Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison yesterday apologized for taking a family vacation in Hawaii as deadly bushfires raged across several states, destroying homes and claiming the lives of two volunteer firefighters.
Morrison cut short a vacation with his wife and adult children amid public anger at his absence from Australia at a time of national crisis.
He arrived home on Saturday and spoke to reporters yesterday morning while visiting the headquarters of the New South Wales Rural Fire Service in Sydney.
Photo: AP
“If you had your time over again and you had the benefit of hindsight, we would have made different decisions,” Morrison said. “I am sure Australians are fair-minded and understand that when you make a promise to your kids you try and keep it.”
“But as prime minister, you have other responsibilities and I accept that and I accept the criticism,” he added.
News of his holiday prompted street protests and widespread criticism on social media, with Australians using the hashtag WhereTheBloodyHellAreYa?
Morrison said this was not a time for political point-scoring, but a “time to be kind to each other.”
He said he is not a trained firefighter, “but I’m comforted by the fact that Australians would like me to be here just simply so I can be here, alongside them, as they are going through this terrible time.”
Morrison also answered critics who have said that his government has not done enough to fight climate change, which has been cited as a major factor in the spate of fires burning across New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.
He said there were also “many other factors” responsible for the unprecedented number of fires during a record-breaking heat wave.
“There is no argument ... about the links between broader issues of global climate change and weather events around the world,” he said.
“But I’m sure people equally would acknowledge that the direct connection to any single fire event — it’s not a credible suggestion to make that link,” he added.
New South Wales Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons described Saturday as an “awful day” for firefighters as strong southerly winds fanned more than 100 fires in the state alone.
Dozens of homes have been lost since Thursday in massive wildfires, including the Gospers Mountain blaze that covered more than 460,000 hectares.
Australia’s firefighting force is overwhelmingly made up of volunteers, who have been strained by the intensity and the length of this year’s fire season.
Conditions eased markedly yesterday, giving them time to try to contain massive blazes near Sydney that are only likely to be extinguished with heavy rainfall.
Thirty firefighters from Canada and nine from the US were among fresh crews set to join the battle against the fires yesterday.
Large scale back-burning is planned over the next few days before conditions are expected to worsen again in a week’s time.
Rain was expected in some fire-hit areas of New South Wales tomorrow and on Wednesday.
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