Australian news and politics live: Ley says PM lied to Australians over energy prices, Liberals dump net zero

Now that the shadow ministry has made its decision, the next step in this drawn-out policy process is that three Liberals and three Nationals will work together on a Coalition policy plan.

That will be taken to a join party room meeting on Sunday.

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has asked shadow energy minister Dan Tehan, the deputy Senate leader Anne Ruston and senior frontbencher Jonno Duniam to represent the Liberals in these parley talks.

The trio incorporates the man who has done the detailed policy work, and a senior moderate and senior conservative.

They’re expected to front media along with Ms Ley in about an hour’s time.

Employment Minister Amanda Rishworth says the Liberal Party’s decision to formally dump a net zero aspiration from its climate policy, will “take Australia backwards”.

A meeting of the Liberal shadow ministry has today instead agreed the party will stay committed to keeping Australia in the Paris agreement and will see achieving net zero as a “welcome outcome” of cutting emissions.

“What the Liberal Party has done today is create chaos when it comes to climate in Australia, but our Government will not be deterred,” Minister Rishworth told reporters in Canberra.

“We are getting on with the job, with investing in cheaper renewable energies backed up by gas. We have an energy plan. They just have division and chaos.”

The Liberal shadow ministry has agreed the party will stay committed to keeping Australia in the Paris agreement and will see achieving net zero as a “welcome outcome” of cutting emissions.

But it won’t keep achieving equalised emissions by 2050 as a formal target any more.

A meeting of the party’s frontbenchers has just wrapped up in Canberra, and Leader Sussan Ley and shadow energy minister Dan Tehan are expected to detail the policy decisions soon.

The revamped energy policy will have a strong focus on markets, Liberal sources say.

Mr Tehan took two “foundational principles” underpinning the policy approach to the broader party room meeting yesterday, which included placing primacy on affordable power prices while reducing emissions “in a responsible, transparent way”.

Beijing has formally complained to the Albanese Government after ASIO boss Mike Burgess used a speech to accuse China of organising state-sanctioned hackers to target Australia’s critical infrastructure systems.

On Wednesday, the domestic spy chief warned Australia’s financial, telecommunications and utilities systems could be brought down by China in a “high-impact sabotage” attack.

Overnight Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Guo Jiakun claimed Mr Burgess had “repeatedly hurled attacks at China, spread disinformation and deliberately sowed division and confrontation”.

“China firmly opposes it and has protested with Australia. It’s hoped that the Australian official can stop making irresponsible statements and do more things conducive to the healthy development of China-Australia relations.”

Australia’s unemployment rate fell back to 4.3 per cent in October from a four-year high a month earlier in a sign the labour market is still tight and could stop another interest rate cut soon.

The good news on the labour market occurred as 42,200 new jobs were created, with the national jobless rate returning to where it was in August.

The latest jobless rate is below the 4.4 per cent level the Reserve Bank of Australia this month predicted for December, and could delay any potential interest rate cut.

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who won an absolute landslide victory in the 2025 Federal election, says the Liberals have not learnt from their embarrassing defeat.

“The idea that the lesson the Liberals have learnt from their defeat at the last two elections and the last election, where they had their worst result since 1943, is that they need to be more right wing, more sceptical, more in denial about climate change, and continue to engage in those climate wars…is extraordinary,” Mr Albanese said in Sydney on Thursday.

“I think people will certainly look at the Liberal Party policy as quite contradictory to what our Pacific neighbours want and what Indonesia and our ASEAN neighbours are calling for as well. But the Australian Government’s position is very clear,”

The Liberals are meeting again today, with their climate and energy policy set to finally be shared 193 days after losing the election.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong says the difficulties over negotiations for Australia to host COP in 2026 have been “no secret” and has vowed to continue to pressure Turkey to withdraw.

Australia has pitched to host the climate summit in Adelaide next year in partnership with the Pacific but has hit a roadblock because Turkey has refused to pull out of the race.

“It’s no secret these negotiations have been difficult and they have been difficult because Türkiye has been very focused on maintaining its bid,” Senator Wong told the Today Show.

“And we’ll continue to work with others and to engage with Türkiye to try and get the outcome that we want for Pacific island nations.

“The Pacific’s agenda should be more prominent in the global agenda. That has been really the impetus behind Australia’s bid to host this.”

Anthony Albanese says he has held talks with Pacific partners overnight after President Tayyip Erdogan again refused to withdraw Turkey’s bid for the COP climate summit next year.

Australia’s bid in partnership with Pacific Island nations is languishing after Turkey has refused to budge. And both nations could lose the hosting rights to the German city of Bonn if the matter isn’t resolved at the ongoing COP30 summit in Brazil.

After President Erdogan doubled down in correspondence with Mr Albanese overnight, the PM said he’d called Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr and PNG Prime Minister James Marape.

“I have spoken with Pacific neighbours in the last 24 hours including Prime Minister Marape and President Whipps of Palau,” he said.

“We’ll continue to argue our case for that bid. The Australian Government’s position is very clear. We want to host in partnership with the Pacific the COP.

“We want to see Australia host in partnership with the Pacific and that has the strong support of our neighbours.”

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has weighed in on the Liberals net zero drama.

“Australians have seen 15 years of the climate wars inside the Coalition and what that has meant is higher energy prices,” the one-time climate change minister told Seven’s Sunrise.

“We are providing policy certainty. We are working on the energy transition. We are clear about the need to make our energy system more reliable and, over time, to continue to bring down wholesale prices by investing in renewables.

“What we see on the other side is a recipe for higher energy prices and more leadership chaos.”

Anthony Albanese says Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan has written to him overnight maintaining that he won’t withdraw his bid to host the COP climate summit in 2026.

Australia has been pushing a joint bid with Pacific nations to secure COP in Adelaide next year. If Turkey does not budge and the issue isn’t resolved at the current COP30 summit in Brazil, COP31 will be hosted in the German city of Bonn.

Speaking in Sydney on Thursday, the PM said he believed the Pacific bid had greater support from the international community.

“President Erdogan has written to me in the last 24 hours. He is maintaining his position in response to Australia maintaining our position,” he said.

“We’ll continue to advocate for Australia to host the COP in partnership with the Pacific and I believe it has the overwhelming support of the Western Europe group.”