One Nation Senator Pauline Hanson is capitalizing on internal divisions within the Coalition to push forward an urgency motion aimed at scrapping Australia’s net zero emissions target.
A vocal skeptic of climate change, Senator Hanson plans to introduce the motion on Monday, following Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce’s recent private member’s bill advocating the same objective.
Recognizing the fractures within the Coalition, Hanson asserted her motion would expose what she described as “cowards” who shy away from opposing net zero publicly.
“They’re gutless—cowards,” she told Sky News, criticizing potential Coalition senators who might not support her proposal.
She accused many parliamentarians of lacking the knowledge to engage in meaningful debate on climate change, saying, “They have no idea what they’re talking about, yet they’re voting on these issues.”
Calling the net zero agenda a “scam,” Hanson claimed Australians are being misled. “It’s all a ruse. If we continue on this path, Australians will lose freedoms—where they travel, what they eat—all dictated by carbon emissions,” she said.
However, it’s important to note that Australia’s renewable energy targets do not enforce any restrictions on personal travel or diet.
Earlier, Barnaby Joyce questioned whether urban Australians were willing to inflict economic harm on disadvantaged communities by sticking to carbon neutrality.
Now on the backbench following political setbacks, Joyce began the new parliamentary session by introducing his Repeal Net Zero Bill. While the bill is unlikely to gain traction without major changes in the Coalition’s moderate leadership under Sussan Ley, Joyce remains influential, particularly among Nationals.
His break from the more environmentally conscious Liberal faction has sparked a growing wave of dissent among backbenchers. On Monday, Joyce emphasized the need for urban and rural Australians to compromise. “We avoid doing certain things in the regions out of reasonableness,” he said.
As an example, Joyce questioned why Mascot Airport couldn’t operate 24/7 if rural communities are expected to accept infrastructure like transmission lines and wind turbines. “There’s got to be a give-and-take,” he argued.
He also challenged affluent urban areas, asking, “Are you prepared to hurt the poor?” Joyce stressed that real understanding of the issues might lead people to reconsider their stance. “You don’t feel virtuous if you’re harming others,” he added.
Joyce’s proposed legislation aims to repeal Australia’s commitment to reaching net zero emissions by 2050—a target aligned with many other developed nations but made more complex by global energy shifts and geopolitical instability, including conflicts like the war in Ukraine.
Joining Joyce in his campaign outside Parliament House were former Nationals leader Michael McCormack and Liberal MP Garth Hamilton—the only Liberal member visibly supporting the effort.
