Why won’t Pacific nations lambast China on climate?

The climate change pantomime has taken an interesting new twist, with low-lying Pacific Nations lambasting Australia over its approval of Woodside’s North West Shelf gas project extension.

Anote Tong, who led the small Pacific nation of Kiribati between 2003 and 2016 accused Labor of putting economic interest before the security of important allies in the region by approving the extension, which he said would contribute to climate change.

“I think it calls into question Australia’s sincerity in the relationship that it has with the Pacific”, Tong told The Australian Financial Review.