More Liberals threaten to quit as tensions grow over net zero emissions target for embattled Coalition

Opposition tensions are deepening over climate policy, with several moderate Liberal frontbenchers indicating they could quit if a commitment to net zero emissions by 2050 is dumped at a party room meeting this week.

On Monday afternoon Liberal Senator and shadow assistant minister to the Leader of the Opposition Maria Kovacic kept open the possibility of going to the backbench if net zero was no longer a party position.

“I genuinely won’t speculate on it. I’ll have a chat to you on Wednesday afternoon or Thursday about that, happily. I’m going into these discussions and the continuing discussions in good faith,” she told Sky News.

“I am very much buoyed by the conversations that I’ve had in my own party room and in our backbench committees around the amount of things that we are consistently agreement on, which is prices down, emissions down, and holding to the government to account on their failures.”

It came after she’d told Nine earlier in the day that “if the party room decides on a policy that a shadow minister cannot publicly support, they would have to resign and move to the backbench”.

Shadow housing minister Andrew Bragg on Sunday flagged he would be open to quitting the shadow cabinet if his party decided it would pull out of international climate change treaty, the Paris Agreement.

The moderate frontbencher reaffirmed his support for lowering emissions, saying there could not be a “fatwa” on words — referring to net zero.

“I don’t imagine that we would ever leave Paris. I mean, we’re a party of government . . .we’re not fringe dwellers,” he told the ABC’s Insiders program.

“Most Australians want us to play our fair role in terms of emissions reduction.”

On Monday other frontbench members from the moderate faction were also reportedly considering their future positions if a net zero aspiration was dumped from their party’s policy platform.

Leading moderate Tim Wilson told The Nightly he would have more to say in various media appearances over coming days but added “I wouldn’t get too excited about what I might have to say, let’s just wait to see what happens”.

Deputy Senate leader and opposition health spokeswoman Anne Ruston, a key moderate and ally of leader Sussan Ley offered a “no comment” when asked by Nine if she would resign if net zero was scrapped.

Last week leading conservative figures in the Liberal Party told The Nightly they believed Sussan Ley could survive as Opposition Leader until Christmas, if the net zero commitment was dropped.

On Wednesday the full Liberal party room will meet in Canberra at midday to discuss energy and emissions reduction policy, before Liberal frontbenchers gather the next morning to formalise their policy position with the shadow minister Dan Tehan.

Once the Liberals have settled on a new energy policy, which is likely to follow the National Party’s lead of dumping net zero, three senior parliamentarians from each party will be tasked with bringing a united Coalition position to a joint party room meeting for endorsement on the following Sunday.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has leapt on the continuing division within the Coalition, saying the opposition is too busy focusing on itself rather than the needs of voters.

“We’re focused on the big picture of servicing the needs and aspirations of the Australian people. The Coalition are focused on themselves,” Mr Albanese told reporters on Monday.

“They’ll have three meetings in the next week about themselves. We’re not having meetings about our internal affairs. What we’re having meetings on is the needs of the Australian people and will continue to do so.”