Victorian Liberals Latest to Vote Against Net Zero

During the Victoria Liberal conference, party leaders re-emphasised their focus on crime.

Solar panels are seen on the rooftop at AGL's Docklands office in Melbourne, Australia on Aug. 20, 2015. Scott Barbour/Getty Images

The Victorian Liberals have become the latest Australian state conference to vote to abandon net zero.

At the party’s state conference on Sept. 14, a majority voted to end 2050 targets.

The announcement follows that of the party’s South Australian, Western Australian, Northern Territory and Queensland branches all voting to end their commitment to net zero.

The vote is not binding of the party leadership but is a reflection of the mood of its members. The same conference saw members vote to ban trans individuals from entering women’s sports, according to The Age.

Nationals Senator Matt Canavan posted to X, saying either a Liberal or National branch in each mainland state or territory now opposed the renewable target.

Former Liberal Party Senator Gerard Rennick was critical of some party leaders still committing to net zero even after their members voted.

“Party leaders are not listening to their members. In many ways this is by design as the two major parties have changed the electoral funding laws so they are funded by taxpayers instead of members,” he wrote on Facebook.

“This has made democracy inside the major parties redundant.”

Focus on Crime

Meanwhile, the Victorian Liberal conference also saw the party re-affirm its anti-crime stance with Opposition Leader Brad Battin vowing to introduce Jack’s Law if his party wins next year.

Leader Brad Battin expressed his commitment to the party faithful as he promised to introduce Jack’s Law if the Liberals win next year’s election.

Jack’s Law allows police to use metal-detecting wands in public areas to search for knives and weapons.

It was named in honour of Queensland teen Jack Beasley, who was fatally stabbed on the Gold Coast in 2019.

The law passed Queensland’s Parliament in March 2023.

In the first year of Jack’s Law being introduced, police seized more than 500 weapons.

Battin also criticised Labor’s machete scheme, which offered amnesty to those who dump their machetes in designated bins.

“This is essential to give police the powers to take knives off the street, not wait in hope by spending $13 million on machete bins and thinking that a crook may drop it off when he’s coming out to burgle your home,” he told reporters.

“If we give [police] Jack’s Law, they will only use those laws to keep the community safe.”

Under current laws in Victoria, police are permitted to search for weapons in designated areas without a warrant for up to six months.

The party appears to be making safety its prime focus going in to the 2026 election, not unlike the stance successfully taken by Queensland’s Liberal National Party in 2024.