The Coalition MP Colin Boyce says he believes the way to turn voters against renewable energy is to “let Rome burn for a while” and allow power blackouts to occur in major cities.
Guardian Australia reported on Wednesday that Boyce had described blackouts as a “big political opportunity” at a meeting of climate science deniers in late 2023.
He said he had urged like-minded colleagues to adopt a “do nothing” or “tough love” strategy that would allow power outages to build political opposition to net zero policies.
In another online interview, uncovered by Guardian Australia, Boyce confirmed he was an active member of the “influential” Saltbush Club, a group formed to push climate science denial.
In a July 2024 interview with a podcast hosted by a north Queensland secession campaigner, Boyce said the only way to change metropolitan Australia’s mind on net zero was to let the lights go out.
Guardian Australia has previously revealed Boyce’s association with the Saltbush Club, whose motto is: “Our goal is to change the climate of public opinion.”
Boyce said: “I’ve been part of a group of influential people, the Saltbush Club we call ourselves, and we’re fighting to get the facts out there as best we can,” he said.
“I think in general there are more and more people starting to realise the fallacy of the whole argument, if you like, the whole carbon dioxide argument has never been scientifically proved.”
Asked about how public opinion could be turned, Boyce said: “Unfortunately you will not change the minds of the wider public in metropolitan Australia until the lights go out.
“It’s a case of let Rome burn for a while and the only way you will make people realise what a fiasco the whole energy system is in Australia it has to come down to practical terms where you simply can’t supply the energy.”
Boyce told a meeting of the climate science denial group that he had told like-minded MPs they should “adopt a do nothing strategy”.
“The ‘do nothing’ strategy is a tough love strategy where people will not understand what’s happening until the lights go out,” he said.
“When the lifts in the building stop working and the supermarket shelves are empty because the refrigerators aren’t working, that’s when all of a sudden people start to realise.”
The climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, said Boyce was not alone in LNP ranks.
“The LNP party room and candidates list is replete with climate deniers,” he said. “And it’s no coincidence that these same deniers are the biggest boosters of nuclear power. Because it’s a tactic to stop and delay renewable investment.”
Guardian Australia contacted the Coalition and Boyce for comment but did not receive a response before publication.
