Kellie Sloane elected unopposed as leader of the NSW Liberal Party

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Newly appointed Liberal Leader Kellie Sloane concedes she's facing an uphill battle to rebrand the New South Wales party ahead of the 2027 state election. Ms Sloane has told Patricia Karvelas on afternoon briefing she's focusing on state issues despite ongoing tensions in the federal liberal party.

Transcript

00:00It's been a bumpy ride for our federal colleagues, but they are working through a difficult issue.

00:07In New South Wales, as the leader in New South Wales, I'm focused on New South Wales and

00:12on Sydney and we've had a consistent energy, environmental policies in New South Wales

00:16since 2016.

00:17We've got a lot of brand equity and being champions for the environment.

00:21But I'll tell you this, we'll be focused in the here and now on the communities whose

00:25bills are increasing, on our regional communities who are being divided by a bungled rollout,

00:32the haves and the have nots, the inequity, and we'll be seeking to address all of those.

00:36And I'll be working with my National Party colleagues closely to develop policies that

00:41we hope and expect will make a real difference to those families and those communities.

00:44Why has it been important for you to reiterate that you think net zero by 2050 must be achieved,

00:51which of course is a different line to your federal colleagues?

00:54Well, I think it sends an important message to industry and to the business community

01:00that has been investing heavily in New South Wales.

01:02It also says to people that we have our eyes on the horizon when it comes to the impacts

01:07of climate.

01:08But you can do that on one hand, but also intently focus on the issues that our federal colleagues

01:13are raising and nationals are raising, which is that we must do more in the short term to

01:18address some of the hardships of this rollout.

01:21The rollout was on track with the New South Wales coalition.

01:25It has been flawed, bungled rollout in New South Wales, and that's why communities are

01:30feeling pain.

01:31And they are not seeing solutions to drive down their energy bills.

01:34They are worried about reliability.

01:36So affordability and reliability should still be our priorities while keeping our eyes on the

01:40horizon.

01:41And we have practical considerations, PK, in New South Wales.

01:44We have to roll out the transmission lines.

01:46We have the renewable energy zones in place.

01:50So that is our responsibility on the ground here and now.

01:53And that will be our focus.

01:55Next week, the environment laws hit the federal parliament.

01:59We know the WA government has been very outspoken and thoughtful about those laws.

02:04So I'm wondering what the New South Wales perspective is.

02:07Would you like to see your federal liberal colleagues do a deal to get those laws through,

02:11to get more houses built and get some of that backlog in planning unlocked?

02:16Well, day one in the job as New South Wales opposition leader, I don't intend to instruct

02:23my federal colleagues what to do.

02:25I think they need some advice sometimes, Kelly Sloan.

02:28Well, look, I'm very much focused on New South Wales.

02:32I have a lot of work to do.

02:33Day one in a very big job.

02:35I don't plan to spend much time with my feet under the desk.

02:37I'm going to be getting out to regional New South Wales, to communities right across

02:42New South Wales.

02:42I'm in Western Sydney tomorrow.

02:44And I have a lot of work to do, PK.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended