Might the bushfire crisis be the turning point on climate politics Australian needs?

Countries have long periods in which policies change little, and only by increments.

The bushfire crisis is big enough to change the
government’s emissions policy, but it swill need more.

Occasionally there are turning points, when previously intractable policy problems are suddenly resolved, recasting policy for the long term.

Many are asking whether this summer’s environmental catastrophe might be such a turning point – a Port Arthur moment or Australia’s Sandy Hook, Chernobyl or Pearl Harbour.

The short answer is: it is too soon to tell, but the early signals from the federal government are not good.

Crises can provide a window for big policy changes. In such times, the normal political constraints are relaxed, although not for long.

Read the story from The Conversation by the Chief Executive Officer with the Grattan Institute, John Daley, and a Senior Associate with the Grattan Institute, Emily Millane -  “Might the bushfire crisis be the turning point on climate politics Australian needs?”