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‘Identity crisis’: why state Liberals aren’t following Sussan Ley on net zero
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‘Identity crisis’: why state Liberals aren’t following Sussan Ley on net zero

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“They are worried about the next election,” Dr Blair Williams, lecturer in Australian politics at Monash University, told SBS News.
She replaced Brad Battin, who in turn took over from John Pesutto last December.
While Wilson declined to comment on her party’s position on net zero, Sloane said Friday that the party in her state would not abandon the goal.
Amy Remeikis, chief political analyst at the Australia Institute, told SBS News the divide between the federal and state parties reflects a “real identity crisis”.

“You can see that the state parties are trying to differentiate themselves from their federal counterparts,” she said.

Search for ‘clean air’

Polls show that more Australians are in some sense in favor of keeping net zero emissions as an emissions reduction target.
A Resolve poll conducted in early November and published in The Age newspaper found that 54 percent of the 1,804 people surveyed supported a net zero target, while 28 percent of people supported it even if it was ‘ambitious’ rather than legally binding.
Nineteen percent believed Australia should give up net zero while continuing to reduce emissions where affordable. Twelve percent wanted the target abandoned altogether.
It comes at a time when the Coalition’s primary support continues to decline. Polls released this week by RedBridge and Accent Research showed the Coalition primary vote falling five points to 24 percent, while Labor gained four points to 38 percent.
“It is very difficult for the liberal state parties to get clean air at the moment,” Remeikis told SBS News.
With the state election in Victoria a year away and the NSW election in March 2027, Remeikis said it is the states that will “bear the immediate costs” of the disconnect between policy and people when it comes to issues like net zero.
“It’s always harder for states parties because they are the ones dealing directly with people. They are the ones responsible for the services,” Remeikis said.

“This creates a huge crisis for the state Liberal parties trying to separate themselves from the federal Liberal Party.”

Victoria’s millennial opposition leader

Williams told SBS News that Wilson presents an interesting alternative for Victorian voters.
“She’s a millennial. She’s 35 years old. That’s a really smart choice because the Liberal Party has had a really hard time in the polls, not just with women, but especially with younger people,” she said.
“She has referred to herself as a ‘little’ Liberal, and she was also the only Victorian Liberal MP to publicly support the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.”

Wilson was a consultant at ‘big four’ accounting firm KPMG and held a role at the Business Council of Australia before being elected to the seat of Kew in 2022.

Jess Wilson is the first female leader of the Victorian Liberal Party. Source: MONKEY / Joel Carrett

The leader she replaced, Brad Battin, had promised to be ‘tougher on crime and smarter on justice’ than Labour, a position that became less tenable after Prime Minister Jacinta Allan announced a new policy. where children as young as 14 can be sentenced to life in prison.

Battin had recently indicated he was “comfortable” with maintaining Victoria’s target of net zero emissions by 2045.
Remeikis said that while Wilson is a “new face,” she doesn’t think that will move the party closer to the center of politics.
“For the Victorian Liberals, it’s not a leadership problem. It’s a problem of policy and what their base tells them to do.”
Wilson has said she would commit to the party’s policy of revoking the country’s first treaty with First Nations people.

A poll released on the same day as the leadership spill showed the Coalition under Battin narrowly leading the Victorian Labor Party 51-49, according to Freshwater polling.

Kellie Sloane defends hunting photo

On Friday, newly elected NSW Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane told the media her party has had a “consistent position on net zero” since 2016.
“I will bring my own leadership style. I will be consultative, I will try to remain myself, be authentic, listen to people.”
Sloane was also forced to defend a photo that appeared on social media of her eating caviar at a party on a yacht in 2017.

“If that’s the worst they can get away with, I think this is a good start,” she said.

On the left a woman with blond hair and a navy blue jacket, and on the left a woman in a lavender jacket.

Newly elected NSW Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane joined Deputy Leader Natalie Ward outside the party room on Friday. Source: MONKEY / Bianca De Marchi

Williams said Sloane’s background as a journalist and broadcaster makes her an effective communicator.

“That’s quite useful if the previous Liberal leader really failed to cut through and relate to people,” she said.
However, Remeikis said Sloane faces a tough challenge against Labor Prime Minister Chris Minns. A November Resolve poll showed Minns leading as preferred leader 31 percent to 19 percent — down from 37 percent in September.
“It won’t be Kelly Sloane’s fault if the NSW Liberals don’t win the next election,” Remeikis said.

“It’s a very, very difficult question.”

Can they improve the polls?

Williams told SBS News she is unsure whether either leader can turn around the fortunes of the Liberal Party, which has low ratings especially among young people and women.
“The party is crumbling across Australia. At the last NSW election the Liberals couldn’t even pre-select many candidates for local councils,” Williams said.
In light of deeper questions about the Liberal Party’s ideology following its 2025 election defeat, these moves can be seen as “a blow to a new face and to a woman.”
“One leader can’t change everything, and we shouldn’t expect female leaders to change everything,” she said.
“It’s going to take a pretty big change to change voters’ perceptions,” she said.
‘But who knows? Stranger things have happened.’
“I’m from Queensland and we’re a moody bitch when it comes to the electorate, so maybe Victoria and NSW will take a leaf out of our book.”

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