Turnbull drops emissions targets to avert party revolt

MALCOLM TURNBULL, the Australian prime minister, yesterday headed off a possible leadership challenge by dropping targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions to appease his critics, as a poll showed support for his government slipping.

Conservatives in his coalition were reportedly sounding out colleagues for a possible challenge before Mr Turnbull announced the removal of emission reduction targets from the National Energy Guarantee (NEG) policy. Under headlines such as “PM’S leadership on knife edge”, major newspapers said some government members were gauging support for Peter Dutton, the home affairs minister, to replace Mr Turnbull. Mr Dutton said he supported the prime minister.

Asked whether his leadership was under threat, Mr Turnbull declared: “I enjoy the confidence of the cabinet and my party room”.

The leadership talk was fuelled by an Ipsos poll published in Fairfax newspapers, that showed support for Mr Turnbull’s Liberal-national coalition falling four points to 45 per cent, 10 points behind Labor and enough for a crushing electoral defeat. An election is due by next year. Mr Turnbull said his slim parliamentary majority and internal dissent left him no option but to remove the emission cuts that were part of the Paris Climate Agreement.

“Politics is governed by the iron laws of arithmetic and in a House of Representatives with a one-seat majority … if a small number of people are not prepared to vote with the government on a measure, then it won’t get passed,” Mr Turnbull told reporters.

Though Australia remains a signatory to the Paris accord, the removal of emissions targets means the country has no legislative or regulatory path to meeting the requirements.

Mr Turnbull’s move may relieve immediate pressure on his leadership, though internal peace is seen as fragile as the government’s re-election prospects look dim. “It’s a complete capitulation to the Right-wing members of the Liberal Party of Australia,” said Robyn Eckersley, the professor and head of political science at the University of Melbourne. “Turnbull is desperately hanging on to his leadership above and beyond everything else.”