A week after warning voters that the Liberal Party has been taken over by hard right "extremists", Alex Turnbull, the son of the former PM, has told Hack he's going to keep on "fighting the good fight against the crazies".

After keeping very quiet during the five years his dad was part of the Government, the Singapore-based hedge fund manager created a splash last week with a video urging voters in the inner-Sydney seat of Wentworth to not vote Liberal in the by-election this Saturday.

"We need to send a message on climate change," he wrote.

"This time, don't give the Liberals your vote."

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Since then, the Government has supported a motion in the Senate saying, "It's okay to be white" - a phrase associated with the white supremacist movement. It has also announced it may relocate its embassy to Jerusalem - a proposal condemned by trade partners that could lead to a breakdown in economic relations with Arab and Muslim nations.

Last week also saw Liberal MPs express support for new laws that would codify the right of religious schools to expel gay students.

All this, Alex Turnbull told Hack, is evidence the party his father once led is being held "to ransom" by One Nation in the Senate, and was "completely fixated" on the three seats in Far North Queensland.

"I honestly wish I could say I was more surprised because we've seen this happen in the US - that's what's so disturbing."

"The US is further down this road, particularly the Republican party.

"They've more or less completely abandoned any classical liberal values."

The Liberal Party is slipping that way. Australia is going to need a new party or the Liberals are going to have to pull up on the stick sooner rather than later.

Asked who he meant by "the crazies", he listed the following top five 'crazy' Liberal MPs:

Tony Abbott - "a singularly destructive human being" Peter Dutton - "obviously another one" Angus Taylor - the newly appointed Energy Minister who is seen as a champion of fossil fuels and a determined opponent of renewables. "Despite being very intelligent he can't get on the right side of events." (tied) Hard-right faction leaders Kevin Andrews and Eric Abetz

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Whatsapp Tony Abbott & Kevin Andrews look into each others eyes (6 Sept 2017)

'ScoMo out of a job if he doesn't stand up to the right'

On Monday last week, a damning report into climate change gave the world 12 years to halve emissions or else face uncontrollable climate change. The Environment Minister, Melissa Price, suggested the 91 scientists behind the report got it wrong.

Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said Australia would not be dictated to by "some sort of report". Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who once brought a lump of coal into parliament to show it was not scary, said Australia would be spending no money on climate change conferences "and all that nonsense".

Alex Turnbull described this response as "frankly ... terrifying".

He said most of the Coalition MPs who campaigned against action on climate change did not understand the basic economics of power plants.

"Being the leader of the Liberal Party and being sane is like being Bruce Willis in a Die Hard movie - it's always crazy and bad but hopefully you come out and get some stuff done."

"[Scott Morrison] has got the same problem my dad had - he's got some very, very crazy people to deal with who are not particularly rational political actors."

He's going to be out of job soon if he doesn't stand up to them.

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Whatsapp Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison uses a lump of coal to make a point during Question Time in the House of Representatives on February 9, 2017.

Climate policy has sunk three prime ministers in the past decade, including Malcolm Turnbull in August. The prime minister backed down from legislating on emissions targets to prevent a leadership revolt, but his party kicked him out anyway.

Asked if his dad could have done a better job at communicating to the public the importance of action on climate change, Alex Turnbull said, "maybe".

"I mean coulda woulda shoulda - who knows?"

"What's really weird is they're starting to make more of these decisions that are strategically totally irrational.

"They're not doing carefully crafted things - it's just 'own the libs'."

'I was silent for five years - that was a pretty good innings'

Malcolm Turnbull initially backed the Liberal candidate for Wentworth, Dave Sharma, but has since been conspicuously silent. Alex Turnbull has been accused of both acting on behalf of his father in Wentworth, and of tarnishing his father's legacy.

He told Hack his dad does not approve of him speaking out against the Government.

"He's dealing with it," he said.

"I'll just leave it at that.

"I was silent for five years - that was a pretty good innings.

"The collapse of climate policy with the government was very closely related to my dad's ousting.

"I've had strong views about this stuff for years but sometimes it's better to shut up and let the government make some headway.

"But if they don't you have to consider alternative means.

A lot of [my dad's] legacy is fighting the good fight against the crazies.

"If your legacy is doing what you're told and being their lackey, then yeah I probably am destroying his legacy.

"But that's now how I see his legacy and that's not what I'm proud of him for."