What has the government said on climate change? When the crisis escalated in New South Wales (NSW) last month, Mr Morrison refused to be drawn on questions about climate change - saying his "only thoughts" were with people affected by the fires. Deputy PM Michael McCormack rejected such questions as the concerns of "raving inner-city lefties", adding: "We've had fires in Australia since time began." More recently, Mr Morrison has acknowledged climate change as one of "many other factors" in fuelling the bushfires.