Michael Hintze, one of Australia’s richest international billionaires and donor to conservative parties, says the Liberals are lacking a “north star” but dumping net zero was a smart move.
Lord Hintze, who once gave the British Conservative Party £1.5m ($3m) – its biggest donation in six years – says Australian conservatives need to have greater conviction and take on bolder policies.
“Yes, this is existential for the [Coalition],” Lord Hintze told The Australian on the sidelines of the Sohn Hearts and Minds conference in Sydney on Friday.
“Where is their north star? John Howard had a north star, Margaret Thatcher had a north star, Bob Menzies had a north star … Gough Whitlam had a north star.
“Where is their belief? There is too much focus on just gaining power. What do they stand for? What do they do that’s not Labor-light when they get the power?
“I see a bit of this in the British Conservatives too. But I see this with political parties around the world.”
Lord Hintze, who visits Australia several times a year where he owns an extensive farming portfolio, has witnessed the Liberal Party this week dump its support for a policy committing to net-zero emissions by 2050 after weeks of infighting.
Lord Hintze joined the House of Lords in 2022 following ex-prime minister Boris Johnson’s nomination, for his philanthropy and his donations to the Conservative Party.
The billionaire, who also served as a captain in the Australian Army, studied at Harvard and worked at Goldman Sachs, says it was the right thing for the conservatives to do because net zero was “too simplistic” and didn’t properly consider the cost to society.
“Net zero was too aspirational, it wasn’t practical. It was an empty target,” he said.
“I can understand the importance of climate change and cleaning up oceans, but net zero did not take into consideration the cost. Policy has got to improve the lot of society.”
While dumping net zero was smart, Lord Hintze had a message for the Liberal Party: “Don’t abandon the journey,” saying that more needed to be done around pollution and energy efficiency.
He also said the decision to adopt net zero in Australia did not properly take into consideration how much major countries such as China were emitting and the competitive advantages Australia would give away.
Lord Hintze made the comments on the sidelines of the conference as Treasurer Jim Chalmers took a swipe at the Liberal Party’s dumping of net zero.
“We have the sun, the wind, the resources, the critical minerals to be a global leader in the net-zero transformation,” Dr Chalmers said.
“I can tell you there’s no raider or disruptor of [Sohn co-founder] Gary [Weiss’s] quality among our political opponents.
“The point that the Coalition seems to be denying is the point made by every sensible analyst and observer, which is the best way to get downward pressure on electricity prices is to invest in that cleaner, cheaper, more renewable, more reliable energy. That’s what we are doing.”
This article was originally posted by The Australian here.
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