Australia's biggest bushfire crisis in years has reignited debate about whether Morrison's conservative government has taken sufficient action on crisis management. Critics also attacked his policies on climate change.
Image: AP/State Government of Victoria
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Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison cut short his visit in the southeastern town of Cobargo on Thursday after angry residents accused him of insufficient action in dealing with the wildfires which have ravaged the small New South Wales (NSW) town.
Two Cobargo residents lost their lives to the blaze earlier this week and many more lost their homes. A 63-year-old father and his 29-year-old son died in a house as the fires ripped through their town. A 72-year-old man remained missing, according to NSW police.
During Morrison's visit, one inhabitant shouted, "You won't be getting any votes down here, buddy. No Liberal [party] votes - you're out, son."
Another woman yelled out, "How come we only had four trucks to defend our town? Because our town doesn't have a lot of money but we have hearts of gold, prime minister."
Other people joined in on berating the prime minister, chanting "idiot."
As Morrison was ushered out of the town, the woman called after him, "What about the people who are dead, prime minister? What about the people who have nowhere to live?"
In response to his reception in Cobargo, Morrison told local Australian broadcaster ABC, "I understand the very strong feelings people have, they've lost everything, and there are still some very dangerous days ahead."
Mallacoota fire
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"My job is to ensure that we steady things through these very difficult days and support the states in the response that they are providing."
Meanwhile, the navy launched mass evacuations on Friday ahead of an extreme heatwave and heightened fire danger over the weekend.
At his first official press conference since the fires, Morrison defended his response to the fires and his climate policy as "sensible."
"The best way to respond is the way that Australians have always responded to these events and that is to put our confidence in those who are fighting these fires," Morrison said on Thursday.
"I understand the fear, I understand the frustration, but this is a natural disaster, which is best dealt with in a calm, systematic manner …"
At the same time, the prime minister stressed that he would not change his policies at the expense of the economy.
Amid criticism of his policies on climate change, Morrison insisted that Australia was meeting the challenge "better than most countries" and was fulfilling international targets.
Critics, who have deemed Morrison a climate change skeptic, say that climate change factors contributed to the country's fire crisis.
Australia is the world's largest exporter of coal and liquefied natural gas.
Morrison, a strong supporter of the coal industry, blamed the country's three-year-long drought in causing the fires.
The prime minister was criticized for going on a family holiday to Hawaii in December in the middle of the crisis. He eventually decided to cut his trip short and apologized to the public.
Death toll rising
More than five million hectares (12.35 million acres) across Australia have been scorched by bushfires and more than 1,400 homes have been destroyed.
The death toll has risen to at least 17 people and dozens more are still missing, according to the Australian Associated Press.
The prime minister encouraged people waiting for help or stuck in traffic jams "to be patient … help will arrive."
Morrison said that the fires will burn for "many, many months ... unlike a flood, where the water will recede, in a fire like this, it goes on and it will continue to go on ... until we can get some decent rain."
Bushfires ravage Australia
Australia is grappling with its worst bushfire season to date. The nation has been forced to reckon with a rising death toll, mass evacuations and suffering animal populations.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Davey
Widespread devastation
Massive bushfires have devastated Australia as the blazes continue to rage across the country. Since the start of one of the worst fire seasons on record, more than 2,500 homes have been burned, tens of thousands of people evacuated, and at least 29 killed. Here, a photographer reacts to seeing the burnt-out remains of a relative's home in Quaama, New South Wales.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Davey
Area the size of South Korea razed
As of January 17, fires have burnt roughly 10 million hectares (25 million acres) of land, an area larger than South Korea or Portugal. More than 170 fires continue to burn in Victoria state and New South Wales. There were 82 fires burning across New South Wales, 30 uncontained, and several fires in Victoria, according to fire authorities.
Image: Imago/B. Xuefei
Battling the blazes
Firefighters protect homes around Charmhaven, New South Wales, on December 30. Wildfires burning across four Australian states that day destroyed hundreds of properties and caused multiple fatalities. A volunteer firefighter was killed and three others were injured after strong winds pushed a fire truck over.
Image: picture-allianceAP/Twitter@NSWRFS
Red skies
A person stands in protective gear as nearby bushfires turn the sky red in Mallacoota, Victoria. Thousands of people in the coastal region were told to evacuate over the New Year period, while the Country Fire Authority later issued an ominous warning to residents still in the area that it was "too late to leave." Some 4,000 people spent New Year's Eve on the beach to avoid the flames.
An air tanker drops fire retardant over the Gospers Mountain fire near Colo Heights, northwest of Sydney, Australia on November 15, 2019. The Gospers Mountain fire originated in the Wollemi National Park, and came close to merging with other major fires in the area. Fires have torn apart the Blue Mountains, a popular tourist area, burning more than 500,000 hectares of land.
Image: Reuters/AAP/D. Lewins
Quick escape
A burnt bicycle lies on the ground in front of a house destroyed by bushfires on the outskirts of the town of Bargo, near Sydney, on December 21, 2019. The town was hit with a catastrophic fire danger warning as fires turned several nearby homes to ashes. The New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian declared a state of emergency that same week.
Image: Getty Images/D. Gay
Toddler receives posthumous medal for firefighter father
Firefighters are among the 28 people who have lost their lives in the fires. Some were volunteers. Thirty-two-year-old Geoffrey Keaton, along with a colleague, died when a burnt tree fell in the path of their fire truck. Keaton's nineteen-month-old son Harvey was awarded one of the service's highest honors on behalf of his father on January 2.
Image: Reuters/NSW RURAL FIRE SERVICE
Animals caught in the flames
A kangaroo that survived the bushfire in Wollemi National Park in Sydney grazes for food in November 2019. The fires have not only sparked concern over human well-being, but have also created worries over the survival of endangered and vulnerable animals. The fires have killed more than a billion animals across eastern and southern Australia.
Image: Imago Images/AAP/J. Piper
Economic toll
The Insurance Council of Australia said on January 7 that the bushfires have caused at least US$485 million (€435 million) in damage and that number was likely to rise. Separately, authorities warned of looters in towns where people have evacuated and scammers taking advantage of fundraisers for relief efforts.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/S. Khan
Koala species threatened by fires
The bushfires have devastated Australia's koala population. In New South Wales state alone, officials estimate 30% of koala habitat - eucalpyt woodlands, which they use for both food and shelter - may have been lost. At least 45 koalas were being treated for burns at the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital.
Image: Reuters/AAP Image/D. Mariuz
Australians take to the streets
Thousands of people took to the streets on January 10 in Australia's major cities to rally against Prime Minister Scott Morrison's inaction on climate change and his handling of the ongoing bushfire crises. The nationwide rallies were organized by university students in Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, Adelaide and Hobart.
Image: picture alliance/ZUMAPRESS
Smoke across oceans
Smoke from Australia drifted across the Pacific and reached South America, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on January 7. On January 2, the EU Copernicus program recorded the highest concentrations of atmospheric carbon monoxide in the world over the "clean" South Pacific Ocean stemming from the fires in Australia.
Image: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
