Australian PM says ‘blame isn’t helping’ as wildfires continue
● Under-pressure Morrison defends leadership as death toll rises to 24
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has defended his leadership and his government’s record on climate change as the country continues to tackle devastating wildfires.
Yesterday saw milder temperatures that brought hope of a respite from the fires that have ravaged three states, claiming 24 lives and leaving a trail of devastation.
Mr Morrison has faced widespread criticism for taking a family holiday at the start of the crisis, as well as his sometimes distracted approach as the fires escalated and his slowness in deploying resources.
He told a press conference it was not the time for blame.
“There has been a lot of blame being thrown around,” Morrison said. “And now is the time to focus on the response that is being made. Blame doesn’t help anybody at this time and over-analysis of these things is not a productive exercise.”
Mr Morrison announced on Saturday that he would dispatch 3,000 army, navy and air force reservists to help battle the fires. He also committed 20 million Australian dollars (£10.5m) to lease firefighting aircraft from overseas.
But his handling of the deployment of reservists also came in for criticism yesterday. Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons, who is leading the fight in New South Wales, said he learned of the deployment through media reports.
“It is fair to say it was disappointing and some surprise to hear about these things through public announcements in the middle of what was one of our worst days this season, with the secondhighest number of concurrent emergency warning fires ever in the history of New South Wales,” he said.
More than 1,400 homes have been destroyed in blazes which have ravaged the country in recent months.
The Rural Fire Service said 150 fires are still active, 64 of them uncontrolled. As well as the human toll, the damage to the country’s unique wildlife is considerable.
Recent wildfires have undone decades of careful conservation work on Australia’s Kangaroo Island and have threatened to wipe out some of the island’s unique fauna altogether.
It is a blow for the island which has been described as
Australia’s Galapagos Islands and a refuge for some of the country’s most endangered creatures.
Kangaroo Island is about 50 per cent larger than the US state of Rhode Island and home to what was a thriving eco-tourism industry.
But the wildfires that have been ravaging swathes of Australia have burned through one-third of the island, killing two people and leaving behind a scorched wasteland.
Experts working on the island said the fires have killed thousands of koalas and kangaroos, and also have raised questions about whether any dunnarts, a mouse-like marsupial species that carries its young in a pouch, have survived.
Similarly, it remains unclear how many from a unique flock of glossy black cockatoos got away from the flames and whether they have a future on an island where much of their habitat has gone up in smoke.
Sam Mitchell, co-owner of the Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park,said the fires have killed thousands of koalas on the island. Staff are caring for about 18 burned koalas, and they have had to euthanise many more.
The Queen, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge all issued separate messages of condolence to those affected on Saturday.
In a message addressed to the Governor General of Australia, the Queen said: “I have been deeply saddened to hear of the continued bushfires and their devastating impact across many parts of Australia.”