Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has excoriated his successor Scott Morrison, the right-wing faction which turfed him out of office, and international climate deniers of every stripe in a fiery BBC interview.
Once again, it would have been nice if he put those beliefs into practice during his time in office. Oh well!
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Turnbull said Morrison, who only took over in 2018 after Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton‘s bungled attempt to run for the top job, has repeatedly “downplayed” and “discounted the influence of climate change” on this fire season.
Morrison also “chose to go away on holiday in Hawaii at the peak of the crisis,” Turnbull added.
“So I can’t explain any of that… It’s just not consistent with the way in which a prime minister would or should act in a national crisis like this.”
The fella also questioned why Morrison didn’t meet with the former fire chiefs who explicitly warned this season would be horrific.
“I can’t explain his conduct,” he said.
Turnbull then looked further back in his critique, sledging former PM Tony Abbott and the right-wing crew which he believed hobbled his attempts to install a signature climate policy.
Morrison, of course, claims our existing pledge to slash emissions by 2030 is more than adequate. The scientific community says otherwise.
Their “extraordinarily irrational and self-destructive approach” to climate science helped lead to the shitstorm we now find ourselves in, Turnbull claimed.
Turnbull also had some choice words for US President Donald Trump, whose relationship with Morrison could not be any different.
“Trump is playing a very destructive role in terms of climate action,” Turnbull said. Another astute observation.
As the ABC points out, Turnbull himself made comments suggesting intense bushfires and floods are essentially business as usual as late as 2018.
He also defended Morrison’s positions on emissions reductions at last year’s Pacific Islands Forum, which you can read about here.
I don’t know, man. If you want to feel even more frustrated with the predicament we find ourselves in and the endless spiral of political backstabbing which has hindered every push for change on these issues, cop the interview below:
