The NSW emergency services minister has treated a question about the link between bushfires and climate change with "the contempt it deserves", he says, telling parliament it's a matter for the environment portfolio.
David Elliott criticised Labor for not asking about the welfare of emergency service workers when the climate change issue came up during Question Time on Thursday.
He initially thanked opposition environment spokeswoman Kate Washington for her "constructive question" on whether he accepted climate change was influencing the frequency and severity of NSW bushfires.
However, Mr Elliott said he would have to defer to those in the environment portfolio because he was so focused on the welfare of 1500 firefighters.
"I find it offensive that they have not asked one question about the welfare of emergency service workers," he said when Opposition Leader Jodi McKay stood up and pressed him for an answer.
"I'm going to treat that question with the contempt it deserves.
"I'm quite comfortable with the government's approach to climate change and certainly the way that we manage the environment."
There are calls for greater action to tackle global warming as catastrophic bushfires roar across NSW and Queensland, with former fire chiefs on Thursday urging the federal government to declare a climate emergency.
But Premier Gladys Berejiklian this week said it was "inappropriate" to discuss the issue while the fires raged.
She insists the coalition is prepared to discuss climate change at a later date.
NSW bureaucrats attending a conference dedicated to minimising the impacts of climate change on Tuesday were reportedly told in an email not to discuss the link between climate change and bushfires.
But Environment Minister Matt Kean told the Sydney Morning Herald that was a "miscommunication".
Australian Associated Press
