Tom Elliott and Melbourne councillor clash over ‘climate emergency’ declaration

Tom Elliott and Melbourne councillor Nicholas Reece have clashed over the council’s decision to declare a ‘climate emergency’.

The motion was unanimously passed by the Future Melbourne Committee on Tuesday night.

28 of the country’s 537 local councils are now calling for urgent action around climate change.

Tom cast doubt around the legitimacy of the council’s plans, saying if the current cladding crisis couldn’t be fixed, it’d be doubtful they could fix climate change.

Cr Reece vehemently disagreed.

“I’m not sure the framing of your argument adds up there,” he told Tom in a heated interview.

“The planning system has broken down because all these buildings have been approved, built and occupied and they’re unsafe,” Tom responded.

“But you’re saying that planning can do wonderful things when it comes to the environment.”

Click PLAY to hear the full fiery interview on 3AW Drive