17:16

Over on 2GB, Scott Morrison has just been taken to task for doing “too much on climate change”.

Yes, you heard that right.

Host John Stanley also lambasted Morrison for not building a new coal-fired power plant.

“You’re aware that a lot of the people who are listening to this program, if Alan was doing the program, their view is you’re doing too much on climate change, you’re doing too much in the renewable space. And then you go around the community and you’re told you’re not doing enough, more needs to be done, you need to ramp up the reduction of emissions. Is that a fair characterisation of the debate and the debate within your own party?”

Morrison reckons that’s about right.



“Oh John I think in terms of how you’ve characterised the debate nationally, I think it’s a pretty good summary. But what that means is that the policy we have is a balanced one. It’s one that understands the need to take action here ...



Stanley interjects: “But that’s not going to satisfy ... the people listening here would say you’re doing too much and they would be demanding that you, for instance, move ahead with a coal-fired power station because that’s going to provide energy security for us.”



Sigh.

Morrison goes on to say that the “conflation” of the bushfires and climate policy in the public debate has been “very disappointing”, because no single climate policy caused the fire.

“We continue to consider our policies carefully here, and we understand we don’t want job destroying, economy destroying, economy wrecking targets and goals which won’t change the fact that there are bushfires or anything like that in Australia. The suggestion that there’s any one emissions reduction policy or climate policy that has contributed to any of these fire events is just ridiculous, the conflation of those two things I think has been very disappointing.

Over the last few weeks, John, in particular, there has been a lot of misinformation running around, that’s been very disappointing. People have been looking to make political points in many cases, that’s disappointing.”

Yep. Morrison’s right. There has been a lot of misinformation around. Like, you know, the bots and trolls exaggerating the role of arson to deflect from climate change’s impact. Or the misinformation about greenies stopping hazard reduction work.