For the past week, as the federal government prepared to release its 2035 emissions reduction target, the Coalition has been at war with itself again over the 2050 net zero target for which the Morrison government signed up Australia.

But on Thursday, for once, Coalition MPs found themselves on the same page.

For political reasons as much as any other, Opposition Leader Sussan Ley had next to no choice but to oppose the interim targets after shadow ministerial colleague – and potential future leadership challenger – Andrew Hastie rekindled the climate fight and threatened to quit the frontbench if the Coalition maintained its support for net zero.

Liberal frontbencher Andrew Hastie and Opposition Leader Sussan Ley.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Ley doesn’t need to have a fight over 2035 – she has enough on her hands with the fight over 2050 and what was supposed to be a year-long internal review of climate policy by the opposition energy and emissions reductions spokesman, Dan Tehan.

The Coalition leader was quick to oppose the proposed 62 to 70 per cent emissions reduction plan, labelling the hundreds of pages of detailed work by Treasury, the Climate Change Authority, the CSIRO and more as a “glossy piece of modelling” and a fantasy, arguing Australia would miss the 43 per cent reduction by 2030 target and that Australians had already missed out on a $275 power bill cut promised by Anthony Albanese.

“I can assure you there was absolutely no division in opposing Labor’s latest piece of train-wreck energy policy,” Ley said.

Her plan for a year-long review that would buy time and keep the Coalition together has not survived contact with........

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