Australian PM sorry for taking holiday as fires ravage country
Morrison ‘deeply regrets’ Hawaii trip while two more deaths bring total fatalities in bushfire crisis to eight
SCOTT MORRISON, the Australian prime minister, has apologised for going on holiday to Hawaii after two volunteer firefighters died during the country’s bushfire crisis.
The two emergency service workers were killed when a tree fell into the path of their water tanker, causing it to roll, as they were driving in a convoy near the town of Buxton, New South Wales, on Thursday night.
Their deaths bring the number of fatalities from the fire crisis to eight.
Mr Morrison had reportedly gone on holiday earlier this week, but it was not confirmed until yesterday.
A photograph then appeared on social media apparently showing him in Hawaii with Australian tourists.
Mr Morrison said yesterday that he had brought forward planned leave with his family due to commitments to travel to Japan and India in January.
“I deeply regret any offence caused to any of the many Australians affected by the terrible bushfires by my taking leave with family at this time,” he said.
In 2010, Mr Morrison made scathing comments about the decision of Christine
Nixon, then Victoria police commissioner, to leave work at 6pm to go to dinner during a severe fire crisis in her state the previous year.
Mr Morrison was scheduled to return on Monday but is now expected back today.
But Leighton Drury, a firefighters’ union leader, addressing Mr Morrison’s absence, said: “We are seeing an absolute lack of leadership from this government and it is a disgrace. Where the bloody hell are you?”
Late yesterday, the New South Wales Rural Fire Service reported 100 bush and grass fires in the state, with 55 still to be contained.
“Crews are taking the opportunity of favourable conditions over coming hours to consolidate containment options supported by heavy plant ahead of dangerous fire conditions tomorrow,” it said in a statement.
Today, three New South Wales regions have a “catastrophic” fire warning, including greater Sydney, and six more are “severe” or “extreme”.
New South Wales has been the state hardest hit so far, with eight people killed, more than 700 homes destroyed and more than 2 million hectares burnt through.
However, the crisis has spread. In South Australia, one person was killed in a car crash in an emergency-level fire zone, and another is missing, as the state faced more than 120 fires yesterday.
‘I deeply regret any offence caused by my taking leave with my family at this time’
South Australia has endured temperatures well over 40C (104F) for much of this week. Eight people, including four firefighters and three police officers, have been treated for burns and smoke inhalation in the state.
In Queensland, a state plagued by drought, almost 70 fires raged yesterday. Authorities revealed that 98 people have been charged with arson in recent weeks, mostly children.
Volatile weather conditions and the threat of worse to come prompted the national bureau of meteorology to reissue a severe fire warning for the Darling Downs and Granite Belt, Central Highlands and Coalfields, and the eastern parts of the Warrego and Maranoa districts of Queensland.
To the south of New South Wales, in the state of Victoria, fires destroyed buildings in the town of Seaford as the state experienced its hottest December day on record. State capital Melbourne
‘We are seeing an absolute lack of leadership and it is a disgrace’
was covered in smoke from fires to its north, including the vast blazes in New South Wales.
Three grass fires near Ballarat in western Victoria were under an emergency warning last night, and a fire in Mount Mercer is threatening Teesdale and other communities just 18 miles west of Geelong.
The temperature in the town of Hopetoun hit 47.9C (118.2F), and a total fire ban is in place across the entire state.