Josh Frydenberg rules out stronger climate policies despite Wentworth debacle

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has insisted the government’s climate policies are “settled” despite acknowledging the issue was a factor in the Wentworth byelection, where the government suffered a battering on Saturday night.

Kerryn Phelps is embraced by her wife Jackie Stricker-Phelps
 during her victory speech on Saturday night.CREDIT:

Mr Frydenberg brushed aside suggestions the Morrison government needs to overhaul its climate action policies, saying its suite of existing measures were enough to “meet and beat” Australia’s emission reduction pledges.

Independent Kerryn Phelps campaigned hard on climate change and Liberal volunteers on the booths have reported it was a key issue for Wentworth voters. Dr Phelps still appears to have won the Sydney seat in one of the largest byelections swings in federal political history, though pre-polls and postal votes that are still being counted will make the final result close.

Read the story from The Sydney Morning Herald by David Wroe - “Josh Frydenberg rules out stronger climate policies despite Wentworth debacle.”

Grattan on Friday: Malcolm Turnbull is gone but son Alex keeps the climate faith

In a Thursday video for the Wentworth byelection, Malcolm Turnbull’s son Alex has denounced “extremists on the hard right” who, he says, have taken over the Liberal Party.

More broadly though, Morrison avoids dwelling
on the significance of climate change.

The younger Turnbull called on voters in his dad’s old seat to register a protest about the party’s direction, and deliver a message on climate change. “If you want to pull the Liberal party back from the brink, there is one clear signal you can send,” he said, urging people not to vote Liberal.

Apart from the leadership coup Turnbull, a Singapore-based investment manager, highlighted energy policy to make his point about the hard right’s “crazy agenda”.

“As an investor in energy, I’ve seen that in particular there’s no way coal can compete anymore. Renewables have gotten too cheap, firming costs are reasonable, and really there’s no trade off any more between lowering your power bills and reducing emissions. And yet still some would like to prosecute a culture war over this issue”.

Read the piece by Michelle Grattan from The Conversation - “Grattan on Friday: Malcolm Turnbull is gone but son Alex keeps the climate faith.”