“Could you explain that for me?” Waleed Aly grills Anthony Albanese on climate change and Adani coal mine
Labor’s potential new leader Anthony Albanese has deflected a question about how his party will reconcile its climate change policy with coal mining jobs.
The Labor Party lost the federal election after its primary support in Queensland dropped to just 27.4 per cent, reaching a record low since 1996 when John Howard defeated Paul Keating.
According to observers, Labor’s inability to negotiate its environmental agenda with its support for the multi-million-dollar Adani coal mine project led voters in key Queensland seats to opt for the LNP for better job security.
Albanese, who could run unopposed as the new Labor leader after Chris Bowen left the race, said Labor would have “common sense propositions” under his leadership.
“Labor has to stand for jobs, economic growth, good distribution when it comes to social policy and to stand up for the environment and climate change,” he said on The Project Wednesday night. “I don't think there's a contradiction between the two things.”
Host Waleed Aly asked Albanese, “How do you stand up for jobs and the environment if those jobs happen to be in the coal industry?”
Albanese dodged the question, saying “good sustainability policy creates jobs”.
“Look at the renewable energy target, we introduced a 20 per cent target and that has created many thousands of jobs around Australia,” the frontbencher said.
Aly asked whether these jobs would go to coal mine workers, who will presumably lose their jobs as coal production declines.
“We have the challenge to explain our position, clearly, we didn't do well enough and we need to engage with our base as well as people who didn't vote for us,” said Albanese.
Earlier this month, Albanese slammed the “increasingly extreme” groupthink amongst voters that he believes is damaging Australian politics.
“There are people in my electorate in the inner west [who] get really angry that I keep getting elected – because the people they speak to, they don’t know anyone who doesn't vote Green,” he said.
“They think everyone wants to stop Adani. They think everyone wants particular things. They don’t know where Adani is! They don't! I asked someone the other day and they said, 'It's on the Great Barrier Reef.' Actually, it's not, you know.
“The point I made is that not everyone thinks the same on any particular issue, including on this.”