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.”

‘We've turned a corner': farmers shift on climate change and want a say on energy

Out in the bush, far from the ritualised political jousting in Canberra, attitudes are changing. Regional Australia has turned the corner when it comes to acknowledging the reality of climate change, says the woman now charged with safeguarding the interests of farmers in Canberra.

 Fiona Simson on climate change: ‘Farmers have
 come quite a long way in their attitude.’

Fiona Simson, a mixed farmer and grazier from the Liverpool plains in northern New South Wales, and the president of the National Farmers’ Federation, says people on the land can’t and won’t ignore what is right before their eyes. “We have been experiencing some wild climate variability,” Simson tells Guardian Australia’s politics podcast. “It’s in people’s face”.

Read Katharine Murphy’s story from The Guardian - “‘We've turned a corner': farmers shift on climate change and want a say on energy.”