"For more than 30 years, Australian politics has been
grappling with climate change and the nation's most senior public
servants have been there through it all.
Usually they keep their thoughts private, rarely making a foray into public debate, even in retirement.
Now,
after the devastating "black summer" fire season, the former heads of
the Office of Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Department of the
Treasury, along with former chief scientists, have decided they can no
longer stay silent.
They believe there has been a colossal failure by politicians of all stripes to comprehensively tackle climate change.
These
senior policy makers and scientific minds describe climate policy as
perhaps the greatest public policy disappointment of their generation,
and a story of power and personal ambition triumphing over the national
interest.
Martin Parkinson, who served as secretary
of the Department of Climate Change between 2007 and 2011, described
politicians as "incapable of grappling with this".
"I don't know how many reports have been put in front of them," he said.
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