Australians don’t want fanaticism in climate debate: John Howard

John Howard has launched a vigorous defence of Scott Morrison’s leadership amid the bushfire catastrophe.

Former prime minister John Howard has launched a vigorous defence of Scott Morrison’s leadership amid a national bushfire catastrophe, declaring Australians “don’t want fanaticism” when it comes to climate change. 

Speaking on Sky News on Monday Mr Howard defended the Prime Minister’s performance during a horror bushfire season that has seen more than 1500 homes destroyed and 24 lives lost. 

“I think a lot of the criticism is completely misplaced, he’s done all the right things, he’s dealt with the issue of his holiday and since he’s been back he's hardly drawn breath,” Mr Howard told Sky News. 

Mr Morrison has come under increasing pressure over his leadership during the bushfires, which began when he took a family holiday to Hawaii before Christmas.

It comes as former foreign minister Julie Bishop seized on the bushfire crisis on Monday to call for greater global leadership on climate change. 

“Countries do look to Australia for direction for guidance and leadership,” Ms Bishop told the Nine Network on Monday.

“We don’t have a national energy policy in this country and a national approach to climate change … we are part of a global effort.

“If a country like Australia fails to show leadership, we can hardly blame other nations for not likewise showing leadership in this area.” 

Greens leader Richard Di Natale also lashed Mr Morrison, declaring the bushfire catastrophe should be a “wake-up call” for Australia to phase out coal-fired power and prevent the construction of any new coal mines.

But Mr Howard backed Mr Morrison’s handling of climate change policy, arguing the public wanted a “sensible” debate on the issue.

Scott Morrison has come under increasing pressure over his leadership during the bushfires. Picture: Getty

“The Australian people want balance, they don’t want extremes, they don’t want fanaticism, they want a sensible working out of the problem,” Mr Howard said of global warming’s contribution to the bushfire season.

“The drought has been very long and severe, the debate is the contribution climate change has made to that … I think the sort of approach the federal government is taking on this issue is the right approach”.

He also defended Mr Morrison against criticism after he was filmed last week forcing a young woman in the fire-ravaged town of Cobargo to shake his band before walking away when she demanded better funding for the NSW Rural Fire Service.

“The last thing you could ever say about Scott Morrison is that he lacks compassion and empathy,” Mr Howard said.

“I’ve always found him as someone who looks at people as individuals and cares about the human impact – there’s nothing robotic about him in my experience so I defend him very strongly in that context.”

Mr Howard said Monday’s announcement of an additional $2bn to help the bushfire recovery effort would be widely appreciated by the Australian public.

“I think Scott Morrison is doing a fantastic job as PM, I think he has a good connection with the Australian people and he is somebody who will confront challenges.”