Queensland LNP Conference Votes to End Support for Net Zero

Liberal National Party members have overwhelmingly supported a symbolic motion to drop support for net zero.

Australian Senator Matthew Canavan (QLD) speaks at CPAC Australia in Brisbane, Australia, on Oct. 5, 2024. Melanie Sun/The Epoch Times

Queensland’s Liberal National Party (LNP) has become the latest state or territory to vote to abandon net zero targets.

Nationals Senator Matt Canavan announced the decision on X, simply stating: “The LNP has just voted to abandon net zero.”

The LNP held its Queensland state conference in Brisbane on Aug. 22 where party members can put forward motions to be voted on. Current Opposition Leader Sussan Ley and her predecessor Peter Dutton were in attendance.

The vote does not mean the official party of MPs at state or federal level have to officially adopt the stance, yet a motion can be a barometer on party sentiment.

In the case of net zero, more than 20 Queensland branches reportedly pushed for the motion to end net zero.

In an earlier post on X, Canavan said Australia had been “wasting billions on a mad attempt to reach net zero.”

Fellow MP Llew O'Brien has also long spoken in favour of ending aspirations for a renewable energy target.

“Net zero madness is doing nothing other than screwing our nation,” he said.

“We need to put Australia first and end net zero.”

Despite the motion, the LNP government in Queensland has already taken steps to relax hard targets in June, scrapping benchmarks like reaching 50 percent renewables by 2030, 70 percent by 2032, and 80 percent by 2035.

The Crisafulli government has also removed other renewable initiatives including walking away from a $12 billion hydrogen project, and cancelling a $1 billion wind farm.

The party conference vote comes after several other Liberal Party conferences adopted similar measures.

The Western Australian Liberal Party recently endorsed a motion to reject net zero, while South Australian Liberal Party and Northern Territory Country Liberals voted to abandon net zero and withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement.