Politicians are not interested in talking about climate change. Politicians do not want to discuss climate change, says Tony Abbott

The prime minister is not keen to talk about the global warming crisis, and the issue of his carbon tax has been a sore point for many.

Mr Abbott has been one of the most vocal climate sceptics in Australia, arguing that it is a myth that humans are causing climate change and arguing that the cost of a carbon tax was “unacceptable”.

But there have been few public interventions on the issue from Mr Abbott.

“I have had a lot of private conversations with the prime minister and he is not interested,” Liberal senator Nick Xenophon said.

Mr Xenophon was one of four Liberal senators to vote against the carbon tax legislation. “

That’s his political strategy, and it’s not working.”

Mr Xenophon was one of four Liberal senators to vote against the carbon tax legislation.

It was defeated by two votes to two in the Senate on Thursday, with the three other Liberals voting against it.

The Senate voted on Thursday for the Senate to pass the carbon pricing bill, with two of the four voting against.

The bill was designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2023.

But some Labor MPs have warned that the price of a tonne of carbon dioxide, currently about $1,000, could be high enough to deter investment in renewables and reduce greenhouse gases.