Adam Bandt defends 'arsonist' dig by Greens colleague over climate policy

Greens MP Adam Bandt has supported partyroom colleague Jordon Steele-John's incendiary spray over climate change policy.

Greens leader Adam Bandt. Source: AAP

Greens MP Adam Bandt has backed a colleague labelling major party politicians "arsonists" over climate change policy.

Senator Jordon Steele-John levelled the accusation at Labor and the coalition for supporting laws which could help the coal industry to continue, on a day of catastrophic fire danger in NSW last week.

"He's part of a generation that is terrified and aghast with what they're seeing with the climate crisis," Mr Bandt told ABC's Insiders on Sunday.

"People may quibble about the words that are used, but I would urge people to have a listen to the point that Jordan was making."

Bushfires sparked political brawling over climate change last week, with Nationals MPs taking aim at the Greens for discussing the issue during the disaster.

Greens Member for Melbourne Adam Bandt and Greens Senator Jordon Steele-John at a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Thursday, February 14, 2019. Source: AAP

But Mr Bandt, a senior figure in the minor party, stands by his accusation that Prime Minister Scott Morrison was putting lives and towns at risk.

"Unless the government gets the climate crisis under control and reins in the use of coal, then this generation is going to rise up with a fury matched only by the intensity of the fires," the Greens MP said.

Labor frontbencher Stephen Jones said some politicians had let themselves down during the debate.

But he wants the opposition to remain focused on climate change, concentrating on jobs in renewable energy.

"If you talk to the firies on the frontline they get the fact they've got an emergency to deal with, but they also get the fact that our climate is changing," Mr Jones told Sky News.