12 Nov 2019

Climate change conversation rejected as Australia burns

From Morning Report, 8:10 am on 12 November 2019

Australian political leaders including the deputy prime minister are angry some people the issue of climate change.

Carol Sparks is the mayor of a northern New South Wales town, Glen Innes, where two people have died.

She says for the sake of those who will inherit a scorched Earth, it's time to take decisive and collective action to save the ecosystem and civilisation from collapse.

Those comments have been slammed by those who Australia's National Party. 

New South Wales Deputy Premier and National party MP John Barilaro says now's not the time. 

And Deputy prime minister Michael McCormack, who's also the leader of the National Party, says the government's doing its part to lower emissions - but says bringing up climate change while the fires are still burning is in poor taste. 

Guardian journalist Gabrielle Chan lives on a farm in Michael McCormack's electorate of Riverina and she joins us on morning report.