22:59
The problem for the Nationals is that the leadership change was essentially on net zero 2050 – there are enough Nats in the party room who don’t want it, didn’t think Michael McCormack was pushing back enough, and Barnaby Joyce seized his chance.
But that only matters before the election (all of this is about the election) after the election, it won’t be as much of an issue (that’s my prediction anyway)
The issue for the government (and the country) though is, the Glasgow climate conference is in November. Which, on current indications is before the election. And where the world is expecting Australia to do something. And if we don’t, well, that could mean other issues like tariffs.
So this has some way to play out, but the lines are being very strongly drawn
RN Breakfast
(@RNBreakfast)“I think it’s a little bit premature until the party room has something in front of them to be able to make a decision [on net-zero],” says Agriculture Minister @D_LittleproudMP.
“I don’t think anyone in the National Party is turning their back on this.”
22:49
Nationals deputy leader David Littleproud is on ABC radio RN trying to explain how things are being done on climate change, while also explaining why agriculture needs to be excluded (which is not a new position).
But that is still not enough to get the Nats across the line. So we are at a stalemate.
Updated
22:28
Good morning
Happy Wednesday, everyone. We’ve made it halfway through the last sitting week before the winter break.
It’ll be another Barnaby day in the parliament as Labor continues to sideline the prime minister from question time and everything else the opposition can manage. Late last night, Labor and the Greens took advantage of a no-show by Pauline Hanson to disallow changes to the Arena renewable energy fund that would have opened it up to funding fossil fuel projects (like gas).
It’s a blow to the government’s “energy plan’ and won’t help ongoing tensions between the Nationals and the Liberals over climate and energy, including net zero by 2050. The whole reason Joyce is back is because the Nats didn’t believe Michael McCormack was bolshie enough on the topic, so Joyce has come out all guns blazing. Asked about jobs in question time yesterday, the deputy prime minister mainly spoke about coalmining jobs. That’s a very, very small percentage of the Australian workforce, but they’ve become among the most important jobs in the country. Just for political reasons.
Meanwhile, the pandemic continues, with Victoria declaring large parts of NSW “red zones” and effectively shutting the border, while New Zealand has temporarily shut down the travel bubble after a person with Covid flew from Sydney to Wellington.
There is no “normal” with this. Lives are being disrupted and the inability to plan, or the constant dread that comes with those still making plans, is leaving a lot of people on edge. Australia’s vaccination schedule can’t increase until it gets more mRNA vaccines and that’s not happening until at least the spring. The head of the roll-out has admitted that concerns over supply is the reason there is no vaccination campaign. The states can’t increase their side of the roll-out without knowing they have enough for second doses. As NSW deals with the latest outbreak, tensions are increasing, but there are no real answers. National cabinet can meet all it likes, but without increased vaccination supply, Australia can’t move forward.
We’ll cover all of the day’s political and Covid news for you as it happens. You’ve got Mike Bowers out and about for you, and Katharine Murphy, Paul Karp, Sarah Martin and Daniel Hurst in Canberra, hitting the phones and hallways. Amy Remeikis is with you on the blog.
It’s a three-coffee morning. At least.
Ready?
Updated