ABC reporter Jane Norman cops a barrage of abuse over her coverage of Scott Morrison’s climate plan 

ABC TV political reporter Jane Norman is once again in the firing line of social media critics for ‘gushing’ coverage of Scott Morrison’s net zero climate plan.

On Tuesday, Ms Norman said the plan was ‘practically achievable’ while covering the announcement of Mr Morrison’s plan to net zero emissions by 2050.

‘There are a few heroic assumptions or statements made in this new plan,’ she told the audience.  

‘The fact that Scott Morrison got a deal on climate, the fact he’s still the prime minister, is a significant achievement given Australia’s long and tortuous history with climate policy.’  

Social media critics were quick to jump on Ms Norman’s characterisation of the plan, focusing on use of the word ‘heroic’.

Mr Morrison’s announcement of Australia’s path to net zero emissions yesterday, which Ms Norman described as ‘practically achievable’, has met with heavy criticism from other quarters

‘For the ABC to use the term “heroic” re the nonplan, it must have been in the [Prime Minister’s Offce] media instructions,’ one commenter on Twitter wrote.

‘Jane Norman’s relentless cheerleading for Scott Morrison is just embarrassing,’ wrote another. 

Twitter account @medianalystoz said Ms Norman had ‘gushed’ about the plan. ‘LNP spin from the ABC,’ it concluded. 

Academic Ingrid Musing Tweeted that Ms Norman had repeated verbatim what the prime minister has said in announcing the plan, without attributing the words.

Others noted, however, that an ‘heroic’ assumption in the sense in which Ms Norman used it generally means there is doubt about the accuracy of that assumption.  

Contacted by Daily Mail Australia, Ms Norman said she had no comment to make on the backlash but that trolling of her on social media was ‘nothing new’.

Ms Norman notably deleted her entire Twitter history and announced she would no longer use the platform in May this year.

The move followed a tweet she sent on April 26 in which she said had received a first Pfizer vaccination in Canberra, despite not being eligible at the time, because 25 people had failed to show up for vaccination appointments. 

‘I’ve had people on Twitter who have paid to promote a tweet saying that I’m a queue jumper, and people on Instagram have even called me a killer,’ Ms Norman told The Australia’s Media Diary at the time.

She said she had been ‘genuinely bruised’ by the online backlash. 

‘From now on, I’ll only use Twitter for news-gathering purposes or to promote a story,’ she said.

Contacted by Daily Mail Australia, Ms Norman said she had no comment to make on the backlash but that trolling of her on social media was ‘nothing new’

Academic Ingrid Musing Tweeted that Ms Norman had repeated verbatim what the prime minister has said in announcing the plan, without attributing the words

Mr Morrison’s announcement of Australia’s path to net zero emissions has met with heavy criticism.  

Influential software billionaire and climate advocate Mike Cannon-Brookes slammed the presentation as ‘just more bullsh*t’, while the Opposition’s climate spokesman Chris Bowen labelled the announcement a ‘steaming pile of nothingness’.

World-renowned naturalist David Attenborough blasted the plan for lacking detail and failing to increase 2030 emissions reduction targets. 

On Wednesday the prime minister defended the strategy, which relies 85 per cent on existing technology and 15 per cent on new breakthroughs to reduce carbon emissions.  

‘Everyone else who doesn’t understand Australia, our economy and the challenges we have here are entitled to their opinions,’ he told the Seven Network on Wednesday.

‘But I will do what is right for Australia and we are getting results.’

Influential software billionaire and climate advocate Mike Cannon-Brookes slammed the prime minister’s net zero announcement as ‘just more bullsh*t’

The announced strategy relies 85 per cent on existing technology and 15 per cent on new breakthroughs to reduce carbon emissions

The government argues it has reduced carbon emissions 20 per cent since 2005 and projects a cut of 30 to 35 per cent by the end of the decade.

But it is not budging on its 2030 target of 26 to 28 per cent ahead of the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow, which the prime minister will attend next week.

‘Australia’s actions and results speak more than the words of others,’ Mr Morrison said.

‘We’re getting it done, Australians want it done but they don’t want to throw their livelihoods away.’ 

The government plan claims 100,000 jobs will be created in renewable energy alongside 62,000 roles in regional mining and heavy industry.

It also suggests people will be on average $2000 better off and electricity prices won’t rise.

There are outstanding questions about what the Nationals were promised in exchange for the junior coalition partner’s lukewarm support for a 2050 net-zero goal.

While Resources Minister Keith Pitt has returned to cabinet, it is unclear what other sweeteners were offered.