Six months ago on Thursday, the new Liberal leader, Sussan Ley, stood in the opposition party room at Parliament House and promised the Coalition would meet voters “where they are”.

Six months on – and after another messy few weeks for the Liberals and Nationals – Ley was back in the same spot confirming the Liberals had dumped support for net zero emissions by 2050.

The move paves the way for a joint Coalition energy and emissions policy, and sets up a major fight with Labor ahead of the next election.

But by insisting she would eschew long-term targets, Ley appears to have given up trying to meet voters where they are, instead allowing conservative MPs to dictate policy to keep her job and keep the Coalition together.

The contradictions in the policy documents released by Ley and the shadow energy minister, Dan Tehan, are clear.

Despite dumping net zero, Ley said achieving the widely accepted international benchmark to stop global temperature increases of 1.5C or more would be “a welcome outcome”, provided technology, consumers and markets do all the hard work.

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