Prime Minister Scott Morrison has conceded he caused "great anxiety in Australia" by taking a family holiday in Hawaii as bushfires burned across Australia, saying with the benefit of hindsight he would have made a different decision.
Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been briefed on the latest developments in the New South Wales fires. Photo: AFP
Morrison announced he would cut his trip short on Friday, after the deaths of two volunteer firefighters in New South Wales.
He landed in Sydney just before 8pm last night on a Hawaiian Airlines flight from Honolulu.
The period of leave was not formally announced, and the Prime Minister's Office refused to confirm the location or dates of leave, citing security concerns.
Mr Morrison spent this morning receiving a briefing on the current fire situation in New South Wales from fire chiefs and emergency service personnel at Rural Fire Service (RFS) headquarters.
At a media conference afterwards he said he took the holiday to keep a commitment to his children.
"I am sure Australians are fair-minded and understand that when you make a promise to your children you try and keep it, but as prime minister you have other responsibilities and I accept that and I accept the criticism and that is why Jenny [his wife] and I agreed it was important that I returned, particularly after the tragedies we saw late this week.
"I get it that people would have been upset to know that I was holidaying with my family while their families were under great stress.
"They know that I will not stand there and hold a hose. I am not a trained firefighter nor am I an expert like those in the next room doing an amazing job."
He said he was "comforted" that Australians wanted him to be present during a terrible time for their country.
Morrison said he accepted that there were links between global climate change and weather events.
"...but I'm sure people would equally acknowledge the direct connection to any single fire event is not a credible suggestion to make that link."
He also ruled out any change to Australia's emissions reduction policy.
Fears 'mega fire' in NSW may get even bigger
Meanwhile, two bushfires in the Blue Mountains have joined together and the RFS is not ruling out the blazes connecting with the huge Gospers Mountain "mega fire".
Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said this morning the fires at Green Wattle Creek and Ruined Castle had joined together.
"The Gospers fire is likely to be brought closer and connected with the northern side of the Great Western Highway and the communities of the Blue Mountains region as we work to protect those communities," Fitzsimmons said.
"We need to be reminded that the Creek fire and the Ruined Castle fire, they have already joined up. There is potential for connectedness, but we are not expecting them to join."
Fire crews are looking to make headway in bringing several blazes under control as temperatures ease across New South Wales today.
Temperatures are only expected to reach the mid-20s, a drop of as much as 20 degrees Celsius from Saturday in some parts of the state, where catastrophic fire conditions wreaked havoc and saw several properties lost as southerly winds caused unpredictable fire conditions.
Firefighters tend to burning property caused by bushfires in Bargo, southwest of Sydney. Photo: AFP
Fitzsimmons this morning warned people to remain vigilant despite the easing of conditions.
"In the Greater Sydney region, we didn't see the weather conditions reach catastrophic, thank goodness," he said.
"While the conditions have eased today, it is a good reminder that people need to remain vigilant and stay across what is going on."
He said he was hopeful fire crews would be able to wrest back some control amid the cooler temperatures and added firefighters had a battle plan ready that included backburning where possible.
Climate change inaction
Many Australians have accused Morrison's government of inaction on climate change.
Last year, the UN reported that Australia was not on track to meet its commitments under the Paris Agreement - the global deal to tackle rising global temperatures.
Firefighters' union leader Leighton Drury said during Morrison's absence on holiday that Australia was "seeing an absolute lack of leadership from this government and it is a disgrace".
Phrases such as #WhereisScoMo, #WhereTheBloodyHellAreYou - a reference to a famous tourism campaign he once oversaw - and #FireMorrison quickly trended online.
Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack has acknowledged that further action must be taken to combat climate change but said there was "a lot of hysteria" surrounding the issue.
"Climate change is not the only factor that has caused these fires. There has been dry lightning strikes, there has been self-combusting piles of manure, there has been a lot of arsonists out there causing fire," he said.
Although climate change is not the direct cause of bushfires, scientists have long warned that a hotter, drier climate would contribute to Australia's fires becoming more frequent and more intense.
The Australian government has come in for plenty of criticism as the country endures one of its worst and most wipespread bushfire seasons. Photo: Saeed Khan / AFP
- ABC / BBC