A frustrated Labor leader Anthony Albanese forced his squabbling shadow ministers to thrash out an agreed form of words that recognised the importance of gas.

It speaks of gas’s importance in electricity generation, including as a firming fuel for renewables.
It lauds the role of gas in household heating and cooking, and its importance outside the energy sector in such areas as manufacturing.
It supports the establishment of a domestic gas reserve on the east coast, an idea the government is also exploring although this week it appeared to go cold on it, releasing an issue paper laden with caveats.
The revelation of the gas peace deal followed reports that 32 Labor MPs, almost half the lower house caucus, attended a briefing in Tuesday by the CFMEU and the Australian Workers Union.
The unions urged Labor MPs to tone down attacks on coal and gas, warning that the fuel sources would be needed for years to come and the party was continuing to lose blue-collar voters by not recognising their role.
The key message was that while the economy would inevitably transition towards clean energy and net zero emissions, the reality was that Australian energy and manufacturing would be dependent on coal and gas “for a long time yet, and that should be reflected in our language and our policies”.
Otherwise, the party would continue to lose blue-collar voters and struggle to win back government.
Despite the peace deal, Mr Butler took issue with Scott Morrison’s gas-led recovery, which places a heavy reliance on gas as a transition fuel towards clean energy.
“It is completely out of touch with the clear message being given by all business groups, investors, lenders and central banks here in Australia and all around the world, and that is that economic recovery pathways out of this COVID pandemic and the recessions that are being driven by the pandemic should be paved with clean energy,” he told Parliament.
Mr Fitzgibbon, who organised the union briefing, said on Thursday that “we can’t get to zero net emissions [by 2050] without heavy reliance on both coal and gas along the way”.
“We support the coal industry, we support the gas industry. But sometimes there appears to be a reluctance, as if to say so might conflict somehow with our support for renewable energy,” he said.
Energy Minister Angus Taylor said the CFMEU and the AWU had done more to spell out a constructive energy policy than Mr Butler had done in seven years.