Liberal frontbencher Tim Wilson says rebel MP Andrew Hastie should never have joined the opposition frontbench as he outlined his vision for “big Liberal energy” that rejects the need for the party to shift to the right or left.

Wilson, who returned to parliament in May after winning back the seat of Goldstein from independent Zoe Daniel, told this masthead’s Inside Politics podcast that the Coalition could retain its contentious net zero emissions pledge and still win the climate argument against Labor.

In an expansive interview in which he discussed his sexuality and prickly relationship with Daniel , Wilson said he wrestled with whether to rejoin the frontbench after both Opposition Leader Sussan Ley and her rival Angus Taylor offered him positions.

“What’s become evident to me i

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