View from The Hill: Ley’s in a no-win situation as warring Liberal tribes battle over net zero

View from The Hill: Ley’s in a no-win situation as warring Liberal tribes battle over net zero

As Liberals prepare for Wednesday’s party meeting to discuss climate policy, Sussan Ley might be wondering why she stood for leader in the first place. As Liberals prepare for Wednesday’s party meeting to discuss climate policy, one wouldn’t blame Sussan Ley if she were starting to wonder why she stood for leader in the first place. Barring miracles, she finds herself in a no-win situation. The gulf in her party is encapsulated in the war over net zero, but that stands for a much wider divide – probably as wide as the party has faced since it was formed in the mid-1940s.

As they battle over whether to ditch their net-zero commitment, the Liberals have lost all discipline. They’re fighting like alley cats, taking their views and sniping into any public forum (especially Sky News) they get. Many have little respect for Ley and none for her authority.

“Take Phil Thompson, the member for the Queensland seat of Herbert. A veteran, he complained that on Remembrance Day he had to ‘get on a bloody plane to fly back to Canberra to talk about something that we should have resolved months ago’.”

It’s just half a year since the election. Thompson went on to attack colleagues who’ve hinted they might leave the frontbench if the policy debate ends badly for their view. “We’ve seen now people threaten to quit positions and throw all their toys out of the cot. […] And to those people who want to threaten to quit – then quit.”

Author’s summary

Ley faces a fractured Liberal party amid a heated net-zero policy battle, exposing leadership fragility and internal strife that risks undermining unity and credibility.

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The Conversation The Conversation — 2025-11-11

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