Nationals Remove Net Zero Mandate from Platform

Delegates at the Nationals’ Federal Council in Canberra on Saturday voted to remove the party’s support for a net-zero mandate from the federal platform while retaining support for emissions reductions within a 'flexible policy framework'. The platform now calls for a balanced energy mix including coal, gas and renewables and seeks an end to the federal moratorium on nuclear power. The council motion does not legally bind federal MPs, who were due to consider the matter at a Sunday partyroom meeting, and leader David Littleproud said grassroots views would inform but not dictate the parliamentary position. The move intensified tensions within the Coalition — Liberal MPs remain divided between conservative and moderate positions and Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce temporarily left the partyroom — and prompted criticism from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.