EXCLUSIVE: Sussan Ley’s Leadership on Shaky Ground as Coalition’s Climate Policy Teeters on Brink of Collapse
- Opposition Leader Sussan Ley’s climate policy woes deepen as Coalition infighting reaches boiling point
- Liberals on the brink of dumping net zero target, sparking fears of electoral Armageddon
- Government seizes on Coalition chaos, warning of “economic insanity” if net zero is abandoned
Sussan Ley’s leadership is hanging by a thread as the Coalition’s climate policy crisis spirals out of control. The Opposition Leader’s desperate attempts to placate warring factions within her party have left her looking weak and indecisive. As the party teeters on the brink of dumping its net zero target, Ley’s own future is increasingly uncertain.
In a dramatic escalation of the crisis, Liberal conservatives have hardened their opposition to net zero, warning that any attempt to retain the target would be electoral poison. “There’s no way this ends with us remaining committed to net zero,” one senior conservative source declared. Meanwhile, Liberal moderates are fighting a desperate rearguard action to save the target, warning that its abandonment would be a disaster for the party’s chances at the next election.
Ley’s woes have been compounded by the Nationals’ decision to gazump the Liberals on climate policy, leaving her party looking like it’s being forced into a position by its junior Coalition partner. The Opposition Leader’s efforts to give everyone a say in the debate have been criticized as weak and indecisive, with even her own deputy, Ted O’Brien, failing to articulate a clear position on net zero.
As the Coalition’s climate policy implodes, the government is seizing on the chaos to warn of the “economic insanity” of abandoning net zero. Treasurer Jim Chalmers has sharpened his lines in parliament, warning that ditching the target would hurt jobs and investment and drive prices even higher. With the Coalition’s leadership in crisis, Labor is sensing a major opportunity to exploit the Opposition’s divisions and cement its own position as the party of climate action.
In a clear sign of the tensions within the Coalition, a special meeting of Liberal MPs will be held in the next two weeks to settle the party’s net zero position. The meeting will be followed by a gathering of Liberal shadow cabinet ministers, who will attempt to thrash out a united position on climate policy. But with the party’s moderates and conservatives at loggerheads, it’s unclear whether Ley will be able to emerge with a coherent and credible policy.
As the Coalition’s climate policy crisis deepens, one thing is certain: Sussan Ley’s leadership is on borrowed time. With her party in disarray and her own future uncertain, the Opposition Leader faces an existential crisis that threatens to engulf her entire party.