Growing number of Liberals and Nationals also warn against scuttling the policy

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

The National Farmers’ Federation has added its voice to a chorus of Liberals and some Nationals warning Tony Abbott and other conservatives not to scuttle the government’s national energy guarantee.

On Friday the federation’s president, Fiona Simson, said the Neg was “the best game in town at the moment” and farmers did not want to see it “politicised”.

The energy minister, Josh Frydenberg, is due to meet his state and territory counterparts in early August when they will make or break the policy. Any individual jurisdiction can veto the Neg.

The Australian Capital Territory climate change minister, Shane Rattenbury, has warned that a prolonged campaign by Abbott and other conservatives, who have threatened to cross the floor on the final bill, could scuttle the deal by preventing Frydenberg making any concessions to improve emissions reduction.

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On Friday Simson endorsed the Neg, telling ABC’s AM that although it “doesn’t give us everything we want” it was “the best game in town” for the energy-dependent agricultural sector.

The farmers’ federation was an outspoken critic of the former Labor government’s carbon price but joined widespread industry calls in 2017 for a market-based mechanism to secure clean and affordable energy.

“We want affordable, reliable, secure energy supply and we know that we have to trend to lower emissions as well to keep in line with our international targets,” Simson said.

“So we want a policy that’s going to do that. We don’t want to pick winners; we are technologically neutral.

“We can see values in renewable energies, particularly in rural and regional communities and on farms, and probably there’s a case for coal power as well. We don’t want this issue politicised.”

Later the prime minister endorsed Simson’s comments and said the Neg had “enormous support” including from the NFF and manufacturers.

Asked about Abbott’s threat to cross the floor, Malcolm Turnbull said the Neg had the “overwhelming support of the party room”.

“But most importantly, it has the overwhelming support of the community, and what it delivers – it will deliver lower prices,” he said.

What is the national energy guarantee and is it really a game changer? Read more

The Neg will impose reliability and emissions reduction obligations on energy retailers from 2020, including an emissions reduction target of 26% on 2005 levels by 2030.

On Wednesday Abbott raised the prospect of crossing the floor, joining fellow conservative Craig Kelly who made a similar threat three weeks ago in an interview with Guardian Australia.

A group of Liberals including MPs Trent Zimmerman – who defended the Neg in the Coalition party room – Tim Wilson, Julia Banks and Trevor Evans have backed the policy.

Banks told Guardian Australia the government would be mad to squander the opportunity to settle the energy wars when the Neg had the support of big energy users such as Bluescope and organisations such as the Business Council of Australia and the farmers’ federation.

The Nationals leader, Michael McCormack, and the MP Andrew Broad, who chairs the House of Representatives environment and energy committee, also backed it.

Broad suggested it could be supplemented by either paying to refurbish power stations directly or by providing low interest loans to prolong the life of coal plants over the coming transition period.

Evans said the Neg had “broad and deep support in the Coalition party room”, which had already endorsed it.

In May Frydenberg rebuffed conservatives’ demands to review the policy in the party room before the August meeting.