Not surprisingly, Matt Canavan was as forthright in his views about Australia’s net zero goals after he lost his leadership bid for the Nationals as he was before the vote.

Senator Matt Canavan addressing a rally against renewable energy last year.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Australia should dump its goal to reach net zero by 2050, he told anyone who asked, as he lobbied for the top job. “Our renewable strategy, our energy system, our net zero policy is completely stuffed; we need to dump it,” he told Sky News. The goal, he wrote in The Australian, was “futile and unachievable”.

After he lost the vote, he took a few more swings too. “I may have lost the battle today, but the war against this net zero madness is not over,” he said, again on Sky News.

“I welcome the fact that the … re-elected [Nationals] leader, David Littleproud, has said today that he’s open to reviewing the net zero policy.

“So if you’d like to see the net zero policy scrapped … get on to your local member of parliament in the Nationals Party and tell them to get rid of this madness and actually put up a fight for........

© Brisbane Times