Liberal Party Clash: Taylor vs Hastie on Economic Direction

0:00It's March 30, I'm Cory with the story, and this is Sydney News Today, your AI-powered local news. There's a fresh clash brewing in Australia's Liberal Party. Opposition leader Angus Taylor just shut down shadow industry minister Andrew Hastie's pitch to stay open-minded about hiking taxes on gas companies. And rolling back perks for property investors, it's highlighting deep divides on economic direction. Earlier this week on ABC's Insiders, Hastie called for ditching the old neo-liberal playbook that backs big business, warning that, without fixes, voters disillusioned with liberals will tear down the system via folks like Pauline Hansen. Taylor dismissed it, flat out in Canberra, repeating his line, that taxing something kills off more of it, a core liberal economic view. If we want more investment, don't slap on higher taxes, he said straight up. These two hail from the party's right wing, but see the world differently. Oxford trained Taylor, sticks to free market classics, while ex-soldier Hastie pushes

1:01intervention to rebuild Australian industry. Other liberals like Front Bencher and Rustin say, everything should be on the table, amid the Albany's government's push for a 25 percent. Windfall tax on gas profits, plus capital gains and negative gearing tweaks by May's budget. Hastie's also splitting from the pack by slamming Donald Trump and the US Israel moves against Iran, but Taylor's side-step endorsement, zeroing in on, reopening the strait of hormones to ease the global fuel crunch. With budget season looming, this riff could force the coalition to pick side soon.