NSW Environment Minister Matt Kean says he had a "text message exchange" with Scott Morrison after the prime minister took a swipe at him over his position on climate change and its link to bushfires.
Mr Kean earlier this year said federal cabinet ministers wanted stronger action on climate change as NSW dealt with unprecedented bushfires which have now claimed 25 lives and destroyed 2400 homes.
The prime minister responded a week ago by stating most of his colleagues in Canberra didn't know who Mr Kean was and the NSW minister "doesn't know what he's talking about".
Mr Kean on Tuesday was repeatedly asked if he'd talked to Mr Morrison since to repair the relationship.
"I've obviously had a text message exchange with the prime minister, but I have text message exchanges with a number of my colleagues on a number of issues all the time," he told reporters in Sydney.
"There's nothing unusual about that."
Mr Kean on Tuesday insisted that climate change was a "huge challenge" for Australia to address but it also presented opportunities for the country to become an energy "superpower" of the world.
NSW Environment Minister Matt Kean broke ranks in November to link the bushfires with climate change. Source: Supplied
The environment minister first broke ranks with his NSW coalition colleagues in mid-November to speak out on the issue.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian at the time was insisting it was "inappropriate" to discuss climate change while bushfires raged but Mr Kean declared "the science is in".
"Climate change is real and all the evidence suggests climate change is seeing more extreme weather events happen," he said at the time.
