New South Wales energy minister Don Harwin is calling on the federal government to end what he called "climate wars" and "put science, economics, and engineering ahead of ideology."

"We recognise that climate change is a scientific fact," Harwin wrote in an opinion piece for the Australian Financial Review.  "It is the responsibility of all governments to address greenhouse gas emissions into the future."

Later, the NSW Liberal said he intended to push the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) to adopt rules to force power companies to reduce their carbon emissions, a move he labelled a "circuit-breaker".  

But his Victorian counterpart Lily D'Ambrosio says Mr. Harwin's enthusiasm for standing up to the coalition comes too late.

"The New South Wales Liberals have just realised that voters want action on climate change - three months out from their state election," said Ms. D'Ambrosio.  "They should have been holding their mates in the federal government to account for years, as they floundered and backflipped on every energy policy they served up."