Peter Dutton has reaffirmed his belief in climate change, after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he was "stunned" by an exchange during their debate last night, in which the Opposition leader appeared to dodge a question about whether fires and floods in Queensland could be directly linked to the issue.
ABC Host David Speers pointed to the storms, fires, and floods in Dutton's home state and asked if he accepted Australia was already experiencing the impact of climate change.
Dutton said: "I think you can see that there's an impact."
But when pressed by Speers if it was getting worse, he responded: "Well, I'll let scientists and others pass that judgement." Speers pushed further, questioning: "Really, you're not willing to say this is climate change happening right now?"
Thargomindah, a town in south-west Queensland, was severely impacted by floods, despite desperate efforts from locals to reinforce the town's levee bank. Source: AAP / Bulloo Shire Council, Daniel Roy
"I think the honest answer for most people is that they don't know."
On Thursday, Dutton told the ABC that he acknowledges climate change is real before pointing to the Coalition's energy policies intended to tackle the issue.
"It's why we've adopted our position in relation to net zero by 2050. I think if people are concerned and interested in the topic of climate change and want real action, vote for the Coalition, because we're the only party, through our energy policy, which is capable of delivering lower-cost electricity and gas, reliable energy."
The tiny town of Thargomindah in Queensland's south-west was hit with historic levels of flooding two weeks ago, although Speers did not ask Dutton specifically about this event.
In an earlier press conference before Dutton defended the comment, Albanese described the Opposition leader's response as "one thing that stunned me" from the debate.
"I would have thought that the science is very clear on climate change," he said.
"When you have a tropical cyclone headed for the coastline here of south-east Queensland and northern NSW — I don't know what it takes to give a wake-up call to the Coalition.
"After a decade of denial and delay, it is time that we continue to have a government that understands the need to be part of global action on climate change."
In a press conference shortly after the debate, Coalition spokesperson James Paterson was asked whether Dutton accepted the science of climate change.
"Yes, of course he does. We're committed to the Paris Agreement. We're committed to net zero by 2050," Paterson said.
"It's one of the reasons why we're spending $331 billion to transition Australia to emissions-free nuclear technology."
He said Dutton was also asked specifically about Thargomindah, and he "wasn't commenting about whether climate change caused that specific incident".
"Peter does accept the science of climate change. He said that repeatedly. He said that tonight. And I think it's very clear."
Following the debate, the Climate Council urged Dutton to accept urgent briefings from leading climate scientists and emergency service experts.
Climate Council chief executive officer Amanda McKenzie said: "It's outrageous for a senior political leader to be so out of touch that they claim they 'don't know' the risks Australians are facing."
"In 2025, there is no excuse for someone vying to be prime minister not to have educated themselves thoroughly on the science and impacts of the climate crisis."
The Climate Council released new analysis this week that shows two million homes and businesses are now at moderate to high risk from worsening climate disasters, like floods, coastal erosion and bushfires.
"Australians are paying $30 billion more in insurance costs than we were a decade ago. People living in vulnerable parts of the country are increasingly finding they can’t insure their homes because it is unaffordable or unavailable."
