Chris Uhlmann urges Liberal Party to 'shut up' and 'get its act together' to form position on net zero that it 'can defend'

Sky News AU

2 days ago

Sky News political contributor and veteran journalist Chris Uhlmann has called on the Liberal Party to "get its act together" on net zero, arguing it needed to form a formidable argument in order to win voters after the South Australian Liberals voted to dump the policy.
The Liberal Party in SA voted to ditch the net zero target for 2050, just five years after it set the target of reaching 100 per cent net renewables by 2030 when it was in government.
The move comes as net zero plays a prominent role in discussions between the federal Liberal Party and the Nationals, with members of each party pushing for it to be dropped.
The Coalition is reviewing its commitment to achieving net zero emissions in the wake of its heavy election defeat last month.
Speaking to Sky News' Peta Credlin on Tuesday, Uhlmann said he expected net zero to continue to come under the microscope within the party.
"I certainly don't think this is the last division that's going to have this kind of vote... and I think it's a perfectly reasonable argument to have because I think that there are really sound arguments against net zero," he said.
"One is that (the target)... it's not actually a policy and we don't have the policies in place to do it, we don't have the technology in place to do it. The major economies of the world essentially aren't doing it, and it will cost you trillions of dollars to try. Now, they're all reasonable arguments, that I think reasonable people could make."
Uhlmann criticised how the Liberal Party had articulated its arguments on energy in the past and said whatever path it decided to take on net zero, it needed to establish an effective argument that could put them in a position to win.
"My problem with the Liberal Party is that I don't think they have the capacity to make those arguments, or at least to decide on a position that they can defend. And when we've seen them weigh into energy arguments in the past, they leave the rest of us basically struggling to try and make sensible arguments because they've so crueled the playing field along the way," he said.
"I think it would be a great idea for the Liberal Party to get its act together and to try and work out how it might win the next election in South Australia whatever its policies might be.
"But I think there's this too, that if you've got nothing to say, say nothing, for God's sake shut up until you get your act together, although I doubt that's likely to be a policy position that they will adopt. They'll fight among themselves and do themselves incredible damage and do this argument damage along the way."
Touching on another major political talking point of the day, Uhlmann also addressed the decision by Senator Dorinda Cox to ditch the Greens to make the switch to the Labor Party.
He went as far to suggest politicians who wish to quit the party they are in should resign from Parliament altogether.
"I've got an old worldview when it comes to being a senator who was elected for a political party and that is if you decide to jump out of the party you should jump out of Parliament," he said.
"I think she should resign from Parliament and it doesn't matter who it is - a Liberal senator, a Labor senator, Greens senator - you were elected on behalf of your party, on behalf of your state, and if you're going to jump out of that party, then you should have the decency to resign."