‘It's abhorrent': Barnaby Joyce vows to oppose Coalition on net zero at every turn after shadow cabinet axing while fiercely criticising moderate Liberals

Sky News AU

4 days ago

Barnaby Joyce has railed against the concept of net zero, declaring he would do everything in his power to prevent the Coalition from embracing controversial emission reduction targets following his dumping from shadow cabinet.
The ex-Nationals leader was one of many senior figures removed from the Coalition's new look ministry and will now join fellow former deputy prime minister Michael McCormack on the backbench.
Mr Joyce blasted Nationals leader David Littleproud's shock decision to exit the Coalition last week and was the most outspoken Nationals figure against the move.
He also lashed Mr Littleproud's claim the shadow cabinet shake-up represented a 'generational change', noting the majority of those replacing him were, in fact, older than he was.
However, in one of his first on air appearances since the brutal demotion, Mr Joyce embraced the fact he was no longer bound by shadow cabinet solidarity and unloaded on the Coalition's net zero policy, labelling emissions reduction targets a 'great scam'.
'I fervently don't agree with this, I think it's abhorrent and I think it makes our nation weaker, and we've got to fight against it,' Mr Joyce told Sky News host Andrew Bolt.
Mr Joyce, who has been a long-time critic of net zero emissions, added the policy was 'mad' and the Coalition needed to 'throw the rule book out the window'.
The New England MP also denounced Liberal moderates, including Victorian MP and newly appointed shadow education minister Zoe Mckenzie, for arguing the party needed to take a firm stance on the issue to recapture centrist voters who had abandoned the Coalition.
'We in New England have become the garbage can of your virtue, we are not there to deal with the detritus of your wishes that you'd never wish to be in your electorate,' Mr Joyce said.
He then encouraged the few remaining inner city Liberal MPs to erect renewable energy infrastructure in their urban electorates, as opposed to relying on rural areas.
'If you wish for wind towers with the microplastics then put them up off on your beaches, you certainly can do that,' Mr Joyce said.
'Put the transmission lines across your suburbs, you certainly can do that, live your virtue, do not be a hypocrite.'
When pressed if he was considering a departure from politics after his ministerial relegation Mr Joyce insisted he still had 'two big tasks' to complete - those being to 'look after the people of the New England and the Upper Hunter' and to 'fight against net zero'.
'Unfortunately, you've got the Labor Party, the Liberal Party, the Greens, and my own society at the moment, the Nationals, all believing in net zero,' he said.
'So where are you going to get the no argument from? How do you deal with this? How does an intelligent person hear the contrarian view and make an assessment of the facts presented to them?'
The Coalition has appeared to edge away from its commitment to net zero emissions by 2050 following its reunification, with Opposition Leader Sussan Ley telling Sky News on Thursday that removing the nuclear moratorium would be the 'first step' in a broader energy reset.