Transcript - 2GB Afternoons - 11 November 2025

Melissa McIntosh MP 
Shadow Minister for Communications 
Shadow Minister for Women 
Federal Member for Lindsay 

11 November 2025 

Transcript 

2GB Afternoons with Michael McLaren

Topics: Net zero; Liberal Party.  

E&EO … 

Michael McLaren

Well, the Shadow Minister for Communications and the MP for the Western Sydney seat of Lindsay, Melissa McIntosh wanted to come on and have a chat about it and I've been more than happy to give her the time. She's with us on this Remembrance Day Tuesday. Melissa, good afternoon.

Melissa McIntosh

Thank you. Good afternoon, and I had a beautiful remembrance service in Penrith this morning. Thank you to everyone out there who have served our nation and continue to serve.

McLaren

Well said.

Tomorrow's a very significant day for you, your colleagues and your party. As I said, you land this one and you're back in the fight. You stuff it and you're probably gone for a generation. What's got to happen?

McIntosh

That's a very dramatic introduction. No pressure, hey.

McLaren

Do you disagree, though?

McIntosh

No - well, I noticed in your intro as well, you said about a month ago, people started coming on. I think it is really important. We do need to get it right for everyday Australians. And I surveyed my community some time ago and I just closed it off now. I've had over 1,600 responses to these questions, these very questions. And 64% of people in my electorate of Lindsay in Western Sydney do not support net zero by 2050. And there's a very good reason why they don't. It's not climate ideology. It's a pure fact that they are suffering. They are suffering like they've never suffered before under high energy prices. I think it was around 89% of people said to me that the high energy prices that they are living under right now are really impacting their living standards - severely impacting their living standards. So, I promise my community, I'm very much a community MP, I promise them that I would stand up for them and be their voice in the public sphere, which is why I wanted to come on and speak to you and in the party room tomorrow when we have this debate.

McLaren

Well, that's the beauty of this sort of format, we can do it, so let's do it.

Andrew Bragg and a few of your other colleagues from the moderate faction of the Liberal Party would say, well, ok, look, we've got to settle this once and for all.

Is it net zero that is the catalyst for all of the real problems that you've just identified, as many of your constituents are having to deal with, or is it the way that the government is trying to achieve net zero? In other words, can you have net zero but just go about it a different way and ameliorate a lot of these cost of living pressures? Or is it the problem? It's the catalyst, it's the nucleus of the issue.

McIntosh

It's become toxic, hasn't it? The words ‘net zero’ have become toxic.

And I think people do want to do the right thing. I have a huge uptake of solar in my community, but people can't afford the batteries. So, it's not like people are saying, no, we don't believe in climate change or no, we don't want to - we're not anti-environment, we're pro-reality. And the reality right now is that with Labor's renewables only approach, prices are through the roof.

I went to a cafe, grabbed a coffee the other day, and the cafe owner said that he was paying $1,700 on his election because he had a little cafe in the plaza, Penrith Plaza.

McLaren

Yep.

McIntosh

Now he's paying over $3,000. How can he stay afloat? And this story is replicated right across the community. I have heavy industry manufacturers in my electorate. They say we could put all the solar panels in the world on our roof, but we need 24/7 baseload power to power heavy industry; to power our furnaces, we need gas. They are suffering. So, we are losing manufacturing this country, sovereign manufacturing. We had a foundry, Australia's biggest foundry, producing steel in our defence industry, at risk of closing because of energy prices. Something needs to be done. Our country is breaking because of where we're going, the direction we're heading in.

McLaren

It's interesting, isn't it, to note on the other side of the world, where a lot of governments have been talking a very big game about net zero, even before Australia signed up under Scott Morrison. They are now, because of internal pressure largely and also being mugged by reality, are starting to wind back some of the direct nature of that rhetoric. They're still sort of sticking to net zero, but it's not at any cost. The moratoriums on diesel combustion engines and all this sort of - a lot of that is being quietly wiped away as they realise the ambition isn't being - probably is not possible to achieve given the timeframe or indeed the capital that's available.

McIntosh

And also where we're wanting to go. You know, we're at the cusp of technology change with AI, and there's a desire in this country to build big data centres. Australians hate the thought of having their data stored offshore, but the only way we can have our data here is if we can power it. Right now, that's being powered on the grid and we need to - that's why we need to be looking at things like nuclear in the future.

So I think with the world changing and as you said, countries had high aspirations, but the reality is very different when, you know, countries are now continuing coal with coal and, you know, not just doing renewables and we're shipping coal offshore and we're not keeping our, you know, what we have in this country here for Australians. I think one of the survey questions I had was around, do you want to keep our uranium here, our gas, our coal for Australians before we ship it overseas, and 88% said, yes, they do keep our resources here for our country first.

So, there's a whole lot to this. It's not just about, let's say no to net zero by 2050. It's around, let's put prioritise Australians first, let's have an energy policy that is pragmatic, that puts Australians first and let's turn this country around because people, as I said, are suffering so badly …

McLaren

Well, it’s true, they are. Economic numbers and the insolvency rates and all that do paint that picture. Now, let me just ask you - I'm speaking to Melissa McIntosh, by the way. I think Melissa's speaking very well - Member for Lindsay, the Shadow Communications Minister.

To net zero itself, Melissa, can it even be achieved by 2050? Because a lot of people forget that it's more than just changing the energy grid. That is arguably the most important cog in the wheel. But nonetheless, that means net zero across the economy. Agriculture, automotive, industry, energy yes, but defence - all of these other components have to also meet the requirements of decarbonisation. Now, I mean, I would argue without nuclear power as the baseload componentry delivering net zero energy to the future grid, it is impossible to achieve it. And yet we're having this theoretical debate about having to try. What's your take on that? Could we achieve it without nuclear power?

McIntosh

I think we need nuclear. I'm with you on that. We need nuclear power. My electorate’s with you; 70% support the ban on nuclear being lifted. As I said, you can't have what we want as a nation - the opportunities that are coming, like keeping our own data here in a volatile world without, without nuclear in the mix.

And I think as well, and when we're talking about are we going to reach net zero - more and more research is coming out to say that Labor actually isn't on target for their emissions reduction plans. They're not on target for that. They're not on target for things like housing - their promises with housing. They're not on target with their promises around reducing energy.

So, we need to be a strong Opposition so we can let Australians know that the facts on this. The way that the Albanese Labor Government is failing Australians when it comes to energy; they're not going to meet their targets. But we need to be able to prosecute that and have a strong opposition to be able to cut through, I think, on those issues.

McLaren

Well, obviously.

McIntosh

Yeah.

McLaren

Ok, now, after tomorrow, I'd be flabbergasted if the Coalition or the Liberal Party policy was to retain net zero. Given what you've said, what Angus Taylor said earlier today, what a number of MPs are clearly saying in the media and behind the scenes, I'm getting the sense that a move away from net zero in name, if not in spirit is what the end result will be.

How the Coalition itself could survive without the Liberals taking that position, I'm not yet sure, but let's assume I'm wrong - I'm reading the tea leaves wrong, Sussan Ley decides that net zero will remain on the policy platform. Where does that leave MPs like you? You say you know, as you've called, rightly said, and I think nobly said, you follow the will of your electorate. If your electorate doesn't want it, what do you do?

McIntosh

We'll be really letting down everyday Australians that we should be representing, first and foremost, the people that are working so hard to get ahead but can't get ahead because they're being hit badly with high energy prices.

It breaks my heart to see people living on the streets of Penrith and people that have double incomes lining up at food banks. This is the reality. We need to be representing these people. They are aspirational, but they can't get ahead because of what's going on in this nation. So, I of course, would be extremely disappointed. But I'm not going to go down without a huge fight on this issue because I think it's worth it.

McLaren

Good to speak. Stay in touch. Obviously, tomorrow is a very important day in the party room. There'll be a lot of robust ideas being exchanged. No doubt about that. Thank you, Melissa.

McIntosh

Thank you. Thanks for your time.