Liberal leadership aspirant Andrew Hastie says he will leave the frontbench if current Opposition Leader Sussan Ley continues to support net zero.
His position comes after Liberal Party members in Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and Northern Territory all voted for the party leadership to reject net zero goals.
Ley has yet to adopt a formal position on net zero following the 2025 election loss with Shadow Energy Minister Dan Tehan currently conducting a formal review.
In response to the possibility of Ley adopting net zero, Hastie said “that leaves me without a job,” in an interview on ABC Radio Perth.
“‘I’ve nailed my colours to the mast,” he said.
“If I go out with the tide in two and a half years that’s great, I’ll get a lot more time with my kids back.”
Hastie said his primary mission in politics was to build a stronger, more secure Australia.
“Energy security is a vital input into that, So that’s my bottom line. I want to fight for a better deal for my state, my country.”
Hastie also pointed out his position was consistent with the Liberal Party membership of the majority of states.
Hastie also said Liberal leader Sussan Ley had his full support.
“If she didn’t, I wouldn’t be sitting here talking to you as the Shadow Minister for Home Affairs,” Hastie said. He previously revealed an interest in leading the party.
‘Climate Alarmism’ Hastie Critical of Government Climate Report
Hastie also took aim at Australia’s first National Climate Risk Assessment, released by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water on Sept. 15.
The report outlined a range of estimated economic and societal risks to Australia if climate action is not taken.
“I think this is a lot of climate alarmism put together by politically compromised, economically insulated public servants who are running cover for Labor,” Hastie said.
“Who are effectively providing cover for Labor’s massive wealth grab under the cover of climate alarmism, which is going to take place under the net zero transition.”
The federal MP said independent modelling showed Australians can expect to pay up to $1.5 trillion dollars by 2030 for a full transition to net zero.
“The cost of that is going to be extracted from Australian families, households, businesses and industry. So we need to be honest about this …”
Hastie said if the Prime Minister really took this report seriously he would have been him picking up the phone to the leaders of China, India, and the United States, since all three contributed to about 50 percent of world emissions.
Climate Assessment Claims Billions in Future Damage
The Assessment claimed Sydney could see a 444 percent rise in heat-related deaths if global temperatures rose by 3 degrees Celsius.
It also projected a 259 percent increase in Melbourne, 335 percent increase in tropical Townsville, and 423 percent increase in Australia’s northern city of Darwin.
Further, it predicted the combined recovery cost of bushfires, storms, and cyclones could reach $40 billion by 2050 under the same 1.5 degree scenario.
The report also warned property values in Australia could fall by $611 billion in 2050, and $770 billion in the year 2090.
Labor Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen encouraged all Australians to carefully go through the report and said it was important not to “gild the lily or downplay its impacts in any way.”
“The path to net zero is important. We’re doing it because the impacts of our country are real, and importantly, the worst impacts are still avoidable,” Bowen told reporters.
“We are living in climate change now. It’s no longer a forecast, a projection, or a prediction. It is a lived reality.”
Bowen said it was too late to avoid any impacts, but not too late to avoid the worst of the impacts. He said Australia has the best renewable resources and great jobs and investment opportunities.
“So if we get it right, the opportunity for our country is enormous, just as the risk if we get it wrong is very real.”
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