In a disaster zone on the frontline of the climate crisis, the PM resorted to self-serving pontification | Katharine Murphy

Scott Morrison was prepared to acknowledge some realities when he arrived in Lismore on Wednesday.

Morrison turned up with practical support. Cash. Promises of more defence personnel to clear out the rubbish (although that might take a month). He also opened the door on a conversation about what might need to be done locally to mitigate risk, with commonwealth funds on standby.

But all of this was warm-up laps for peak passivity.

But in any case, lest all this forward leaning seem too forward, Morrison wrenched his bus into reverse. The prime minister proceeded to treat onlookers to one of his favourite tutorials: Australia makes bugger all difference when it comes to global climate action.

We need to remind ourselves that this self-serving pontification by Morrison was occurring at the site of an actual disaster zone on the frontline of the climate crisis, while the traumatised residents of Lismore were milling outside still trying to process what the hell just happened.

This leads us to the nub of the problem.

Getting the national disaster response right requires something radical.

It requires the Coalition to be honest about the past, and about the future.

To give Australians the tools they need to manage the existential threat of a heating climate, this government needs to be honest, first with itself, and then with the Australian public, about the nature of the threat. It needs to end a decade of excuses, evasions and obfuscations, and set about atoning for them.

Until this government understands the magnitude of its own policy failures, until it can permit the most basic truth telling, this group of people will not be able to summon the imagination or the resolve, let alone the monumental whole-of-federation resources required to mitigate the risks and adapt to the new realities.