As federal politicians converge on Canberra for the opening of the 48th Parliament, Member for New England Barnaby Joyce has admitted that his position on net zero is more about drawing political dividing lines than policy conviction.
“We did agree with a lot of things,” Joyce said, commenting on the election and the latest polling during his weekly joint appearance on Sunrise with Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek this morning.
“We went through the campaign basically agreeing on the crucial issues, crucial policies such as net zero, such as trying to get down the price of power. You believe in it; we believe in it. And they voted for you.”
Joyce said the Coalition needs to focus on “binary” issues where they can draw clear lines of opposition to Labor.
“That’s why such issues such as net zero, I say, look, find a point of division,” he said. “You don’t believe in net zero. They do believe in net zero. You believe in looking after pensions and power prices. They believe in abiding by a Paris agreement.”
His comments come as a new Newspoll shows the Coalition’s primary vote has dropped to its lowest level in 40 years, with Labor strengthening its lead and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese increasing his margin over Opposition Leader Sussan Ley in the preferred prime minister stakes.
Joyce acknowledged the Coalition’s dire position, saying, “Let’s be honest about it, it is not good.”
“If you had a three in front of your number on your primary vote, you’d be very, very worried. And if you had a two in front of your vote, you’d basically kiss yourself goodbye.”
Meanwhile, Labor is preparing to govern with an increased majority after their decisive election victory. Labor now holds 94 of the 150 seats in the House of Representatives, with the Coalition on 43 and the crossbench 13. The Government is expected to hit the ground running when parliament opens on Tuesday, with a legislative agenda that includes reducing student debt, raising standards in childcare, and protecting penalty rates.
Plibersek said the government would remain focused on delivering on its promises rather than getting caught up in political fights.
“Our first pieces of legislation will be reducing student debt, making sure that childcare centres have higher standards and protecting penalty rates, because that’s what we promised to do,” she said.
“I think the Australian people are a bit tired of that sort of fighting politics where Members of Parliament look around for things to disagree on.”
Plibersek also warned against overconfidence within Labor ranks, despite the landslide result.
“The Prime Minister has made it very clear that we are there to deliver what we promised the Australian people. And that’s our 100 per cent focus,” she said.
Sunday saw the start of official proceedings with MPs and senators welcomed to Government House by Governor-General Sam Mostyn ahead of Tuesday’s opening. The gathering included a family barbecue, which Joyce and Plibersek both missed, though each expressed support for the Governor-General’s effort to create a positive bipartisan start to parliament for new MPs.
“It’s a really special day,” Plibersek said. “Doing that in a bipartisan way, bringing people together… is a really nice thing that the Governor-General’s done.”
Joyce said the event was “more important for people who are starting in politics than people who’ve been here for a few terms.”
The new parliamentary term will see about 40 first-time MPs take their seats, including Jamie Chaffey, the newly elected Member for Parkes following the resignation of Mark Coulton. Chaffey is expected to deliver his first speech later this month.
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