Australia is burning like a tinderbox and the Coalition cannot keep hiding from reality | Katharine Murphy

On climate action, the Coalition is the party of wreck, defer and obfuscate, the party with a shameful and indefensible recordLet's start by acknowledging a few things. December, for prime ministers juggling agendas and commitments on multiple fronts, can be trying. Parliament is over for the year and people want things to be quiet, but politics in the run down to Christmas is about as orderly and elegant as a bus hurtling in the direction of a hairpin bend.So this is my way of saying Scott Morrison is a busy bloke with a lot on his mind. He's got a minister under police investigation. He's got the midyear economic forecast next week. On Monday, cabinet was wrestling with big issues, like the location of defence work and the price regulations governing airports - and that was before a volcano eruption in New Zealand loomed shockingly into view. Continue reading...