Federal election: LNP candidate Colin Boyce says Scott Morrison's net zero plan is flexible

A candidate has cast doubt on Scott Morrison’s plan to cut emissions as the election contest heats up.

An LNP candidate has cast doubt on the Coalition’s plan to reach net-zero by 2050, insisting Scott Morrison’s policy was not set in stone.

The Prime Minister unveiled his long-term vision to become carbon-neutral last October.

But while the government made an official commitment it did not enshrine the target in legislation.

It’s that factor Queensland candidate Colin Boyce has seized upon in his pitch to voters, designed to allay the fears about the net zero plan.

“(Scott) Morrison’s document is a flexible plan. It leaves us with a wiggle room as we proceed into the future,” the former state MP for Callide told the ABC.

“The future of the gas and coal industry will be determined by the pace of international change and the demand from our international customers. So that’s flexibility.”

But Labor has seized on the comments, accusing the government of “walking both sides of the street” on its net zero plan.

“Central Queensland candidates say it’s (the net zero plan) is ‘flexible’, ‘not binding’, has ‘wiggle room’ while their Brisbane candidates … say the opposite,” Senator Murray Watt said.

The Coalition holds Flynn with a margin of 8.7 per cent but is facing a fierce contest from Labor’s Matt Burnett following the retirement of MP Ken O’Dowd.

The seat takes in Gladstone in Central Queensland, one of the many regional centers that built its economy around fossil fuels.

Like it or not, Mr Boyce said, the coal produced in his region has paid for “education, health, emergency services and all of the infrastructure that we need in a modern society.”

“We are the economic engine room of Australia,” he said.

His comments are in line with those made by Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce on Sunday, who said the government would continue to export coal “as long as (countries) want to buy coal”.

Mr Boyce said the key concern for voters in the region was the cost of living, and how the transition to new energy sources like green hydrogen will affect jobs.

While there are several large hydrogen proposals in the pipeline for Gladstone, pro-coal MPs and candidates like Mr Boyce have expressed skepticism.

“The technology has not yet been developed and there are some huge issues that surround the production of hydrogen. Water, for example,” he said.

But his opponent said he was excited by the new opportunities being opened up.

“You can’t be the mayor of Gladstone and do not support those industries. At the same time, like I said, I’m supporting new industries as well,” Mr Burnett told the ABC.

“This isn’t the State of Origin. You don’t have to pick a winner. You can have both.”

Originally published as LNP candidate Colin Boyce says net-zero plan is not set in stone

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Federal election: LNP candidate Colin Boyce says Scott Morrison's net zero plan is flexible

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