Former prime minister John Howard has praised Scott Morrison's handling of the bushfire crisis.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
“It’s obviously an incredibly difficult time for the country,” Mr Howard told theHeraldduring a break in play on day three of the Sydney cricket Test match.
“I don’t think he’s interested in the next opinion poll,if you want my opinion,I think what he wants to do now is make certain all of the responses are the right ones. In a federation like Australia,working closely with the states is the most important requirement a federal government has.”
Mr Howard said continuing criticism “from the centre-left of politics about his handling of the climate change issue” was to be expected but Mr Morrison should be credited for not deviating from his policy position.
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“I’m not a climate scientist or anything but it’s pretty obvious to me that the fuel loads,aggravated and intensified by the long drought,are the proximate cause of the spread of this disaster,” Mr Howard said.
“There’s a debate about the contribution that climate change is making to that state of affairs but we’re all aware of that and naturally people who don’t agree with him on that issue ... will use this as another occasion to criticise him.”
Mr Howard said the issue of the PM’s Hawaiian holiday had been “dealt with”,arguing that what he had done before and after that trip deserved greater credit than he’d been given.