ScoMo Dismisses Greta Thunberg’s Fiery UN Speech, Saying Kids Should Just Chill Out
If you want young people to not worry about their future, how about you do something about climate change?
If there’s one part of being prime minister that Scott Morrison hasn’t got a handle on, it’s making bold, declarative statements. Even at his most authoritative, the man sounds like a substitute geography teacher trying to control a classroom full of kids who haven’t even noticed that he exists.
Which, of course, is the natural side effect of being a leader who cares solely about getting voted in at the next election. The man’s constantly trying to say the thing with the least possible substance, lest a potential voter take offence.
That umming and ahhing has been painfully obvious for a while now. But it has taken on new dimensions when compared to the bold, plain speaking of Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old climate activist who is putting the world’s politicians to shame.
Earlier this week, Thunberg gave an incendiary speech at the UN in which she discarded the gentle, crowdpleasing face that activists sometimes adopt for the cold hard truth. Her speech had a clear message: we are in trouble, and we need action now.
But Morrison wouldn’t know that because he didn’t actually attend Thunberg’s speech. It was only later, when pressed on the speech, that Morrison gave his response.
And hey, guess what? It was absolutely piss-weak.
“You know, I want children growing up in Australia that feel positive about their future,” Morrison said, as reported by The Sydney Morning Herald.
“And I think it’s important that we give them that confidence, that they will not only have a wonderful country and pristine environment to live in, but they’ll also have an economy that they can live in as well.”
“We’ve got to deal with the policy issues. We’ve got to take it seriously, but I don’t want our children having anxieties about these issues.”
Of course, it’s worth noting that if Morrison really wanted to stop the nation’s children from being anxious about their future, he’d actually do something about averting the environmental apocalypse that will engulf us all.
But hey, guess that would mean taking a stand.