We’ve assessed the major candidates for the electorate of Wills based on four key climate and energy policies:

1. Fossil fuel phase out: reduce emissions from Australia’s biggest contributors to the climate crisis by committing to not support new coal and gas projects to proceed and putting a timeline on fossil fuel phaseout.
2. Strengthen environment laws: Australia’s environment laws are not fit for purpose, failing to address both the extinction and the climate crisis. Committing to strengthen the EPBC so that it has the power to stop heavily polluting projects like coal and gas mines and expansions.
3. Support communities impacted by climate change: this includes significant increases in climate adaptation funding and lowering the impact that climate change has on cost of living pressures for households.
4. Renewables roll out: this looks at the energy sector transition in Australia and how much support is given for the transition to clean, renewable energy systems.

Here’s how the parties scored: 

Why did they get that score? 

The ALP – Peter Khalil MP 

• Fossil fuel phase out: no

• • The Australian Labor party are yet to rule out new coal and gas approvals, and have no plan to do so. 
  • The International Energy Agency (IEA) has made it clear: new or expanded coal mines and gas wells are incompatible with limiting global warming to 1.5°C. 
  • Since May 2022, the Federal Environment Minister has approved 10 new coal mines or expansions with 2,449 million tonnes of lifetime emissions. There are currently 22 additional proposals for new or expanded coal mines currently waiting for Federal Government approval. Should the existing projects be approved, the 13.1 billion tonnes of emissions they would cause is incompatible with limiting dangerous climate change. 
  • The Australian Labor party has no plan to phase out subsidies for fossil fuel corporations. For these reasons Labor has been awarded this score.

• Strengthen environment laws: half mark

• • In broad terms the ALP party platform commits to protecting and conserving at least 30 per cent of Australia’s land by 2030 and protecting and conserving 30 per cent of Australia’s oceans by 2030 (p49), However, the party’s implementation is wanting. 
  • In the last parliamentary term, Labor failed to fulfill its 2022 election commitment to establish a federal Environmental Protection Agency. It has also deferred further consideration of the Nature Positive Bills until the next parliament to avoid a feared backlash in the recent WA State election. These bills are intended to address shortcomings in the EPBC Act. 
  • Labor’s pledge this election to once again legislate the deferred Nature Positive Bills although in revised form.
  • To date, Labor has refused to include climate considerations in the environmental law reform. 

• Support communities impacted by climate change: no

• • As part of the 2025-26 budget, the Labor government expects that total costs for national disaster support will continue to rise to at least $13.5 billion. To plan for these future costs, the Government has provisioned $1.2 billion in the Contingency Reserve to better respond to – and recover from – future disasters.
  • The development of the national climate adaptation plan has been slow and the funding required has not been allocated. 

• Renewables roll out: yes 
  • The Australian Labor Party is achieving 48% renewables in the grid by the end of 2025 (up from 32% in 2022), is aiming for 82% renewables in the national grid by 2030, and implementing the Capacity Investment Scheme to de-risk investment with the aim of adding 32 GW of battery-firmed renewables by 2030. 
  • The party is supporting community batteries to allow renters access to cheap renewable electricity. Labor has committed $2.3bn to slash the cost of household batteries by 30% in a cost-of-living and climate action pledge to voters. These measures combined make up the basis for this score being awarded. 

The LNP – Jeff Kidney

• Fossil fuel phase out: no

• • Opposition leader Peter Dutton has said the Coalition will be the mining industry’s best friend.He also committed to allocate $1bn for gas infrastructure in his 2025 federal budget reply. 
  • The Liberal National Coalition has no plan to phase out other subsidies for fossil fuel corporations. The plan of Dutton’s party for “more gas” and statements that he’ll approve Woodside’s gas plant within 30 days of becoming PM is at complete odds with a fossil fuel phase out and for these reasons was awarded this score.

• Strengthen environment laws: no

• 1. As reported in The Conversation, the Coalition’s environmental agenda is increasingly focused on being “mining sector’s best friend” and “cutting green tape”. In his 2025 budget reply, Dutton reiterated a pledge to defund the Environmental Defenders Office, the national body dedicated to protecting climate and communities through running litigation and advocating for law reform, which had millions of dollars of federal funding restored by Labor after it was cut by the Coalition in 2013.
  2. In the last parliamentary term the Coalition opposed the Nature Positive Bills.

• Support communities impacted by climate change: no

• • The Liberal National Coalition has a plan to continue expanding fossil fuels that is out of step with scientific recommendations to limit the worst effects of climate change. The Coalition has not announced any policies to protect Australians from the impacts of a changing climate.

• Renewables roll out: no
  1. The Coalition’s Nuclear Policy sees renewables providing 54% of electricity generation to the grid. This 54% is in effect a cap on renewables, blocking substantial further investment in large-scale renewables and at times preventing roof-top solar from feeding into the grid. 
  2. The policy has nuclear providing 38% and with 8% made up by a combination of storage and gas. This falls well short of the IPCC conclusion for the need to reach net zero CO2 by 2050 to remain consistent with 1.5C of warming and lacks the ambition needed to limit warming, thus the Liberal National was awarded this score. It is also important to note that without immediate and deep emissions reductions across all sectors, limiting global warming to 1.5°C is beyond reach.

The Greens – Samantha Ratnam

• Fossil fuel phase out: yes

• • The Australian Greens climate plan is clear: stop new coal and gas. Their plan is to end the billions in handouts to coal, oil and gas corporations, and end fossil fuel subsidies for all industries except agriculture. For these reasons the Greens were awarded this score. 

• Strengthen environment laws: yes

• • In Nov 2024 offered to support the Nature Positive Bills if they are amended to strengthen legal protections for threatened plants, animals and their habitats and remove exemptions for native forest logging and other damaging activities

• Support communities impacted by climate change: yes

• 1. The Australian Greens advocate that the cost of living crisis isn’t just happening on its own, and that it’s being driven by “big corporations pushing up prices and raking in record profits while everyday people pay more and work harder than ever to get by”. Their plan to bring down the cost of living in relation to climate change is to collect more tax from big corporations (and billionaires to lower the cost of living and decrease economic inequality) and advocate for the phase out of the $11 billion in annual federal subsidies to polluting fossil fuel companies, instead redirecting this money to accelerating a community-led transition to renewable energy. Part of their plan is to end the billions in handouts to coal, oil and gas corporations.
  2. The Greens have a commitment to emergency management, advocating for governments to prepare for the growing threat of natural disasters caused by climate change, and investing in dedicated disaster response capabilities but have not yet released the plan.
• Renewables roll out: yes
  1. The Australian Greens policy includes: expanding publicly-owned renewable energy, subsidising solar for homes and businesses, providing grants and low-interest loans to help households and small businesses electrify, installing solar batteries, and cutting emissions and energy bills as part of their plan for ambitious climate action. Their score was awarded on the basis of these measures.

The Fusion Party – Owen Miller

• Fossil fuel phase out: yes
  • The Fusion Party has a fossil fuel phaseout timeline of 10 years.
• Strengthen environment laws: yes
  • The ecological restoration policy recognises the need to cease fossil fuel extraction and end native forest logging.
• Support communities impacted by climate change: yes
  
  • Their fair and inclusive society plan has elements that support communities, including a universal basic income and housing as a home.
  • The climate rescue plan’s inclusion of ecological restoration and the need to invest in repair as well as mitigation.
• Renewables roll out: yes
  • The climate rescue plan sets out an 800% renewable energy target.