A Liberal backbencher says the opposition should remain open to supporting legislated climate targets, as she urged all sides to end the "ideological war" which have plagued debate and stalled progress on contentious policies.
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Bass MP Bridget Archer has not ruled out breaking ranks when Labor's climate bill is put to parliament, having crossed the floor multiple times in the the last term.
Ms Archer is among a small band of Liberals MPs who are resisting leader Peter Dutton's blanket opposition to the Albanese government's plans to legislate its climate targets, which includes a 43 per cent emissions reduction cut for 2030 and net zero by 2050.
Mr Dutton doubled down on that stance earlier this week, suggesting setting targets in legislation would increase costs for households and businesses. Nationals leader David Littleproud also opposes legislated targets.
The Coalition's opposition might not be enough to spoil Labor's plans, as the Labor government could still pass the legislation with the support of the Greens and ACT senator David Pocock.
The Morrison government refused to legislate its targets during the previous term.
But after being turfed from office and losing a swag of city seats to climate-focused independents, Labor and the Greens at the May 21 election, some moderates Liberals are pushing their party to adopt stronger policies for tackling global warming.
Ms Archer supports a 2030 target and said the opposition should "certainly" remain open to legislated climate goals.
She added the focus should be how emissions reductions would be achieved.
Ms Archer stressed the Coalition's position should be a matter for the party room, in a subtle rebuke of Mr Dutton's firm stance.
"An election does provide an opportunity for a reset on some of these things," she told ACM.
"Those things should be open to discussion and negotiation".
Ms Archer was among the few moderate Liberals to survive the election whitewash, managing a small increase to her margin in her northern-Tasmanian seat. The second-term MP was overlooked for a position in Mr Dutton's frontbench.
Leading moderate Simon Birmingham over the weekend said the Coalition should wait and see the "meat and bones" of Labor's legislation before deciding on how it would vote.
ACM understands the Liberal party room has met just once since the May 21 election, which was to elect Mr Dutton and Sussan Ley as its new leadership pairing.
The Labor government has yet to reveal details of the bill it plans to introduce when the Federal Parliament returns next month, and it's unclear if it would go beyond seeking to simply legislate targets.
Ms Archer said her stance on climate legislation was underpinned by a belief that politicians needed to look beyond ideology when dealing with contentious issues.
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That includes a federal anti-corruption commission. The backbencher last year crossed the flood to support debate on Helen Haines' model, frustrated with her own side's reluctance to progress its own bill.
Ms Archer has signaled a desire to work with Labor, which has pledged to legislate an integrity commission this year.
"The Labor Party has made a lot of positive noises about wanting to do politics differently or to have a parliament that looks a bit different or is more collaborative ... that would be a positive thing in my view," she said.
"Some of these issues should sit outside ideology and we should stop the ideological war over these things and actually come to the issues with an open mind."