Former Nationals minister Keith Pitt has announced he is leaving politics with a scathing review of his party leader for agreeing to the Coalition’s plan for net zero emissions by 2050. Pitt, a conservative Queensland MP who was resources minister in the Morrison government, said on Friday that he would step down from his safe Bundaberg-based seat of Hinkler at the next election after 11 years in Parliament. Former minister Keith Pitt has announced he is departing politics. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen After thanking his supporters and family, Pitt concluded his statement with a quote attributed to the civil rights leader Martin Luther King. “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter,” the quote reads. “I am confident I have never been silent. It has been a privilege to serve.” Pitt, who championed coal as resources minister, told The Australian newspaper the day before his departure that Nationals leader David Littleproud should “stand up” to Peter Dutton and the Liberals. “And to do that, you’ve got to separate from your brothers and sisters in the Liberal Party because they have, on occasions, different views to us,” Pitt said. “In my view, political parties without purpose soon disappear.” “I am talking about the impact in the cost of committing to net zero emissions targets and the subsequent green policies that have to be paid for,” he said. “And while there is literally zero impact on the temperature of the planet, it has huge impacts on the wallets of regional people.” The Nationals committed to a policy of reaching net zero emissions by 2050 under the leadership of Pitt’s close ally Barnaby Joyce. In his official statement, Pitt also wished Dutton well. Energy and Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen said that Littleproud had too much influence over Coalition climate policy rather than too little. “You’ve got a whole group of climate change deniers in there and they’re driving policy,” Bowen told ABC TV. “One thing you shouldn’t let the National Party near is climate change policy.” The opposition is losing a raft of senior MPs at the next election, including Senator Simon Birmingham and Sydney MP Paul Fletcher. Dutton is expected to announce a reshuffle of his frontbench on the weekend. More to come. Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter . Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. License this article Political leadership Nationals Climate crisis Keith Pitt David Littleproud Nick Bonyhady is the deputy federal editor of the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, based in Parliament House in Canberra. He is a former technology editor and industrial relations reporter. Connect via Twitter or email . Most Viewed in Politics LoadingFive holiday wishes for the Minnesota Wild

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Alex Ovechkin is expected to miss 4 to 6 weeks with a broken left legNetApp's NTAP short percent of float has risen 19.62% since its last report. The company recently reported that it has 8.89 million shares sold short , which is 5.67% of all regular shares that are available for trading. Based on its trading volume, it would take traders 7.18 days to cover their short positions on average. Why Short Interest Matters Short interest is the number of shares that have been sold short but have not yet been covered or closed out. Short selling is when a trader sells shares of a company they do not own, with the hope that the price will fall. Traders make money from short selling if the price of the stock falls and they lose if it rises. Short interest is important to track because it can act as an indicator of market sentiment towards a particular stock. An increase in short interest can signal that investors have become more bearish, while a decrease in short interest can signal they have become more bullish. See Also: List of the most shorted stocks NetApp Short Interest Graph (3 Months) As you can see from the chart above the percentage of shares that are sold short for NetApp has grown since its last report. This does not mean that the stock is going to fall in the near-term but traders should be aware that more shares are being shorted. Comparing NetApp's Short Interest Against Its Peers Peer comparison is a popular technique amongst analysts and investors for gauging how well a company is performing. A company's peer is another company that has similar characteristics to it, such as industry, size, age, and financial structure. You can find a company's peer group by reading its 10-K, proxy filing, or by doing your own similarity analysis. According to Benzinga Pro , NetApp's peer group average for short interest as a percentage of float is 6.85%, which means the company has less short interest than most of its peers. Did you know that increasing short interest can actually be bullish for a stock? This post by Benzinga Money explains how you can profit from it. This article was generated by Benzinga's automated content engine and was reviewed by an editor. © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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