'Nut case stuff': Barnaby Joyce threatens to oppose government's energy policy
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Former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce has warned he will oppose the government’s National Energy Guarantee if the emissions reduction target requires sacrifices from Australia’s agriculture sector.
Mr Joyce said it would be “nut case stuff” for the government’s policy to force farmers to cull their herds, an outcome recently projected by progressive think tank the Australia Institute under a reduction target of 26 per cent.
The government’s policy is coming under pressure on multiple fronts as Environment and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg seeks the support of the federal partyroom and states and territories, with Labor governments in Victoria, Queensland and the ACT so far refusing to commit.
In an interview with Sky News on Tuesday night, Mr Joyce said regular people in suburbs and rural areas did not want to foot the bill for emissions reductions.
The Australia Institute report found a 26 per cent emissions cut in agriculture would mean “2.9 million fewer beef cattle, 8 million fewer sheep, 290,000 fewer dairy cows and 270,000 fewer pigs” by 2030.
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