Environment Minister Matt Kean’s climate comments rebuked by Coalition colleague

Environment minister Matt Kean’s comment that the current smoke haze and drought are “not normal” and what “scientists have been warning” for years, has been rebuked by a Nationals colleague who says the current fire disaster is not unprecedented.

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The state’s environment minister has been rebuked by a Nationals colleague who has declared there is nothing unprecedented about the current fire disaster.

Environment minister Matt Kean – who has set a lofty target of net zero emissions by 2050 – has said current smoke haze and drought are “not normal” and what “scientists have been warning” about for years.

“We are seeing more extreme weather events, we’re seeing hotter summers, we are seeing drier winters, we are seeing some of the worst drought conditions in living memory,” Mr Kean said on Sky News.

NSW Liberal MP Matt Kean has caused waves. Picture: AAP/Julian Andrews

“This is what the scientists have been warning us about for decades. These extreme weather events are the result of climate change.”

Mr Kean said the current conditions were unprecedented: “This is the second hottest year in the history of New South Wales … this is a once in a generation drought.”

But Water minister Melinda Pavey later appeared on the show and seemingly rebuked Mr Kean’s claims, saying Australia had seen bigger disasters in its history on more than one occasion.

“Everyone on the ground knows that this is simply caused by a lack of rain. The stress on our forests is like we’ve never seen. But we actually have seen it,” she said.

“In 1901 at Federation, we signed the paperwork on a dry riverbed at Wentworth on the meeting of the Darling and Murray rivers. We have had extreme drought. In 1974 we’ve had fires that consumed twice the land mass than what we are experiencing here at the moment.”

“So we have seen precedence and we have seen major events like this and we know we had climate change through this country, through this nation, at all times.”

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Minister for Water Melinda Pavey rebuked Mr Kean’s claims, saying Australia had seen bigger disasters in its history on more than one occasion. Picture: Dylan Robinson

Mr Kean was not alive for the 1974 fires having been born seven years later in 1981.

Despite the internal strife in the Liberal party playing out publicly on Wednesday, Premier Gladys Berejiklian said Mr Kean was within his rights to advocate for a cleaner environment but said climate change was one of several different factors causing the fires.

Conservatives in the government on Wednesday said privately they were baffled by Mr Kean’s comments.

Police Minister David Elliott has previously blasted the discussion about climate change during raging bushfires as “unpalatable”.

Matt Kean has caused a backlash with his comments on climate change.

On Wednesday Mr Elliott blamed the bushfires on arsonists, lightning strikes, unseasonably warm weather, downed power lines, car crashes and prolonged drought.

WHAT MATT KEAN SAID

“The scientists in my department, they have told us this is the second hottest year on record for New South Wales, the hottest was last year.

“It’s not me saying these things. It’s also the Bureau of Metrology which is saying that we are seeing more extreme weather events as a result of climate change that are leading to longer fire seasons and more severe fire situations. That’s exactly what we are seeing. We cannot deny that more extreme weather events caused by climate change are having an effect on things like bushfires.

“We are seeing more extreme weather events, we’re seeing hotter summers, we are seeing drier winters, we are seeing some of the worst drought conditions in living memory

“Denying it stops us from taking the appropriate action.”

“This is what the scientists have been warning us about for decades. These extreme weather events are the result of climate change.”

“This is the second hottest year in the history of New South Wales … this is a once in a generation drought.”

“We also need to think about what we can do to stop this is in the future and one of the things the scientists tell us to do to reduce the impact of extreme weather events in the future is reducing our carbon emissions.

“What’s the worst thing that can happen from reducing our emissions? Countries around the world are decarbonising.”

MELINDA PAVEY COMMENTS

“Everyone on the ground knows that this is simply caused by a lack of rain. The stress on our forests is like we’ve never seen. But we actually have seen it.”

“In 1901 at Federation, we signed the paperwork on a dry riverbed at Wentworth on the meeting of the Darling and Murray rivers. We have had extreme drought. In 1974 we’ve had fires that consumed twice the land mass than what we are experiencing here at the moment.”

“So we have seen precedence and we have seen major events like this and we know we had climate change through this country, through this nation, at all times.”

We have a very variable rainfall across this state and across this continent.

It’s a balanced discussion and I don’t want us to go into future discussions just blaming one thing. This is a variety of issues.

My community keeps being very grounded in the realities and I do have a lot of people who are of that view that this is all about climate change. We have had challenges with rainforest that is under threat that has never burned before but I’m also very practical that we’ve got properties right beside national parks, we don’t have the barriers.

Originally published as Environment Minister Matt Kean’s climate comments rebuked by Coalition colleague