Overview
- Accounts from inside Wednesday's party room meeting indicate a clear majority of Liberal speakers favoured dropping the term 'net zero', with final wording to be settled by the leadership team on Thursday.
- Opposition Leader Sussan Ley faces a leadership test as moderates including Andrew Bragg and Tim Wilson warn of potential frontbench resignations if the target is abandoned.
- The Nationals have already removed the target and named Matt Canavan, Ross Cadell and Susan McDonald to lead talks with Liberals on a joint policy later in the week.
- Policy options being canvassed include retaining support for the Paris Agreement without using 'net zero' or tying emissions cuts to the OECD average, alongside a focus on power prices and reliability.
- External pressure has intensified, with a Resolve poll showing almost one in three voters support dumping the target and lobby group Advance urging supporters to flood Liberal MPs' inboxes.