THE Australian prime minister has been confronted by angry residents after he visited a wildfire-ravaged town.
Scott Morrison was touring the town of Cobargo in New South Wales (NSW) yesterday when he was heckled by locals who criticised his response to the bushfires and told him to “f*** off”.
One woman shouted: “What about the people who are dead now Mr prime minister?”
Another resident added: “Every single time this area has a flood or a fire, we get nothing. If we were Sydney, if we were north coast, we would be flooded with donations with urgent emergency relief.”
READ MORE: ‘Catastrophic’ wildfires ravage Australia during record heatwave
Morrison said: “Well, I’m not surprised people are feeling very raw at the moment.
“I understand the very strong feelings people have, they’ve lost everything. And there is still, you know, some very dangerous days ahead.
“And we understand that, and that’s why we’re going to do everything we can to ensure they have every support they will need.”
“You won't be getting any votes around here, buddy. You're an idiot.”
— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) January 2, 2020
Residents in Cobargo, New South Wales confront Australian PM Scott Morrison about the government's response to the wildfires.⁰
Mr Morrison said he was "not surprised people are feeling very raw". pic.twitter.com/Utjav0udfh
The PM also visited firefighters of the New South Wales Rural Fire Service in Quaama, where one of them refused to shake his hand.
At least eight people have died this week in NSW and neighbouring Victoria, Australia’s two most-populous states, where more than 200 fires are currently burning.
Authorities said 381 homes had been destroyed on the NSW southern coast this week, while 18 people have died since the fires began burning.
Some 12.35 million acres of land – an area almost the size of Croatia – have burned nationwide over the past few months, with more than 1300 homes destroyed.
Thousands of tourists fled ahead of worsening conditions as the military started to evacuate people trapped on the shore further south. Cooler weather since Tuesday has aided firefighting and allowed people to replenish supplies.
Vehicles formed long lines at petrol stations and supermarkets, with traffic gridlocked as highways reopened. Fire conditions are expected to worsen this weekend as high temperatures and strong winds return.
“There is every potential that the conditions on Saturday will be as bad or worse than we saw [on Tuesday],” New South Wales Rural Fire Service deputy commissioner Rob Rogers said.
NSW authorities have ordered tourists to leave a 155-mile zone along the picturesque south coast, which the state transport minister described as the “largest mass relocation of people out of the region that we’ve ever seen”.
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