According to the AFP, Morrison departed for a family vacation as record bushfires have destroyed an area the size of Belgium – cloaking major cities from Brisbane to Sydney to Canberra to Melbourne in choking toxic fumes.
When the word got out the Morrison family was in Hawaii, street-wide protests ensued, along with widespread criticism on social media, with Australians deploying the hashtag #WhereTheBloodyHellAreYa?
Morrison now says he regrets being away while his country was going through the deadly fires. “I have obviously returned from leave and I know that has caused some great anxiety in Australia and (my wife) Jenny and I acknowledge that,” Morrison said in a news conference on Sunday. “If you had your time over again and you had the benefit of hindsight then (you’d) have made different decisions.”
In New South Wales, the most populous Australian state, eight people have been killed, 800 houses destroyed, and more than 6 million acres (2.4 million hectares), an area the size of Massachusetts, burned out since the fire season started early this year. Deadly fires are also raging in Victoria, Queensland, and South Australia.
Earlier fire season and climate crisis
According to the BBC, Australia can expect a little rain next week, but it won’t last – with the searing heat returning. The heat, low humidity, and strong winds are all contributing to the intensity of the bushfires.
After speaking with fire officials Sunday morning, Morrison conceded that climate change was contributing to changing weather patterns, but denied that it had directly caused Australia’s wildfires. “It’s not a credible suggestion to make that link,” he argued.
Incredible. Students, families and workers are bunkered outside @ScottMorrisonMP's house asking #wherethebloodyhellareya? December 18, 2019
Australia still derives the bulk of its energy from coal – a fuel that last year was its largest export earner. And like President Donald Trump in the U.S., Morrison is a huge backer of fossil fuel. In 2017, he audaciously brought a lump of coal to parliament in support of the industry
As the BBC points out – the climate crisis is not directly responsible for wildfires – However, scientists have long warned that a hotter, drier climate would contribute to Australia’s fires and fires around the globe becoming more frequent and intense.
These conditions have fed the bushfires, resulting in the Gospers Mountain mega-fire that has destroyed about 460,000 hectares (1.14 million acres) north-west of Sydney. Fire officials said there was a risk it could merge with the Grose Valley fire in the Blue Mountains.
