Australian news and politics live: Sussan Ley, Liberals to discuss net zero policy after weeks of turmoil

The Veterans’ Affairs Minister says it “probably” wasn’t appropriate for the departing RSL boss to use a Remembrance Day address to attack the Government’s record on defence spending.

At the Australian War Memorial on Tuesday, retired Major General Greg Melick warned Australia was becoming complacent about the threat of conflict and called for better preparedness.

Speaking following a Remembrance Day event in London, Veterans’ Affairs Minister Matt Keogh defended the Albanese Government’s record on military spending.

“It’s actually probably not the thing that we should be focusing on on a day like Remembrance Day,” he told reporters.

“We’ve done the work in terms of the Defence Strategic Review, and announcing the National Defence Strategy, and making sure that there are regular updates to our investment programming capability, making sure that we are delivering on a clear strategy for defence”.

“And I encourage everyone, including the former president of the National RSL, to make sure that they’re across all of those documents and what the Government is actually doing.”

The High Court has ruled that the Australian Government did legally take back an embassy site in Canberra from the Russians, but that the Commonwealth must pay compensation for the land.

A special law was rushed through in 2023 to cancel the lease on the block of land a stone’s throw from Parliament House, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese arguing it was necessary on national security grounds.

Russia had already had almost 15 years to build a new embassy on the land.

However, little more existed than a fence and a shed, in which a diplomat camped out in a stand-off that lasted several days after the lease was cancelled.

The High Court on Wednesday unanimously ruled that the law allowing for the land to be taken back into Australian control was valid and allowed for the property to be compulsorily acquired.

It also ruled that the Commonwealth was liable to pay a “reasonable amount of compensation” to Russia for the land.

Australia’s domestic spy boss has delivered a fresh warning about “Chinese hackers” seeking to gain access to critical infrastructure assets, including telecommunications networks.

In a speech to an Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) forum, ASIO Director General Mike Burgess said the country now faces a threat of “high impact sabotage”.

“I have previously said we’re getting closer to the threshold for high-impact sabotage,” Mr Burgess told the ASIC conference in Melbourne on Wednesday.

“Well, I regret to inform you – we’re there now.”

“ASIO is aware of one nation state – no prizes for guessing which one – conducting multiple attempts to scan and penetrate critical infrastructure in Australia and other Five Eyes countries, targeting water, transport, telecommunications, and energy networks”.

The ASIO boss referenced the activities of two Beijing-controlled hacking units known as Salt Typhoon and Volt Typhoon, which he said were “working for the Chinese government and their military”.

Liberal MP Tim Wilson, shadow minister for small business, says net zero discussions in the party room will be a “great day”, saying the Party has a choice to choose hope or be “Nationals-lite”.

“Today is going to be a great day,” he wrote on X.

“Liberals face a choice: We can be Nationals-lite & outsource our emissions policy to globalists. Or we can lead, choose hope, a sovereign target, build energy, reindustrialise Australia & back small business!

“Welcome to Liberal country.”

Gisele Kapterian — a Liberal candidate who narrowly lost the seat of Bradfield to teal independent Nicolette Boele in May — has warned that if the Liberals dump net zero, it would jeopardise their chance of ever claiming back the blue-ribbon seat.

Ms Kapterian detailed her views in an email sent to senior shadow ministers on Tuesday evening, and published by the AFR, ahead of a Liberal meeting in Canberra at 12pm AEDT aimed at settling debate over net zero.

She warned voters in the traditional Liberal electorate now expected strong climate action.

“In my experience, echoed throughout the most marginal, winnable, metropolitan seats, our party must remain firmly committed to the language of a ‘net zero’ emissions target as part of an energy policy that is differentiated from the ALP. Retreat is an electoral liability,” she wrote.

There has been plenty of posturing going on ahead of the Liberals’ meeting today, which is the first time it’s had a formal party room meeting without the Nationals to discuss the net zero issue.

Shadow minister Andrew Bragg said on the weekend he would quit the frontbench if the party walked away from Australia’s commitment under the Paris agreement, and other moderates have made similar noises.

Frontbencher Melissa McIntosh hoped this didn’t eventuate.

“People that are on the frontbench are there for a reason, because they’re talented and smart, and we need them there,” she told The West.

She’s heard from 1600 constituents through a survey over recent weeks – with a majority of them saying they wanted the party to drop its commitment to get to net zero emissions by 2050 – and will take that perspective into the lunchtime meeting today.

“I’m going to fight as hard as I can fight on this issue because I think it’s worth it, but I’m not going to say if I don’t get my way that’s it,” she said.

As Liberal MPs descended on Canberra for a party room meeting aimed at settling the debate over net zero, at least three South Australian parliamentarians could be late due to a delayed flight.

Two Liberal senators from South Australia, Senator Leah Blyth and Senator Andrew McLachlan, as well as the member for Barker Tony Pasin, were on board a Qantas flight from Adelaide, which had to be turned back 10 minutes into their journey due to technical issues.

Senator Blyth told ABC on Wednesday morning that as the plane started to take off, they started to smell smoke in the cabin. She said white smoke then filled the cabin.

Fire engines met the Qantas operated Alliance plane on the runway when they touched back down.

The energy policy debate has divided the Coalition after the National Party formally scrapped its target earlier this month.

Read the full story.

Liberal MPs and senators will meet in the nation’s capital for crucial talks as they inch closer to a formal policy on climate change and energy.

The party is widely expected to water down its commitment to net zero emissions by 2050, but will still retain some commitment to reducing carbon pollution if it returns to government.

A party room meeting has been called for midday on Wednesday in Canberra, where members will discuss their approach to the issue.

Energy and climate policy has increasingly become a proxy battle for Sussan Ley’s leadership, which some MPs say is under threat from rivals in the party’s conservative flank.

Liberal insiders have stressed Wednesday’s meeting will not include a vote, and will only be a discussion about policy. A meeting of the Liberal shadow ministry will be held on Thursday for the leadership team to finalise its energy plan.

Read the full story.