It is therefore no surprise that their budgetary response to an issue which is causing increasing concern to the Australian public was somewhat inadequate.

During his budget speech, treasurer Josh Frydenberg managed to pause briefly from distributing public largesse to pay lip service to the environment and climate change.

The money he announced for action on climate change is indicative of the lip service that this government has been paying to climate change throughout its term of office.

What Mr Frydenberg announced was $189.1 million over the next four years, plus $2 billion over 15 years for the climate solutions fund, which will pay businesses and farmers to reduce their carbon footprint.

There will also be $1.4 billion over six years for equity funding for the Snowy 2 project, as well as $400,000 to support the electric vehicle industry.

This response is paltry, but what is more concerning is that it is not linked to any coordinated plan to realistically tackle climate change.

Such a plan should include transitioning away from fossil fuels, a plan to upgrade the national grid to further support renewable energy, proper support for the electric vehicle industry, emissions targets that are informed by science, not politics and a price on carbon.

Australia is feeling the effects of climate change through record temperatures, drought and extreme weather events, which our scientists are telling us are linked to climate change.

More and more Australians have come to accept the science of climate change, are concerned about its effects, and are asking our government to do something about it.

The budget response would indicate that the government intends to do very little. The 2019-2020 budget is largely a vote-buying exercise, but on the subject of climate change it is also an insult to the electorate.

We are being sent a message that we can be bought off by a few extra dollars less tax, a couple of one-off payments and more car parks.

Our government doesn't believe that we are capable of concern about long-term issues like climate change. Such a dismissal of public concern could be an electoral mistake.