Greens deputy Adam Bandt defends bushfire attack on Tony Abbott

Updated

Deputy Greens leader Adam Bandt has defended his decision to use the New South Wales bushfires to criticise the Coalition's climate change policy.

Mr Bandt has received fierce criticism on social media for posting a picture of the emergency and saying the Coalition's plan will lead to more like it.

Why Tony Abbott's plan means more bushfires for Australia & more pics like this of Sydney instagram.com/p/fjntyWkpGK/ theguardian.com/commentisfree/… — Adam Bandt (@AdamBandt) October 17, 2013

Mr Bandt continued to argue his case this morning, despite admitting he knows it is an uncomfortable issue to discuss.

"Talk about the timing - it's October and we're having a tragic bushfire," he told ABC News Breakfast.

"Meanwhile Tony Abbott and his ministers have been out every day this week saying that they're going to take Australia backwards when it comes to combating global warming."

Mr Bandt said the link between extreme weather events and global warming needs to be recognised.

"Global warming is the biggest threat to Australian life," he said.

"I don't want every summer, let alone every spring, for us to be worrying about whether we are going to see these kind of bushfires again, to have to worry about threats to people's property and threats to people's safety.

No one anywhere should seek to politicise any human tragedy, let alone a bushfire on this scale. Environment Minister Greg Hunt

"That is what we're living through at the moment.

"I know it's uncomfortable to have a discussion about it, but I think it's our job as politicians.

"The rest of the country's looking at New South Wales, worried about what is happening and... what we should be saying is, 'what can we do to stop this happening again?'

"I think given that Parliament's about to resume shortly and global warming is on the agenda for debate, we should be talking about how we as politicians can do everything we can to protect the Australian way of life."

Greens leader Christine Milne backed her deputy this morning:

IPCC says more fires, hottest winter leads to horrific early NSW fires, Abbott boasts dumping climate action, time to face nation.#auspol — Christine Milne (@senatormilne) October 17, 2013

Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt lashed out at Mr Bandt, saying he is politicising human tragedy.

"There has been a terrible tragedy in New South Wales," he said.

"No one anywhere should seek to politicise any human tragedy, let alone a bushfire on this scale."

Topics: climate-change, environment, bushfire, fires, disasters-and-accidents, government-and-politics, nsw, australia

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