With mounting talk of her terminal leadership, Sussan Ley has been looking for a lifeline. She grabbed one on Thursday at a press conference to announce the Liberal Party would ditch the net zero carbon emissions target after months of infighting.

Ley fronted up for about 40 minutes with firm words and a fighting attitude. The opposition leader did not waver as she fired off a round of direct messages to a handful of discrete groups she wanted to reach.

Sussan Ley explains the Liberals’ net zero backdown, flanked by Senator Anne Ruston (left), opposition energy spokesman Dan Tehan and Senator Jonno Duniam. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

To Australians in general: “You are paying too much for your power, and it’s not OK.”

To the prime minister: “When are the bills coming down?”

To mums

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