Australian Prime Minister dismisses ‘reckless’ calls to curb coal

Sydney: Under-fire Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday rejected calls for “reckless” and “job-destroying” cuts to the country’s vast coal industry in the face of a deadly climate-fuelled bushfire crisis. Morrison’s conservative government has fiercely defended the lucrative coal industry in Australia, which produces a third of global coal exports and provides work in key swing electoral districts.

“I am not going to write off the jobs of thousands of Australians by walking away from traditional industries,” Morrison told the Seven Network, in one of several morning interviews rejecting calls for further action.