Were not the party of 2018: State Liberals adopt net zero target – The Age

Its designed to save the seat of the member for Brighton after he almost lost it at the last election. The Liberals support for coal and opposition to renewable energy is well known to Victorians, Ms DAmbrosio said in a written statement.

Mr Newbury is also likely to face resistance from some MPs in his own party who do not see climate as a natural issue for conservatives. At the 2018 election, the state Coalition proposed a new power station, to be fuelled by the cheapest alternative out of coal, gas or renewables. Peak body Environment Victoria lambasted the policies in 2017, arguing the Coalition had gone the full Trump.

Energy, Environment and Climate Change Minister Lily DAmbrosio.Credit:Joe Armao

On Monday, Mr Newbury criticised the Andrews government, saying it had spent years pursuing its renewable energy transition without sufficient focus on securing private sector funding or creating investment certainty for businesses.

The Liberal Party, which sees itself as the party for business, would work more closely with the private sector and accept targets because governments should set thresholds to measure their performance, just like a business would, he said.

Companies will say theyre investing in NSW because we feel theres more certainty thats a very regular comment, he said.

Professor Bruce Mountain, director of the Victorian Energy Policy Centre, said it had been a slow process to create a degree of bipartisanship on energy policy in Victoria. He said cross-party support for phasing out fossil fuels was well established in states including NSW, South Australia and Tasmania.

I havent seen an unequivocal Liberal Party position on decarbonisation, and it sounds like they have one now, he said, adding that it would be beneficial to enshrine interim targets in legislation.

Its good to see they intend to back net zero.

The Liberals will also need to manage the concerns of community groups in western Victoria who, along with a number of Victorian Liberal MPs, do not support a transmission line connecting renewable energy projects from Ararat to Melbourne. A protest against the powerlines will be held at state Parliament on Tuesday.

Mr Newbury has criticised the government for its handling of the transmission lines issue, and has called the government environmental frauds for its tax on electric vehicle drivers.

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The Coalition is shifting its environmental stance as Liberals around Australia grapple with the threat of well-funded independent candidates running on a climate change agenda. The Liberals Party is now facing the threat of losing support to independents campaigning on climate and integrity in politics. Simultaneously, Clive Palmers United Australia Party is pulling the Coalition in the other direction by appealing to suburban and regional voters disaffected by years of strict pandemic measures.

State governments including Victoria and NSW have made renewable energy a central plank of their reform agendas. Victorian Liberal MPs also took note of the recent byelection in Gladys Berejiklians former seat of Willoughby, where her successor suffered a 13.5 per cent primary vote swing and almost lost to an independent. Mr Newbury almost lost the blue-ribbon seat of Brighton at the 2018 election.

Mr Newbury also holds the partys equality portfolio, where he had the difficult task of gaining internal party support to halt proposed amendments of the governments gay conversion therapy ban. He was met with strong pushback from some MPs, including hard-right upper house MP Bernie Finn.

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Were not the party of 2018: State Liberals adopt net zero target - The Age