This is because of the linkage people are making, arguably rightly or wrongly, between carbon dioxide emissions, climate change and bushfires.

Given the Coalition's demonstrable policy weakness in this area over many years it will likely make eminent sense for Mr Morrison and his advisers to put as much distance between polling day and saturation coverage of burning homes and smoke shrouded cities as possible.

The only reason this wouldn't be likely to happen is if Mr Morrison, Mr Angus Taylor, Michael McCormack and some of their even more hard line colleagues shared an epiphany on their various roads to Canberra and finally opened Professor Ross Garnaut's recent memo about the ability of crises such as this to create opportunities.

Professor Garnaut recently made the point that it wasn't all doom and gloom; that new technologies were evolving and that Australia had the potential to lead the world in developing new "sunrise" climate change industries" for generations to come.

We could even make use of our abundant but largely untapped solar, wind, hydro and tidal generation potential to "export" electricity by submarine cable to South East Asia.

There is also the opportunity to refine our own mineral wealth using zero emissions electricity before export.

Any of these would do nicely as replacements for the fossil energy mining sector when it comes to GDP and export revenue replacement.

The problem is this will never come to pass without strong and enlightened political leadership on energy policy, something this country has lacked for well over a decade.

Can that ever change? Surely even the most obtuse Nationals Senator or MP should have worked out by now that many Australians, including millions in rural electorates, are of the view the extended fire season is due, at least in part, to climate change and that climate change is due, also at least in part, to increased carbon emissions.

When considered in this context the favourite conservative line, that this month's nation-wide outbreak of unseasonal fires was caused by the drought is a furphy.

The same applies to the oft repeated mantra further reductions in Australia's carbon dioxide emissions would make no difference given they represent such a small percentage of global emissions.

Scott Morrison is one of a growing number of people who would like to see China's developing nation status, which allows it to continue to increase emissions at least until 2030, revoked.

We can hardly beat the drum on this issue if there is a widespread perception, both at home and abroad, that we could and should be doing more.

Perceptions do matter and self-interested hypocrisy will always be called out for what it is.

Angus Taylor met with State Energy Ministers in Perth on Friday to discuss the vexed issue of energy supply security.

While there is no doubt this is of vital national interest it pales into insignificance when compared to the issues emerging as a result of climate change and climate change related events.

He and his colleagues should be having a very serious discussion about the best ways to transform Professor Garnaut's vision of a brave new energy world into a reality for the future of the country.