Turnbull faces backlash over ETS talks

Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull is facing a backlash within his own party over
plans to negotiate with Labor on its emissions trading scheme (ETS).
Comments on climate change by former leader Brendan Nelson to a coalition meeting
early Tuesday sparked a 90-minute debate with more than a dozen Liberal MPs speaking
against supporting the ETS bills when they come before parliament again in November.
Their views fly in the face of Mr Turnbull's position, which is to negotiate
amendments with the government based on nine guiding principles he released in July.
Rather than risk a double dissolution with the second defeat of the ETS bills, Mr
Turnbull told the meeting the opposition had an obligation - both to Australian
business and to voters - to negotiate with the government.
The bills were defeated in August and the government will reintroduce them in a bid
to have them passed before the United Nations climate change summit in Copenhagen in
December.
But a number of Liberal MPs told AAP the speakers advocated the opposition stick to
its policy that no action should be taken on an ETS until after Copenhagen and after
the US government has passed its own legislation.
A number of the MPs expressed the view "bring it on" in the face of a double
dissolution early election threat, reasoning the opposition would do better at the
polls having taken a stand on climate change.
Some said that to do otherwise would risk significant losses at the next election.
Speakers included Liberals senators Cory Bernardi, Matthias Corman, Ian Macdonald,
Alan Eggleston, Julian McGauran and lower house members Bronwyn Bishop, Kevin
Andrews, Mal Washer, Dennis Jensen and only one Nationals senator, Ron Boswell.
Opposition emissions trading spokesman Andrew Robb told the meeting the opposition
was not opposed in principle to an ETS but it was "deeply sceptical" of the current
shape of the government's scheme.
Both he and Mr Turnbull told the party room the overwhelming message from the
business community was that they wanted them to engage with the government to try to
"repair and improve" the flawed scheme.
They said amendments were being developed in consultation with the business community.
While it was policy not to support a scheme before Copenhagen, they said that was
not within the opposition's control with the government "pigheadedly" insisting the
vote must be before December.
"The opposition will continue to be constructively engaged with the government in
order to do what business and the community in general are urging us to do," Mr Robb
told the party room.
"And that is to try to improve through amendment this flawed legislation."
In his valedictory speech to the party room, his last before he retires from
politics at the end of this month, Dr Nelson said public opinion was moving in
relation to climate change.
He said it was important the opposition not allow Labor "to escape with reducing
Australia to a nation of intellectual lemmings" when it came to considering climate
change.
One Liberal MP said the debate was shut down with another six MPs waiting to have
their say simply because they ran out of time.