NSW Nationals signal ‘full support' of coal power and will consider abandoning net zero target

The Guardian

a day ago

The New South Wales Nationals have passed a motion at their state conference in Coffs Harbour that calls on the party to 'reinstate our full support of the use of coal in power generation', keep coal power stations open and explore building new high efficiency, low emissions coal fired power stations in the future.
The motion was proposed by the Orange branch and the Northern Tablelands state electorate council and was carried easily on Friday.
On Saturday, the NSW Nationals will consider whether to abandon Australia's commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2050, when debate resumes at the party's weekend state conference.
The motion has been placed on the agenda by the Tweed state electorate council, in Northern NSW and is expected to spark torrid debate. A separate motion from the Young Nationals calls for the Nationals to advocate for withdrawal from the Paris agreement.
Since the federal election in May, the Nationals have continued to fight publicly and privately over whether to hold fast to the goal of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050, a target they agreed to in 2021, despite strong internal opposition.
A decision to abandon the target by the NSW branch, which contains more moderate elements of the Nationals, would be a new headache for federal opposition leader, Sussan Ley, who managed to patch up the Coalition last month after the Nationals briefly announced they would split.
It would also increase pressure on the Nationals leader, David Littleproud, who has stuck by the net zero target to date, despite deep internal dissent.
The rapprochement in the Coalition was achieved by Ley agreeing to discuss the Coaltion's future position on net zero internally in coming months.
'We have to play, as a country, our part in the global response to climate change. Net zero, Paris targets, gas, all of the resources, conversations around critical minerals, they're all part of that,' Ley said recently. But she has added it cannot come at any cost, leaving open a possibility of a more nuanced position.
On the other hand, Ley faces deep concern in her own Liberal party over the lack of climate policy, particularly from the moderates.
The Liberals have now lost all their federal heartland city seats in Sydney to independents who campaigned on tackling climate change.
The Nationals state conference also passed a motion on immigration calling for the slashing of Australia's immigration targets by 50% for four years, to below 100,000 a year.
A motion from the Young NSW Nationals branch, aimed at providing incentives to boost Australia's birthrate, was defeated.
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The motion called on the party to support 'a 25% income tax discount per child, up to a maximum of four children for parents … to encourage a strong and growing Australia'.
A family with four children would have paid no income tax at all.
Another motion from the Coffs Harbour branch, which called on the Nationals to provide subsidies to stay-at-home parents equivalent to the subsidies their taxes would have contributed towards government funded childcare, was also defeated.
Both policies would have cost billions. The Howard-era baby bonus of 2004 caused only a slight uptick in the birthrate before the downward trend continued.
The overall fertility rate has dropped in recent decades, falling from two babies per woman in 2008 to 1.6 in 2023.
The Northern Tablelands branch is proposing tough new policies on bail. The motion calls for no bail for offenders who already have a criminal record in the last five years and for offenders who commit a crime while on bail.
The Cowra branch has proposed a motion that advocates for the removal of Australian citizenship from people born overseas and deportation if they commit serious crimes or demonstrate 'toxic, antisocial behaviour or prejudice'.