Science vs politics

Contrast the prime minister’s response to the coronavirus outbreak with his response to the climate emergency of drought, heat and bushfire that Australia faced over summer. Responding to COVID-19, the Morrison government has gotten out in front of the World Health Organization’s declaration of the pandemic, flagged the possible use of emergency provisions in the biosecurity laws, and held numerous press conferences in a fortnight with the PM alongside the health minister and chief medical officers. The government is now developing a fiscal stimulus plan to counter the virus’s impact, which Treasurer Josh Frydenberg this morning said would begin with a “b” for billions, rather than millions.

The Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, with the Health Minister,
 Greg Hunt, and Australia's Cheif Medical officer,
Professor Brendan Murphy.  Compare that to Australia's
 recent bushfire crisis and not once did the PM appear
 publicly with a climate scientist, a scientist who
 could have helped explain the forces behind the blazes.

The prime minister’s response to the climate-forced “black summer”, on the other hand, was late and fumbling. There were no press conferences with the PM standing next to climate scientists. And a hinted-at evolution of the government’s climate policies was soon abandoned, after the first sign of a backlash from the hard right. It is not because the prime minister has learnt from his mistakes, however; it is because on COVID-19 he is free to act on the basis of the best scientific advice, but on climate change he isn’t.

Read the story from The Monthly by Paddy Manning - “Science vs politics.”