While Australia faces its most volatile strategic environment since World War II, our federal government is splurging more than $9 billion a year on climate change and net zero policies. That’s a 400 per cent increase in just a few years — and it’s delivering next to no environmental benefit.

The figures were compiled by the Institute for Public Affairs chief economist Adam Creighton who aggregated the spending commitments of federal Liberal and Labor government programs related to, or focused on, climate change and net zero in each federal budget over the past decade.

Worse, net zero is the main driver of Australia’s household cost of living crisis. The Australian Financial Review has revealed electricity bills are rising by almost 10 per cent in some states, thanks to the surging costs of replacing reliable coal with renewables and building expensive new poles and wires. The Australian Energy Regulator itself admits this transition is to blame. Households are being smashed by climate policies that are doing more harm than good.

This is why Family First welcomes the long-overdue intervention by Liberal frontbencher Andrew Hastie. At last, someone in the major parties is prepared to say what Family First has been warning about for years.

Hastie told Sky News: “There’s massive hypocrisy at the heart of the net-zero economy. The world’s three largest emitters – China, India and the USA – are pretty much walking away from net zero. So, the hypocrisy is this – whilst we’re denying Australians our own abundant fuels for power, we’re sending them to China and India, particularly, who are actually growing their emissions.”

In another interview, Hastie was blunt: “I think the question of net zero – that’s a straitjacket that I’m already getting out of.” And he asked the obvious: “Should Australian families and businesses be paying more for their electricity?”

But the truth is, Andrew Hastie and many of his Liberal colleagues have known for years that net zero was a damaging policy. Family First is disappointed that more of them didn’t speak up when it mattered. Instead, they went along with Labor, locking in the Paris Agreement, and failing to defend Australian families from skyrocketing costs.

Now, with defence underfunded, inflation rising, and the economy weighed down by ideological energy policies, the chickens are coming home to roost.

Family First has always opposed net zero. We believe in cheap, reliable energy from coal, gas and nuclear. We believe in putting Australia’s security and working families first. It’s time to scrap net zero and return to common sense.