Michaelia Cash supports Sussan Ley’s leadership but Andrew Hastie threatens to quit if net zero returns

Liberal frontbencher Andrew Hastie has warned he could quit if leader Sussan Ley adopts a net zero by 2050 policy. The Shadow Home Affairs Minister said he had “nailed my colours to the mast” on scrapping the pledge and his position would be untenable if it was reinstated. The Coalition’s policies — including their net zero commitment — are still under review after their disastrous Federal election result earlier this year under former leader Peter Dutton. Ms Ley and shadow energy minister Dan Tehan, who are leading the review, have flagged that the outcomes should be released in the middle of next year. Asked what he would do if the party kept backing net zero, Mr Hastie said: “That leaves me without a job”. “I mean, everyone is whispering that anyway, so I may as well just say it out loud. I’ve nailed my colours in the mast,” he added. “The net zero policy is a straitjacket for our economy and our country.” Asked to elaborate on his comment and if his remarks meant he would run as an independent at the next election, Mr Hastie offered no clarification but is believed to have only meant stepping down from the frontbench. “If I go out with a tide in two and a half years, that’s great, you know, I’ll get a lot more time with my kids back,” he told ABC Perth. “My primary mission in politics is to build a stronger, more secure, more competitive Australia. Energy security is a vital input to that. So, that’s my bottom line.” It comes after party frictions played out in public last week after Jacinta Nampijinpa Price claimed Labor was bringing in Indian migrants to boost its vote. Senator Michaelia Cash on Monday joined a string of Coalition frontbenchers to publicly announce her support for Ms Ley’s leadership after not weighing into the leadership speculation earlier. WA’s most senior Liberal had attended an event with Senator Price at the party’s Perth headquarters last week, where the new recruit fronted the media outside but stopped short of apologising or offering public backing to Ms Ley. It is understood senior members had expected Senator Price to use the Perth press conference to apologise to migrant communities. Instead, she did not, before failing to back Ms Ley when repeatedly asked. That prompted Ms Ley to call a snap press conference while in Tasmania a few hours later to demote her, before the Liberal leader then issued an apology on behalf of the party the following day. “Sussan Ley has my full support as leader and our focus is firmly on holding the Albanese Government to account,” Senator Cash told The West. Angus Taylor — who in May lost a leadership ballot against Ms Ley on a rival joint-ticket with the NT Senator — also gave the leader his support on Monday, saying he understood her decision. The Opposition defence spokesman admitted Senator Price had “made mistakes” with her Indian migrant remarks, which she has since walked back. He added that the Senator — who defected from the Nationals in May — should “absolutely” stay in the party. “Sussan made the right decision because Jacinta wasn’t prepared to support her leadership,” Mr Taylor told ABC. “But I am very confident that Jacinta will play an important role in the Liberal Party in years to come. She’s obviously a hugely talented member of parliament.” He joined other Coalition members to express hope that Senator Price would make a future-appearance on the frontbench. Andrew Hastie, who has also aired his Liberal leadership ambitions, also insisted despite “feverish speculation” that “the knives are not being sharpened” for Ms Ley’s position. “The knives are not being sharpened … they’re not. What we need now is stability,” he told 2GB radio late last week. He too said once Senator Price couldn’t express confidence in Ms Ley, the outcome was inevitable. It comes as Coalition two-party-preferred vote crashed to an all-time low of 27 per cent on Monday — marking the biggest slump in Newspoll history since it was first counted in November 1985. After a disastrous election result earlier this year under former leader Peter Dutton, Mr Taylor said it was already clear as day that the Coalition needed to step up. “Look, we didn’t need a Newspoll to know we’ve got a lot of work to do,” Mr Taylor said, labelled the Senator Price controversy a “big distraction over the last week or so.” “We’ve got to knuckle down and make sure that we’ve got strong positions in key areas.” Liberal Senator Jane Hume indicated the party’s desperation to move on from the debacle and get back to holding the Albanese government to account. “We’ve got a long way to go now before the next election; we’ve got a lot of ground to make up,” she told Sky News. “But can I point out to you too that the Labor government’s position really hasn’t shifted here... in fact, it means that their huge numbers in parliament are essentially sitting on quicksand.”