ONE of the Liberal Party's most senior figures has been accused of undermining Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull on climate change, plunging the party into further chaos on the issue.
Liberal Senate leader Nick Minchin has come under fire from within his own ranks for controversial comments declaring himself a climate change sceptic, encouraging other Liberals to promote a similar view, and saying he believed the majority of the Liberals did not accept humans were the main cause of planet warming.
Victorian Liberal senator Judith Troeth said that, coming from the leadership group, Senator Minchin's comments on Four Corners were "overcharging an already volatile debate and sowing seeds of dissent".
As tension flared, one Opposition frontbencher reportedly described Senator Minchin as a "complete fruit loop".
Deputy Leader Julie Bishop rejected Senator Minchin's claim that most of the party did not accept humans caused climate change. "That might be Nick's personal view, and he's entitled to have a personal view. It's not my view," she told Sky.
Mal Washer, chairman of the Coalition climate change committee, said Senator Minchin would not know the view of the party room on human activity and climate change. "He's full of bluff. It's a wild guess."
Mr Turnbull refused to be drawn on Senator Minchin, saying he was focused on good-faith negotiations with the Government on an emissions trading scheme.
Senator Troeth, a prominent Liberal moderate, also issued a statement headed "I Believe", in which she said climate change was real and posed a serious risk to Australia. She believed most of the Liberal party room backed negotiations to save jobs and the environment. Mr Turnbull had correctly judged the public's concern "and is making the Liberal Party relevant to the public again by making us part of the solution, instead of a roadblock to progress".
Senator Minchin got support from backbencher Bronwyn Bishop, who said he had put the party rom's position very succinctly - "that there is a belief that when we voted the legislation down last time that was the right thing to do".
Climate Change Minister Penny Wong seized on Senator Minchin's remarks. "What we saw on Four Corners was a direct attack on Mr Turnbull's authority by someone no less than the third most senior person in the Coalition," she said.
The Liberal candidate in the Bradfield byelection, Paul Fletcher, was forced to issue a statement affirming that he believed the evidence that the earth was warming as a result of human activity. Earlier, the Greens accused him of dodging the question while campaigning with Mr Turnbull.
Kelly O'Dwyer, Liberal candidate for the Higgins by-election, told The Age she believed the climate was changing "and that man is making a contribution to that". She also believed in a trading scheme: "The party has long held the view we need to bring about an ETS - the question is what sort."
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