Australia bushfires: Residents refuse to shake prime minister's hand as mass evacuation begins

https://news.yahoo.com/australia-fires-now-thousands-tourists-002140260.html

Giovanni Torre
,The Telegraph•January 2, 2020

The Australian prime minister was heckled out of a fire-ravaged town in New South Wales yesterday, as a mass evacuation of the region got under way ahead of worsening conditions.

Video of the visit to Cobargo, on the south coast, showed Mr Morrison insist a woman shake his hand as she criticised him over the government's response to the crisis. “I am only shaking your hand if you give more funding to the RFS (Rural Fire Service),” she said as he turned away. “So many people have lost their homes. We need more help.”

The prime minister was soon ushered to his car by minders when other residents began shouting at him. “You won't be getting any votes down here buddy,” one called out.

Anger over the government's handling of the crisis has grown since the outbreak of wildfires, which have so far killed at least 17 people, including nine since Christmas Day, and destroyed 1,400 homes.

In Cobargo, a 29-year-old dairy farmer and his father, 53, were killed earlier this week as fires swept through the village.

Mr Morrison has overseen more than $12.9m cuts to the state's fire service in the latest budget, and has been criticised for rejecting calls to professionalise the service.

But think of the tax money saved. [sarcasm]

•••••

The navy was called in to assist in getting people out of the town of Mallacoota, in the neighbouring state of Victoria, where 4,000 people were trapped on the beach for days after the fire devastated much of their town.

Rob Rogers, NSW's Rural Fire Service deputy commissioner, said firefighters were struggling to combat the fires.

"The message is we've got so much fire in that area, we have no capacity to contain these fires," he told ABC.

•••••

In addition to the loss of human life, homes and farmland, ecologists from the University of Sydney estimate almost half a billion mammals, birds and reptiles have been lost this fire season, with the toll expected to rise.

At least 17 people were yesterday reported to be missing across Victoria. The body of Mick Roberts, who had been unaccounted for since Monday, was found dead in his home in Buchan, East Gippsland, on Wednesday, his niece said.

•••••

Brie Kingsely, a Melbourne resident, witnessed the sheer scale of the crisis while driving from Sydney to get home. She told The Telegraph the entire six-hour journey was “smoke-ridden”.

•••••