Greens MP Adam Bandt has doubled down on linking burning coal to Cyclone Debbie, drawing a stinging rebuke from the opposition leader.
As the category four cyclone developed off the North Queensland coast on Monday, Mr Bandt said Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull would have blood on his hands after such extreme weather events if he bankrolled new coal-fired power stations.
On Wednesday, in the wake of the devastating storm, the unrepentant Greens MP suggested it was the Turnbull government's own poor timing that triggered his initial comments.
"The government chose that very day to go out on the front foot and say we need to build a new coal-fired power station," he told reporters in Canberra.
"It's Malcolm Turnbull that should apologise to the people of Australia for being so insensitive as to pick the time a cyclone was just about to hit to go out and spruik policies that will only make cyclones more intense."
Labor leader Bill Shorten was not impressed.
"I believe it's improper of the Greens to take political advantage of people's misery to make political points," he told reporters in Canberra.
"Today is not the day North Queenslanders want to hear about politics. Today is the day they want to see government help."
Mr Bandt asked the prime minister during question time on Wednesday why he was promoting the coal industry when fossil fuels were making cyclones more intense.
"Doesn't your duty to keep Australians safe include doing everything you can to stop cyclones becoming more violent?" Mr Bandt asked.
Mr Turnbull said it was not the time to make such a political point.
"That question was contemptible," he said.
"Now is the time to pull together ... (and) stand behind the people of north Queensland, the men and women of the ADF, the volunteers, the emergency workers, to keep them safe."
