Greens MP Adam Bandt has defended suggesting the coalition government's climate change strategy could lead to more devastating bushfires like those raging across NSW.
As fierce blazes threatened thousands of homes across the state, Mr Bandt accused Prime Minister Tony Abbott of risking lives by taking the country "backwards" on efforts to combat global warming.
"Why Tony Abbott's plan means more bushfires for Australia and more pics like this of Sydney," he tweeted, alongside an image of bushfire smoke enveloping the city.
The remarks sparked a backlash online, but Mr Bandt denied it was an act of political opportunism.
The Victorian MP claimed Mr Abbott was "failing" his duty to protect Australians by refusing to talk about the consequences of climate change and its link to extreme weather events.
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He conceded his comments could be "uncomfortable" for some, but he was worried about the threat global warming posed to the Australian way of life in a year when heat records had tumbled.
"Tony Abbott has picked this time to say he's going to rip up action on global warming and in fact allow more pollution, which is going to mean these kind of fires we will see happening more often," he told ABC TV on Friday.
"I don't think that talking about protecting the Australian way of life and stopping fires from happening in the future is startling," he said.
Greens leader Christine Milne also criticised the prime minister, saying the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report warned of more extreme weather events as a consequence of global warming.
"IPCC says more fires, hottest winter leads to horrific early NSW fires, Abbott boasts dumping climate action, time to face nation," she posted on Friday.
Mr Bandt denied that the tweet was politicising a bushfire event or attempting to gain political mileage.
He told Fairfax Radio it was concerning that bushfires were starting in Australia as early as October before the start of the fire season.
Mr Bandt said unless global warming was under control, bushfire events would become a regular occurrence in Australia.
Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt criticised Mr Bandt's tweet during a visit to Brisbane.
"There has been a terrible tragedy in NSW and no one anywhere should seek to politicise any human tragedy, let alone a bushfire of this scale," he told reporters.
