Peter Dutton insists he ‘believes in climate change’ after refusing to say if impacts of global heating worsening

‘I believe in climate change and that’s a reality,’ Peter Dutton told a Thursday press conference in the Hunter Valley, adding that it was the basis for the Coalition’s position on net zero by 2050. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has insisted he “believes in climate change” a day after refusing to state if the impacts of global heating were worsening.

Climate scientists, environmentalists, Labor and the Greens lined up on Thursday to condemn the opposition leader for comments he made during Wednesday night’s election leaders’ debate, which prompted renewed scepticism of the Coalition’s commitment to climate action.