Teals flag push for carbon reduction target of 60pc by 2030
LABOR’S 2030 carbon reduction target of 43 per cent does not cut it and will need to be much deeper, according to teal crossbenchers whose support Anthony Albanese may yet need in minority government.
Among the independents who mowed down moderate Liberal MPs on Saturday, concerns have also emerged about the nation’s mounting debt, which is tipped to grow faster under the ALP.
While the teal movement financially backed by Simon Holmes a Court’s Climate 200 group did not target any Labor MPs during the election, Mr Albanese could find himself having to deal with the consequences of its success. The number of teals elected on the weekend – a whopping six – equals the entire size of the crossbench in the last parliament.
They wasted no time in laying out demands should Labor fall short of the 76 seats needed to govern in its own right.
While Mr Albanese is projected to reach a majority, the possibility of a hung parliament could not be ruled out on Sunday night.
Zoe Daniel, who trounced Liberal Tim Wilson to win the Melbourne seat of Goldstein, said: “Certainly the people in this electorate want more ambitious climate targets than I think the Labor Party has. If I’m in a position to exert pressure on that I will be doing so.”
Ms Daniel, a former ABC journalist, is seeking a 60 per cent reduction of carbon emissions by 2030.
Allegra Spender, who put Dave Sharma to the sword in Sydney’s Wentworth, said the crossbench had a “strong mandate” from the community “around the climate”.
“We know what we stand for and we will stand up. We put our faith in the fact we can act on climate,” said Ms Spender, a businesswoman and clean energy advocate before running for parliament.
She described Labor as being “more ambitious” on climate action.
At 43 per cent, Labor’s 2030 carbon reduction target is 15 percentage points deeper than the Coalition’s 28 per cent.