Liberals have failed on climate, says Malcolm Turnbull

Malcolm Turnbull has savaged the Liberal Party for failing to aggressively tackle climate change amid a bushfire crisis.

Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull. Picture: AAP

Malcolm Turnbull has savaged the Liberal Party for failing to aggressively tackle climate change amid a summer bushfire disaster “unprecedented in Australia’s history”.

The former prime minister said he was incredulous that political leaders were shrugging off global warming at a time when fires caused by a hotter climate had devastated communities.

“How is it that a country that has seen for the first time thousands of its own citizens huddling on its beaches under red and black skies, waiting to be rescued by the navy, does not find itself in the front line of action to stop global warming,” Mr Turnbull told a renewab­le ­energy summit in ­Sydney on Wednesday night.

“If ever Australians were under any illusion that the consequences of a hotter and drier climate were going to be real, harsh and dangerous, those illusions have been shattered this summer.

“These fires are utterly without precedent in our history. This is the inevitable consequence of a hotter and drier climate, the consequence of global warming.”

Australia must urgently phase out coal and other fossil fuels and accelerate a shift to clean energy for its economy to cope and ultim­ately thrive in the long term, he said. “This is a political failure. We understand the science. The forecasts of years ago have sadly been proven to be true. It’s exactly as was predicted. We need to stop burning coal, stop burning fossil fuels, and move to renewables.”

He ridiculed moves by Nat­ionals MP Barnaby Joyce and senator Matt Canavan to use coal as a platform for their political agendas this week during a leadership challenge to Michael McCormack.

“The problem is on the Liberal and National side of politics,” Mr Turnbull said.

“You just saw Barnaby Joyce try to overthrow ­Michael McCormack on a platform of more coal. Matt Canavan was saying we’re not doing enough to stand up for coalminers. But the reality is we need to stop burning coal.”

Lucy Turnbull, the Greater Sydney Commission chief, said she was aghast watching the unfolding bushfire emergency while on holiday in Asia prior to Christmas and said the lack of a political response had blighted Australia’s international reputation.

“This has branded us in a way that we could have never imagined could happen,” she said.

“We are seen as very behind. We are seen as a leader in a negative sense. That should really ­embarrass so many Australians.”

The Turnbulls hailed the vision of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson for ­accelerating the phase-out of coal-fired power and reaffirming a pledge for a net zero emissions economy by 2050.

Australia’s failed national ­energy policy, which contributed to Mr Turnbull’s political downfall, could have provided a blueprint for the nation to cut emissions, lower prices and provide­ a stable market, according to the former leader.

“The problem that we face in our country — as in the US — is that climate change has become a values or identity issue,” Mr Turnbull said.

“It’s supported by a toxic alli­ance of right-wing politics that puts ideology and idiocy (first) when it should be engineering and ­economics.”