Malcolm Turnbull calls Coalition ‘nuts’ for believing climate change is an ‘issue of religion and belief’
Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull says the Coalition can’t deal with climate change because its right wing treats global warming as an “issue of religion and belief and it’s nuts”.
NSW
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Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull says the Coalition can’t deal with climate change because its right wing treats global warming as an “issue of religion and belief and it’s nuts”.
Meanwhile Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese says economics will stop any new coal mines being built in Australia.
Both featured on ABC TV’s Q&A on Monday night, with Mr Turnbull asked early in the program about whether he regretted not having stuck to his beliefs “now that the climate change do-nothings are in power”.
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The former PM began his response by pointing out he used to do debating with the questioner, before saying “the Coalition has a fundamental problem in dealing with climate change because there is a group within the Liberal Party and the National Party who deny the reality of climate change and will oppose to the point of essentially blowing up a government, my government in this case, if there is action taken to reduce emissions”.
He went to say the “government’s policy on climate is being held to ransom by a group of deniers within the party and in the media and other sections outside the parliament.
“What the problem is that people are treating, on the right, they are treating what should be a question of physics and science and economics and engineering as though it were an issue of religion and belief and it’s nuts.”
Mr Albanese was asked if coal mining jobs were “sustainable into the future”.
The Labor leader said Resources Minister “Matt Canavan and people say, there will be a new government subsidy for a new coal fired power station. There won’t be one built in Australia because the economics doesn’t stack up”.
“Good action on climate change is an opportunity and that’s the tragedy of the debate that we’re having at the moment. I think it’s a lost opportunity. We can be a clean energy super power for the world.”
Mr Turnbull said bushfires were more intense and more common because of climate change.