero by 2050.”

Meanwhile, the leader of the New South Wales state branch of the right-leaning One Nation party, Mark Latham, said Labor’s climate change policy was the equivalent of a carbon tax.

“[Labor’s climate change policy is] a harsh financial penalty for 215 big employers emitting more than 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent [per annum]. A massive job destroyer, the equivalent of a carbon tax,” Latham said on Twitter on April 27.

Meanwhile, the prime minister said his government would not seek to achieve its net-zero targets by taxing Australians and shutting down businesses and industries connected to the conventional energy sector.

“The carbon credits scheme that Labor has put in place, just to be clear ... it not only affects the coal industry,” Morrison said.

“It affects mining, and oil and gas production. It affects rail freight. It affects cement production. It affects fuel refining. And many other sectors are caught up in those arrangements which would see them penalised and taxed.”