Australian Politics Live: Victoria Records 1,749 Covid Cases, NSW 273; Scott Morrison in last-minute talks with the Nationals over net zero | Australia News

Ready for more climate talk?
Because you will hear a lot of it today. Again.
Despite being one of the ruling parties for the past eight years and heavily involved in political climate wars, the Nationals, led by Barnabé Joyce, have apparently never considered a net zero goal by 2050 before. All we heard yesterday was how they should take their time to think about it, as it would be “unwise” to make a decision afterwards. a four hour meeting. Four hours and eight years, but who matters?
Liberals and nationals meet for the first time in six months this morning, at a joint meeting in the village hall, where they will hear more rah-rah speeches on the quality of the tech roadmap and the climate which have not yet been publicly announced. the plan is.
In case you missed it yesterday, Scott Morrison told the Liberal party hall that it would be the cabinet that would make the net zero decision by 2050. Which means if the national MPs who sit in the cabinet are not happy with the decision, they would technically have to resign and return to what Joyce calls the “corridor of the near-dead” – the backseat.
When this question was raised yesterday, it was dismissed as hypothetical. But it’s not. You can have splits within the party but not within the cabinet – cabinet solidarity is taken very seriously. So if the nationals decide to stay in the cabinet, then they have to accept climate policy and help sell it. Which might make things a little interesting, given the rhetoric.
And during this time, the regional liberal deputies, including the senator Hollie hugues, take the opportunity to remind nationals that the Liberals actually represent more regions than their junior coalition partner – 24 rural and regional Liberal MPs for 21 nationals – so everything seems to be going well.
Remember, however, that we are only talking about 2050. Discussion of everything that happens in this decade – the interim goal of 2030 – is not on the table. And that’s where the international community is. So while the rest of the world talks about 2030, we’re stuck in 2050 – when none of those people will be in parliament. Good time.
Mike Bowers will bring you to parliament through its camera (as well as its secret squirrel network) and Katharine Murphy, Paul Karp, Sarah Martin and Daniel hurst will help to make sense of everything.
Amy Remeikis is on the blog with you for most of the day. I’m about to make my third coffee. Are you ready?