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The Guardian - AU
National
Graham Readfearn, Naaman Zhou and Amy Remeikis

Another death confirmed as bushfires heap pressure on PM – as it happened

Eden wharf
People seek refuge on the wharf at Eden, on the New South Wales far south coast. Photograph: Andrew Quilty

Goodnight and stay safe – a summary

That’s all from our live bushfire blog for today. There’ll be another tomorrow.

Here’s a quick summary of where things stand, and some of the big stories from the day.

First, the fires.

  • NSW police confirmed the 20th death in the state from the current fire season, after a search found a body on a property in the Eurobodalla shire at 4pm today.
  • In NSW, all fires are at advice level with no immediate danger.
  • In Victoria, 31 fires are burning, with 13 watch and act warnings in place.
  • Authorities in Victoria are looking at Thursday and Friday this week as days with the potential for worse conditions.
  • In South Australia, fire activity is increasing on Kangaroo Island and a total fire ban has been declared for Tuesday.
  • Smoke haze continued to impact residents around fire areas, and in Melbourne and Canberra in particular.

The prime minister, Scott Morrison, announced a new $2bn National Bushfire Recovery Agency to “coordinate a national response to rebuild communities and livelihoods”.

Victoria’s premier, Daniel Andrews, announced Bushfire Recovery Victoria to coordinate the government’s recovery efforts.

About 300 people stuck on a major highway in Western Australia since Christmas are being escorted out after a break in dangerous fire conditions.

At the Golden Globes in Beverley Hills, California, Australian winner Russell Crowe and award presenter Cate Blanchett both took the chance to highlight climate change and the bushfire crisis.

Please stay safe and if you’re in fire-prone areas, keep a close eye and ear on local broadcasts and warnings from authorities.

We’re only just into January, so there are going to be many more weeks of this bushfire season still to go. And then there’s the recovery.

Keep being kind to one another. There have been many harrowing stories in recent weeks, and thousands of people have gone through severe and life-changing trauma. This will take a toll on our mental health.

So if you feel you need to, remember to talk to someone – it could be your GP, a psychologist, a counsellor, or a friend. Or call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Updated

The smoke haze that’s been a major issue across NSW and parts of Victoria for weeks is giving organisers of the Australian Open tennis some major concerns.

Organisers are hopeful the tournament will be able to start on time. We’ve just posted this report.

This reminds me of the major issues they had back in 2014, when extreme temperatures caused the Canadian player Frank Dancevic to hallucinate a cartoon dog, shortly before collapsing on court.

The same heat burned Serbian tennis player Jelena Jankovic’s bum.

Updated

Some relief appears to be on the way for more than 300 people who have been stuck at roadhouses along the Eyre Highway in south-east Western Australia since Christmas Day.

Fires had blocked the highway leaving people stranded in a 710km stretch.

Helicopters and planes had been dropping vital supplies – including toilet paper and fresh food – to roadhouses in Caiguna, Cocklebiddy and Madura.

The ABC is reporting a break in the dangerous fire conditions has given authorities a chance to get people out, with a “large-scale evacuation” now under way.

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services superintendent Mark Bowen has told the ABC that firefighters had “made good progress” on fire fronts, but conditions were predicted to worsen.

“We’ve had a window of opportunity come up with the weather that’s allowed us to start moving some of those trapped people that have been stuck on the Eyre Highway.”

Bowen said the highway was still closed, but police would scan the highway using planes and helicopters to make sure there were no other people camping away from the roadhouses.

Updated

NSW police confirm eighth death from south coast fires

NSW police confirmed an eighth person has died from the bushfires on the state’s south coast, bringing the total number of deaths in the state from the fires to 20.

Police say a body was found at 4pm during a search of a property in Nerrigundah in the Eurobodalla shire.

In a statement, police said they were looking for a 71-year-old man who had been reported missing, last seen moving equipment on his property on 31 December 2019.

Rescue units had been unable to access the property until today due to the risk of the fire at Badja Forest Road.

Police said: “About 4pm the body of a man was located between the property and a car, which had both been destroyed by fire.

“The body, which is yet to be formally identified, is believed to be that of the missing 71-year-old man.”

Detectives from the south coast police district are on the scene with police rescue and the Volunteer Rescue Association.

Inquiries are continuing, and a report will be prepared for the information of the coroner, the statement said.

Police said 20 deaths had now been confirmed in the state in the current bushfire season.

Updated

Australia’s tax office is giving people in fire-impacted areas an automatic two months extra to complete their tax returns or pay their tax bills.

The treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, says “the last thing that you should be concerned about is your tax affairs” if you’re struggling in the fires.

The ATO says:

If you’ve been impacted by these bushfires, we don’t want you to be concerned about your tax affairs. Now is the time for you, your family and community. We’ll help you sort out your tax affairs later.

For identified impacted postcodes, we’ll automatically grant deferrals for lodgments and payments due. You, or your agent, don’t need to apply for these deferrals.

There’s more information on the ATO’s website.

Updated

Evening folks, Graham Readfearn here.

Can we have a virtual round of thanks to Naaman Zhou for blogging through this afternoon, and for Amy Remeikis earlier today. If I’m less busy than they were, then we’ll all be happy.

It’s been a confusing day, weather-wise, for Melbourne. The heavy cloud cover and the smoke – and some light rain – has actually brought temperatures down a bit. The bureau has also issued a “road weather alert” in the past hour.

The drizzle, plus the smoke, has created slippery road surfaces and poor visibility. So be careful if you’re still travelling.

Updated

I’ll be handing over to my colleague Graham Readfearn now. Thanks for reading.

If you missed it earlier today, we updated our ongoing interactive map showing the scale of the bushfires. We’re now at 8.4m hectares burnt, across NSW, Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania, SA and WA.

We are still waiting on figures from the NT.

In pictures, here’s 8.4m hectares, laid over Sydney, Melbourne, London and Paris to show the scale.

One of the Sydney festival’s biggest events has been cancelled due to ongoing poor air quality from smoke haze.

Opening Night, a play starring the Oscar-nominated French actor Isabelle Adjani, was set for a week-long run from 21 to 26 January at the Opera House.

But it’s just been announced that the entire run is cancelled “due to health concerns related to fire-affected air quality in Sydney”.

“Naturally, on behalf of the people of Sydney, we are extremely disappointed,” the festival director, Wesley Enoch, said.

Meanwhile, the Sydney festival has announced a bushfire charity concert, with Regurgitator, Custard, Dan Sultan and more. It’s on 11 January at the Metro Theatre.

Updated

Emergency water purifer delivered to Kangaroo Island

The army will deliver an emergency water purification system to Kangaroo Island in South Australia, AAP reports.

Fires are still burning on the island today, and up to 100 army reservists arrived on the island to provide the community with immediate help.

The ADF chief of joint operations, Lieutenant General Greg Bilton, said the army had also provided 64,000 litres of bottled water.

Updated

In response to a freedom of information request from my colleague Josh Taylor, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has said providing information would “divert resources” during the bushfire crisis.

The request was about messages to Scott Morrison about the bushfires while he was on holiday in Hawaii.

Updated

Visibility in Melbourne is down to less than 1km, due to smoke haze.

Meanwhile, residents are trying to find the P2 masks that can help, but not completely protect you from inhaling PM2.5 particles.

Meanwhile the Victorian CFA has just tweeted out that the Victorian government has its own direct donation site that goes to families.

Updated

Hillsong founder Brian Houston, a friend and religious mentor of Scott Morrison, says that the church has raised half a million dollars for firefighters and those affected.

Two news stories you may have missed from earlier today.

An ad Scott Morrison made about his government’s bushfire response has been labelled “misleading and deceptive” by an integrity expert, reports Christopher Knaus.

The ad was authorised by the Liberal party and Scott Morrison, rather than by the Australian government.

Senior NSW Liberals have also lashed out at Morrison over comments his office made that the state “refused” the offer of assistance.

The Daily Telegraph’s Sharri Markson reported the refusal, after a briefing by the prime minister’s office.

But the Rural Fire Service commissioner, Shane Fitzsimmons, today said: “The answer is simply ‘no’.

“There has been no offer of assistance that I am aware of that hasn’t been accepted.”

Updated

And in more sport news, the bidding for Shane Warne’s baggy green – also auctioned off for bushfire relief – has already hit $100,500, in just 90 minutes.

The former England captain Michael Vaughan earlier bid $25,000, but was soon overtaken.

Updated

Hi all, Naaman Zhou here taking over. I think I speak for everyone when I say a huge thanks to Amy Remeikis for piloting the blog all day.

In sport news, tickets are now on sale for the Rally for Relief – a charity match organised by the Australian Open, where all the proceeds go to the bushfire effort.

The line-up is still secret (and will be announced slowly in coming days, it seems). But Tennis Australia promises “the world’s top players” with “many Grand Slam titles between them” have said yes.

This all started after Nick Kyrgios suggested the idea for the charity match to Tennis Australia – and the Australian had already promised to donate $200 for each ace he hit across the summer.

Tickets for the charity match are as low as $54 for adults and $35 concession. The match is on 15 January.

Updated

I am about to log off for the day, but Naaman Zhou is standing by to take my place.

To recap the main points of the day:

Two people remain missing in NSW.

No emergency alert fires are burning, but there are still many watch and act warnings in place.

Cooler conditions have given firefighters a chance for shift changeovers and a rest, as well as working on containment lines.

Dangerous fire conditions are forecast for the end of the week, so the reprieve will not last long.

The evacuation order has been lifted in Victoria, but the disaster order remains.

The government has committed $2bn over two years to a disaster recovery management fund, to be administrated by the Andrew Colvin-led National Disaster Recovery Agency.

Victoria has also established a standing disaster recovery agency, to be led by the former police commissioner Ken Lay.

The surplus is basically kaput.

I will leave you in the exceptionally capable hands of Naaman.

Please – take care of you.

Updated

The Insurance Council of Australia has confirmed those figures Josh Frydenberg gave during the press conference:

Since September 5, insurers have handled more than 6,000 insurance claims from bushfire regions of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria. Insurance losses are estimated at $431m this bushfire season.

Updated

The Australia Institute has responded to the government’s funding announcement. From its statement:

The Australia Institute has welcomed the government’s $2bn bushfire recovery fund announcement, but has questioned why regular Australian taxpayers are being asked to pay when a levy on fossil fuel producers would be a more appropriate way to raise the required funding.

“Regular Australians should not be forced to pay while fossil fuel producers are being let off scot-free,” says Ebony Bennett, deputy director of The Australia Institute.

“A modest levy on fossil fuel producers would help to shift the economic burden of these disasters from regular Australians to the coal and gas companies that are fuelling the climate crisis.

“A surplus is just an economic tool, not a policy goal in itself, and while we welcome the government’s change in rhetoric regarding the need for a budget surplus, it’s disappointing that the Australian community will be left to pick up the tab for yet another climate-fuelled disaster.

Updated

Russell Crowe has shown everyone his fire truck supplies (wait to the end):

Updated

Having lived through this for the past week or so, I hope anyone impacted by the smoke at the moment is OK.

As my colleague Bridie Jabour has pointed out already, there are going to be a lot of confused toddlers looking for Emma, but I can think of a lot of parents who will be excited by this.

Shane Warne has put his baggy green cap up for auction for bushfire relief.

Updated

This is ongoing.

Updated

The CFMEU construction division has donated $100,000 to bushfire relief.

It is calling on others within the construction industry to do what they can.

You can read the whole announcement Scott Morrison just made, here:

Updated

The local government areas affected are listed below:

New South Wales
· Armidale
· Ballina
· Bega Valley
· Bellingen
· Blue Mountains
· Byron
· Central Coast
· Cessnock
· Clarence Valley
· Coffs Harbour
· Eurobodalla
· Glen Innes Severn
· Greater Hume
· Gwydir
· Hawkesbury
· Inverell
· Kempsey
· Ku-ring-gai
· Kyogle
· Lake Macquarie
· Lismore
· Lithgow
· Mid Coast
· Mid-Western
· Muswellbrook
· Nambucca
· Narrabri
· Oberon
· Penrith
· Port Macquarie-Hastings
· Queanbeyan-Palerang
· Richmond Valley
· Shoalhaven
· Singleton
· Snowy Monaro
· Snowy Valleys
· Sutherland
· Tamworth
· Tenterfield
· Tweed
· Upper Hunter
· Upper Lachlan
· Uralla
· Walcha
· Wingecarribee
· Wollondilly

Victoria
· East Gippsland
· Towong

Updated

The government has suspended Centrelink’s welfare debt recovery operations and mutual obligation requirements for jobseekers living in bushfire-affected areas.

It should allay fears that people receiving benefits, including potentially volunteer firefighters, could have their payments suspended during the crisis.

Scott Morrison said the suspension will be in place for two months before it is reviewed. The same arrangements will be in place for the Australian Taxation Office.

As Amy has noted, the government will also establish 20 Services Australia (Centrelink and Medicare) pop-up shopfronts, which will be welcome news for those in fire-affected communities that have had difficulties today.

Stuart Cameron, who has been evacuated to Bega after fire threatened his family home near Bermagui, told the Guardian on Monday some stranded locals had gathered outside the Centrelink this morning frustrated that it was closed.

“... in just a couple of minutes there two women arrived saying that they had been seeking to apply for the crisis payment and had been directed to the office from the evacuation centre,” he said.

Updated

And on the immediate priorities of the new National Disaster Recovery Agency:

  • Build on the effective working relationships with state, territory and local governments, including their recovery and reconstruction bodies, and to work with stakeholders in bushfire-affected communities and relevant commonwealth agencies to inform and integrate recovery and rebuild activities.
  • Ensuring affected communities have ready access to meaningful support and all available services.
  • Providing advice and recommendations to government on the economic and social impacts of bushfire on affected communities, in consultation with relevant agencies across all levels of government.
  • Developing and coordinating the delivery of a long-term plan for the recovery, rebuild and resilience of bushfire-affected communities.

Updated

Stuart Robert, the minister for government services, has provided an update on what Services Australia has been doing:

Services Australia staff will join Australian Defence Force personnel heading into bushfire-affected areas as part of an all of federal government effort.

At least 20 mobile service teams will deploy into affected regions in New South Wales’ south coast and Victoria’s East Gippsland to offer on-the-ground assistance.

Two mobile service centres will also deploy to these regions.

The fastest way to claim disaster payments is to call 180 22 66.

Over $26m has already been provided in Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payments (AGDRP) and Disaster Recovery Allowance (DRA) in declared Local Government Areas.

Nearly 22,000 claims have been processed since 16 September 2019.

Updated

We are going to be hearing this line a lot from the government.

Scott Morrison:

I can tell you that because of the strong financial management of this government, it has put us in a position to do that [recovery fund] without having to strike a levy, without having to make offsets in other places that can put the bottom line to work that we have sought to build the financial resilience of this country.

The first year we have returned the budget to the position of strength. That can be put straight into work to meet Australians’ needs and that our of need.

The government has made much of its surplus – last year there was the “back in the black” campaign that ran immediately after the budget was delivered in April, as well as the “we brought the budget back to surplus next year” line Morrison deployed during the election debates.

It has also consistently pointed to what it has said was Labor’s mismanagement of the economy last time it was in government, while ignoring the impact of the global financial crisis, which happened during that time. Both Morrison and the treasurer have been particularly critical of Wayne Swan not delivering his promised surpluses and bring it up constantly in political attack.

So this pivot is very interesting.

As is this line from Josh Frydenberg:

We have consistently been saying that a surplus is never an end in itself.

So now that the budget is unlikely to be in surplus (it had already been downgraded by about $21bn over the forwards and cut about $2bn to just $5bn for this year) the line has switched to: we can respond to these disasters because of the budget position.

Not that politics is important right now, but it should be noted.

Updated

The prime minister deflects a question on why he signed off on the defence minister Linda Reynolds’ leave, and why she said she wasn’t on leave yesterday, when she was.

Updated

Asked about Julie Bishop’s comments about Australia needing to take a lead in climate policy, Scott Morrison again says his government won’t be changing its emission reduction policy:

Right now, I have to say, my absolute focus is on deploying the $2bn to communities around the country and addressing immediate needs and infrastructure to provide the platform for recovery for these communities.

Personally, physically, their livelihoods, their communities and getting them back on track, and that will take considerable effort to get to that point, and that would be the absolute focus across every single minister, every single department brought together through a whole of government response.

... What I am saying is that is what the government focus is. I have said on numerous occasions the government will continue to work to meet and beat the commitments we have made for emission reductions, as we will this year, and as I believe with the policies we continued to put in place by 2030 to make that commitment that I was pleased to be part of a cabinet with Julie and put in place the mechanisms to achieve it.

Updated

Of that additional $2bn in disaster recovery funding, Josh Frydenberg says that $500m will be in the 2020 calendar year.

Scott Morrison has already ruled out a bushfire levy (he did that yesterday).

Given the election rhetoric over the surplus (which is being walked back now), Morrison is asked whether he can guarantee there will not be cuts to other areas to pay for this.

Morrison:

What I envisage is guaranteeing to the Australian people at this time of crisis that we will meet every cost that needs to be met, make every investment to assist this crisis and the recovery needs that follow.

That is clearly the priority now, and the point I would make ... is the reason we are in a position to do this is we have been so careful with our financial management.

You strengthen your financial benefit to build the resilience to deal with these types of crisis that can often be unforeseen and that strength enable us to make the commitment we now making.

Scott Morrison speaks to the media at Parliament House on Monday
Scott Morrison speaks to the media at Parliament House on Monday. Photograph: Rohan Thomson/Getty Images

Updated

Scott Morrison is lowering expectations here, in terms of Australia’s budget position over the forwards:

The fires are still burning and they will be burning for months to come.

That is why I outlined today that this is an initial and additional investment of $2bn.

If more is needed and the cost is higher that will be provided. But I give you that reference point, that over six years, and that was the category A, B and C payments, it was a cost of some of $5.6bn over six years to respond to the Brisbane floods.

What we’re seeing is the comparative figure to the $2bn here is during that emergency there was around about $365m, which was in the order of category D assistance, that was provided in response to that.

Updated

'Surplus is of no focus to me,' Scott Morrison says

Asked if the Morrison government will still be able to deliver a surplus, the prime minister says:

The surplus is of no focus for me whatsoever. What matters to me is the human cost and meeting whatever cost we need to meet.

I can tell you this: being in the position of strength we are in now enables us to give what is one of the most ... significant, if not the most significant response to a crisis of this kind the country has seen.

If I go back over most recent times, we saw at Mallacoota one of the biggest evacuations using military resources that this country has ever seen. The only one that would have been bigger would have been Cyclone Tracy all those years ago. I should stress that these funds that we are putting as part of this effort are separate to the ongoing support of those defence operations and many other government activities that are funded through the budget.

And I suspect they will also face higher costs and they will be reflected in the estimates variations that flow through the budget in May. It will be totalled up and reconciled than.

Updated

The Australian Taxation Office will defer debt payments for at least two months.

You can call 1800 806 218 if you need help with that.

At least 6,000 insurance claims have been made so far, totalling nearly $400m.

Insurance assessment and recovery specialists are being sent out, where it is safe.

Josh Frydenberg will meet with the insurance council, regulators and banking CEOs to “see what can be done to get that money back into people’s pockets as quickly as possible”.

When it comes to the banks, they have also taken steps to assist those who are in the fire-affected areas – loan and interest payment deferrals, additional finance to help cover cashflow shortages, waiving fees and charges – so the banks will continue to take action to support those communities.

Updated

100 veterinarians are headed into the fire zone to help with wildlife and livestock.

Sugar Pine Walk in Bago state forest is “almost totally destroyed”, says Michael McCormack.

Updated

In terms of the additional defence deployment:

  • 497 Australian army reservists have been called out so far.
  • New Zealand is sending three helicopters and an engineering team.
  • Singapore has sent two Chinooks, which are on their way to East Sale in Victoria.

Updated

There was a lot in that announcement.

A few quick takeaways:

  • $2bn disaster recovery fund on top of current disaster payments.
  • The states will not have to match the funding, but will complement it.
  • 20 Service Australia pop-ups to help with accessing payments and resources.
  • Debt recovery (what is left of robodebt) to be suspended for two months in fire zones.
  • Producer grants for restocking and fences.
  • Small business grants.
  • Mental health support.
  • Direct branch of government to aid with rebuilding works.

Updated

Scott Morrison:

Today’s cabinet was one of great resolve.

It was one where we stood together and said, whatever it takes, whatever it costs, we will ensure the resilience and future of this country and we will do it by investing in the work that needs to be done and we will do it by investing in the greatest asset it has ever had and it is its people, Australians.

We will be investing in them and their future to give them the support they need as we all work together to rebuild after these terrible disasters.

Updated

Scott Morrison:

I have been in so many of these communities over many months now and it is not just the disastrous impact of the fire on the physical buildings and the physical communities and people’s physical well-being but the mental impact, the mental health impact on what has occurred is going to take a big toll and we are prioritising the provisional mental health support.

There will also be funding for infrastructure projects support economic community recovery and resilience, particularly essential infrastructure.

Scott Morrison:

The recovery agency and this funding is in addition to the category A, B and C assistance which is provided.

To give you an idea of the scale of that, when it came to the Brisbane floods over a period of some six years, there was $5.6bn paid out in disaster recovery arrangements.

The overwhelming majority was actually for A, B and C payments.

$365m in the category of the assistance of things like the river wall that was reconstructed and the commitment made to that infrastructure.

The $2bn commitment is in addition, an additional cost, and initial commitment, and if further funds are required, further funds will be provided.

What we are focusing on here is the human cost and the rebuilding cost for people’s lives.

We’re focused on the financial cost, where focus on the human costs and ensuring we can do everything we can, as quickly as we can, to support that recovery effort.

Updated

$2bn national bushfire recovery fund established

Scott Morrison has made his first major announcement today: the Andrew Colvin-led National Bushfire Recovery Agency will oversee a $2bn fund (funding over the next two years).

Updated

Michael McCormack looks like he is reading Scott Morrison’s notes over his shoulder.

Scott Morrison:

Today in cabinet we have made a number of decisions to support that recovery effort, to do whatever it takes, to do whatever it costs to make those needs to build our resilience for the future and to enable Australians, wherever they are across the country, to be able to go forward in confidence for their futures.

Updated

We have an Auslan translator as well.

Finally.

The prime minister is giving a national update on the situation. It’s what we have heard so far, individually from the states – but this is what people have been wanting – a national response and overview of what is happening.

It’s taken way too many weeks, but looks like we have got there.

Updated

It’s Scott Morrison, Michael McCormack and Josh Frydenberg.

Morrison begins with an update on the number of deaths.

The death toll stands at 24.

For all of those who have lost loved ones, for all of those who have lost everything, their homes, their livelihoods, once again as a government and as a nation we extend our deepest sympathies to you, and we make this commitment to all Australians, that that we will be there for you during this immediate response, and we will be there for the rebuilding and the recovery.

The press conference Scott Morrison has called is about the National Disaster Recovery Agency – how much the initial funding will be, that sort of thing.

It should be in the next few minutes.

Updated

GoFundMe has provided a fundraising update:

Since the New Year’s Eve fires:

  • $5m has been raised on GoFundMe to support communities, victims, wildlife and firefighters.
  • Over 90,000 donations have been made.
  • 1,600 GoFundMe pages have been launched.
  • Australians from every state and territory have donated. The world is taking notice with donors from over 80 countries including the US, UK, Canada, New Zealand, France, Italy, Netherlands, Japan, Spain and more.

Nicola Britton, the regional manager for the site, says:

Our team of Trust and Safety experts continue to work around the clock to implement GoFundMe crisis management protocols. This means they are monitoring the bushfires closely, vetting all funds and working alongside campaign organisers to ensure donations, small and large, reach the right place.

Updated

We have updated the ‘how big are these fires’ interactive again:

There are a lot of images going around.

Updated

Kevin Rudd has written a piece on how he sees the government’s response:

So why does Abbott do it? The truth is he doesn’t give a damn about policy. Abbott has always been 100% politics. He’s always seen climate as the perfect political wedge against Labor among working families, deploying fear campaigns based on wildly exaggerated projections about jobs and the cost of living. He’s done the same internally, using it to divide and conquer his moderate opponents in the Liberal party.

Pretty tawdry when now we see half the country going up in smoke!

But here’s the rub. The Abbott denialist cult has taken over the entire Coalition. It continues under Morrison and, when they oust him soon, it will continue under Peter Dutton. It’s become the battle cry of the far right which now runs the entire conservative show in Canberra.

Updated

Of the 300 people who registered to leave Mallacoota yesterday, and have been delayed by the smoke, Lisa Neville says:

The smoke has come in. We have established another set of community meetings. We need to consult with people if they want to go on the ship now or wait for the smoke to clear and that could take a couple of days.

There could be others who put their hand up, given the smoke conditions, and want to go on the boat as well.

So we’ll be in a better position later today to know whether people use the ship to get out or are waiting.

Overall we thought there would be 800 people who did not want to leave. This is changing the longer people are in that position.

Lisa Neville speaks to the media at the State Control Centre in Melbourne on Monday
Lisa Neville speaks to the media at the State Control Centre in Melbourne on Monday. Photograph: James Ross/AAP

Updated

Daniel Andrews on what can be done to help, once this is over (which won’t be for a while):

The PM has talked about trying to supplement people’s incomes, trying to support small businesses.

Tourism is a large part of the economic activity across many of these regions. Agriculture, primary production. There are many different sectors that are the lifeblood of some of these fire-affected communities.

I think we can get a pretty seamless approach to this.

We’ll do our part. The commonwealth have laid out a plan to do more themselves. Between our government and the commonwealth government and local councils, I think we can get economic stimulus and real drive into the local communities and do the physical rebuilding.

That will be very, very important. Whilst it’s not appropriate for tourists to go to the fire-affected communities now, there will be a time when we’ll be urging people instead of taking a trip elsewhere to get into a fire-affected community and spend some of your hard-earned money there.

That may be worth an enormous amount to those communities. That will be later on.

Daniel Andrews addresses the media at the State Control Centre in Melbourne on Monday
Daniel Andrews addresses the media at the State Control Centre in Melbourne on Monday. Photograph: James Ross/AAP

Updated

We will hear from Scott Morrison at 2pm.

Daniel Andrews again stresses that Victoria cannot take any goods or food for donations – and in fact this is now causing issues.

We don’t mean to cause offence but now is the time we don’t need more food, we don’t need more clothing, we have enough of that.

We have so much of it, so generous of people, that it’s causing a big logistics challenge, trucks on the road, staff being diverted from other important activities.

The best thing to do, Google the Victorian Bushfire Appeal and give money, whether it be $1 or more, every donation helps.

Every single cent gets on to families who need that sort of support.

I don’t want to appear blunt. We know where it comes from. These donations come from great kindnesses, but it’s now causing issues, and money is the best thing from our point of view.

Updated

Lisa Neville:

As we see this rain today, that has good and bad, bad for firefighters and good for just a sense of relief.

It is not a sign. It is not a time to now become complacent.

It is only January 6. We have significant fires in the landscape. We’ve got other parts of the state drying out as we speak.

So this is an opportunity for people to remain focused, listen to messages, listen to warnings.

Whether you’re in those fire-affected areas or in other areas that could get impacted as the state continues to dry out, I know this is really hard and I know it’s taking a massive toll on communities affected.

People have been living with this for weeks now.

Particularly the last week has been exceptionally difficult.

Again, our role, my role, my prime role here is to keep you safe, to make sure we’re taking the burden off you as much as we can.

Updated

The Victorian police and emergency services minister, Lisa Neville, is also providing an update on the evacuations – and when people can get back to their communities to see what is left:

This morning I have approved the removal of the evacuation order in order to get people home where that is possible.

Again I would say to people in doing this, please be careful. But also please be aware, very aware, that it is likely, very likely, that later in this week that such an order will be issued again, depending on the forecast.

At this stage the Thursday, Friday do look like fire spike days. If necessary, I will reissue that order.

But I’m very aware that there are some communities which weren’t impacted over the weekend and where people want to get back to their own homes, their own beds. That’s why we’ve lifted this order.

The disaster declaration remains in place until Thursday. It is only the evacuation order that has been lifted.

Updated

Victorian emergency commissioner Andrew Crisp gives more of an update:

We have 27 going fires and 16 watch and act warnings out there. The fact we’ve been able to pull back from the emergency warnings to watch and acts reflects the suppressed fire behaviour we’re seeing at the moment.

I say suppressed because it’s not gone away. It is there waiting for the next hot day, the next strong wind, whether that’s the northerlies or the southerlies.

We know these fires will become dynamic and dangerous again. The message is very much about people needing to stay aware of their local conditions.

Updated

There are still four people missing in Victoria.

Two hundred homes have been destroyed (a number expected to rise by at least 100).

Updated

The agency will be permanent, Daniel Andrews says. Because the future means it will have to be.

Because we’re going to see longer fire seasons and we are going to see – we should just be honest about the fact we’re going to see more and more fires, more and more damage as each fire season comes.

To have that standing capacity, the important expertise and have that there at a moment’s notice I think is a wise investment on our part.

Updated

Victoria establishes new agency 'Bushfire Recovery Victoria'

Daniel Andrews has announced a new agency, dedicated to the bushfire recovery, with a $50m initial allocation.

Given we’ve got so much damage so early on in the fire season, I don’t want [emergency commissioner] Andrew Crisp and the work he’s doing, the superb work he’s doing and all of our fire agencies, they’ve got a big job to keep us safe from active fires. I don’t think they can turn their mind to recovery. They have to continue to do the work they’ve been doing so well.

It’s my judgment and the judgment of Cabinet and decided to establish Bushfire Recovery Victoria.

It will coordinate all government efforts to make sure that we [work] with local communities every step of the way.

Not just for weeks and months, but it can be years before communities properly recover from such devastating bushfire.

It will be headed by former Victorian police commissioner, Ken Lay.

Updated

'Long way to go,' says Daniel Andrews

The Mallacoota evacuation has been delayed by the smoke haze, Victorian premier Daniel Andrews says.

There were 300 people who were due to be airlifted today, which has been pushed back.

Andrews also says a fire truck overturned yesterday, but there were no injuries.

While the smoke is good for fire in terms of keeping some of the temperatures down, it makes access by the air much more challenging.

The rainfall is good in some parts but it can make things particularly dangerous. We had a forest fire management vehicle tip over yesterday.

No one was injured I’m pleased to say. It gives you a sense of how complex this task is.

Ever-changing and lots of different challenges.

I think we’re equal to it and I’ll take this opportunity again to thank everybody out there playing their part. Great team effort.

Updated

Hazard reduction burning is still dominating the “what happened” and “what can we do in the future” conversations.

This is despite countless experts and fire and emergency commissioners saying they did what they could, but the window to carry it out has been rapidly shrinking.

The Victorian premier was asked about it this morning on Melbourne radio 3AW, AAP reports:

You can only put fire into the landscape when it is safe to do so. You have to [burn] the hectares the climate allows you to do,” Daniel Andrews said.

Not just some broad hectare count to make you feel good, you have to be really careful.”

Updated

How long it takes the more than 7m hectares of land which has burned so far, to recover will depend on what happens next with the drought.

CSIRO principal research scientist Andrew Sullivan spoke to AAP:

“Within 12 months you will find most areas covered in a green sheen, in new spouts and coverage.

“If you continue to go into drought, the response of the trees is going to be affected. If you get some good rain … the response from the native vegetation is that much better.”

Updated

Malcolm Turnbull has been retweeting stories featuring Julie Bishop’s call for global climate change leadership, where she also says Australia has no real climate policy itself.

And yes, both were in government and could have done something about it. I know.

An agricultural market analyst is speaking to the ABC.

He estimates about 9% of the national cattle market, or about 3 million head of cattle, were situated in the firezone.

The sheep flock is also extensive - about 1% or more than 8 million.

There is no estimation on what has been lost so far. But it is not just the immediate losses – it’s keeping those who survived, alive, with no immediate access to fodder.

Updated

Richard Di Natale has compared Scott Morrison to Neville Chamberlain in a statement (Chamberlain is best known for his policy of “appeasement” with Hitler’s government).

“Warships steaming in to evacuate people from our own shores is not normal. Hundreds of millions of animals killed in infernos is not normal. These fires should be a wake-up call to every single member of the political establishment in Australia: we need urgent action to address the breakdown of our climate,” he said.

“Some political leaders rise to a crisis, while others shrink away and show themselves to be unfit for the job. The prime minister is behaving like our generation’s Neville Chamberlain instead of showing he understands the scale of the threat before us.”

“Scott Morrison needs to get his head out of the sand, accept the central role of the climate crisis in these fires and pledge that not one new coal mine will be built in this country – and that includes Adani.”

Updated

Russell Crowe uses Golden Globes win to shine light on climate change

Russell Crowe wasn’t at the Golden Globes – he is at home, in Australia, preparing for bushfires.

Instead, he sent a prepared statement:

“Make no mistake, the tragedy in Australia is climate change-based” he said.

“We need to act based on science, move our global workforce to renewable energy and respect our planet for the unique and amazing place it is. That way, we all have a future”

Updated

What we know

Ahead of the prime minister’s press conference at 1 (ish) let’s recap what we know:

Two people are unaccounted for in NSW.

No emergency level fires are burning, but several watch and act alerts remain in place for Victoria.

Updated

The wet season has officially begun.

Updated

Australian stars at the Golden Globes are using the opportunity to keep the world’s focus on the bushfires.

Updated

Looks like that cabinet meeting is getting close to breaking up, if it hasn’t already.

The press conference should be in about an hour.

Victoria’s State Control Centre says 1.25m hectares of land has been burned across the state, in its latest update.

That is made up of 900,000 hectares burnt in Gippsland, 200,000 in the Hume region, and an additional 150,000 in other parts of the state.

Mike Kelly, the Labor MP for Eden Monaro, spent the past few weeks helping with the evacuation of parts of his electorate.

He has put together quite a comprehensive concept paper on his Facebook page. I’d recommend reading it all:

To deal with the climate change we cannot prevent and that is already here we must immediately begin work on the framework we need for effective mega-crisis management. It is well beyond time that some serious national strategic planning was initiated to address the extreme disaster amplification generated by climate change.

The fire season has extended by 19% since the 1970s, and this in the first instance poses significant problems in accessing the air support that we often share with the northern hemisphere. This was illustrated in the current situation where early and out of season fires in California and NSW overlapped. As was set out in the policy Labor took to the 2019 election, we need to seriously expand our self-sufficiency in air firefighting capability. For the long term, this means that in acquiring future ADF air assets we need to ensure there is modularity factored in to their design to reconfigure for firebombing.

Updated

Our correspondents Eleanor Ainge Roy in Dunedin and Kate Lyons have an update on what our Pacific neighbours have offered:

Australia’s neighbouring countries, including New Zealand, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea, have offered support as the country continues to fight massive bushfires burning in New South Wales and Victoria.

Members of the New Zealand military are en route to Australia to assist with the efforts, adding to the 157 New Zealand firefighters already deployed in Australia, some of whom have been assisting their Australian colleagues since October.

New Zealand’s minister of defence, Ron Mark, said more help was urgently needed because the fires showed no signs of abating and thousands of people and homes remained in harm’s way.

Australian and international authors have raised thousands for the fire effort today by auctioning off signed books and more under the hashtag #AuthorsForFireys.

Trent Dalton, author of Boy Swallows Universe, will visit your book club and supply you with French champagne, while Hannah Kent, author of Burial Rites, will put your name into her third novel (or provide a mentoring session) to the highest charity bidder.



American authors Min Jin Lee (Pachinko) and Rebecca Makkai (The Great Believers) have also pledged their support from overseas, alongside Maxine Beneba-Clarke, Tara Moss, Peter FitzSimmons and many more

Updated

It’s going to be months before we work out the full extent of what we have lost

A few posts down, we were talking about the impact the fires have had on livestock and animals. AAP has an update from Bridget McKenzie on that:

Army reservists will help bury more than one hundred thousand sheep and cattle killed in the bushfires.

Agriculture Minister Bridget McKenzie confirmed defence personnel would dig the pits to dispose of dead livestock in over coming days and weeks.

“Bearing in mind, though, it’s about getting access to those still live fire grounds,” she told the ABC on Monday.

“Where it’s safe to do so we need to be getting in within a week, ideally, to really be dealing with the carcasses in an appropriate way.”

Updated

The situation in Victoria is not as bad as it was in the past few days, but it is not great either

The two men who died in the Kangaroo Island fire have been named.

Dr Clayton Lang and his dad, Dick.

There is a small bushfire in Canberra - on Hospital Hill, Boboyan Road, Booth.

Authorities say it is controllable and no homes are under threat.

We are waiting for the cabinet meeting to wrap up, after which, Scott Morrison will provide an update on the national disaster recovery agency.

The mayor of the Inner West Council is calling together representatives of Sydney Councils to work on “a coordinated response to help councils and shires in affected areas recover from the disaster” for January 13.

Mayor Darcy Byrne:

“At this moment of national emergency all of us must contribute to the effort. In particular the city must offer a helping hand to the bush.
“Mayors, councillors and local citizens in affected communities have been showing real leadership during this crisis. We are ready to support their work and to stand in solidarity with their
communities.”

Good morning from Bega.

I’m out the front of the evacuation centre at the local Showgrounds.

I was inside, but we were kicked out by a government official running the centre. I know she was in charge because she showed me her bib saying ‘manager’.

Before that though there was a good many people who were very keen to chat.

The Showgrounds are still packed despite the rain that’s been falling here since this morning. At this point, a lot of them simply don’t have anywhere else to go.

Further south this morning the road into Eden opened, then closed, then opened again as residents rushed to get home and see what had happened.

A navy ship sits docked off shore apparently filled with supplies, though no one I spoke to seemed to know when they might arrive.

There were some navy personnel busily arranging for media to go on board the ship, though why remains a mystery to me.

Updated

An #ozfireartauction has also been set up - with artists donating their pieces to the cause.

#giveitupforthefiries is also taking hold - people making donations based on the cost of a luxury - coffee, chocolate, takeaway - they plan on giving up.

There is also this fundraiser - if you follow the hashtag, you’ll see what some of your favourite Australian authors are offering up.

For example, Trent Dalton (who is one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet)



In South Australia, the Ravine fire on Kangaroo Island is still burning.

People are not allowed back to check the damage as yet.

Woolworths has updated its store closures for the south coast - almost all have been reopened and more supplies are coming.

Just a reminder, if you want to help fire victims in Victoria, they can’t handle goods at the moment - there is nowhere to store it.

If you want to help in Victoria, they recommend the Bushfire appeal

NSW authorities are working on “turbo charging” the recovery response today, with cooler conditions giving them a chance to get into areas they have been unable to reach and assess.

Here is some of what they are dealing with.

There are still more than 30,000 residents without power in the south coast region.

That is going to remain that way for up to a week.

And while we hear from our politicians that there has never been any debate about climate change’s impact on worsening disasters, a reminder, or if you missed it, of Craig Kelly’s contribution while speaking to the BBC on Saturday.

Kelly:

Well firstly there is no link, the facts that cause the fires are the drought and the drying of the environment and on this our climate scientists down here have been very clear and they have said that there is no link between drought and climate change.

That is not what our climate scientists have been telling us. That’s the opposite of what our climate scientists have been telling us. And the scientist he is particularly referring to, has publicly said he is being misrepresented - that they are basing their claims on a misspoken sentence.





The impact the bushfire emergency is having on our First Nations people is required reading as well.

From Lorena Allam:

You can find more information on some of the drinking water issues in this Twitter thread.

Updated

And yes, the water supply is being affected by the fires in some areas.

Updated

Greg Mullins is also asked about hazard reduction burns. He says:

The issue in extreme drought like this, underpinned by 20 years of reduced rainfall, so 15-25% reduction in winter rainfall which has meant our window for hazard reduction is very narrow now because it’s either too wet or too dangerous to burn, reduction over decades in forestry and National Parks personnel who’re out there doing the hazard reduction, so it’s fallen to volunteers and we are mainly only available on weekends, so there are all these factors but it’s what annoyed ex-fire chiefs, I suppose was that it was being used as an attack, the Greens are stopping burning, it’s actually not true.

... With extreme dryness, everything will burn. That’s why we can’t put the fires out. Firefighting aircraft are not a panacea. It needs to be new thinking on how we deal with this ongoing crisis into the future. There will be planning standards, building standards, how we use federal government agencies like the ADF which we called for – we were mocked by the prime minister for asking for that some months ago. But we do need to work out how we are going to deal with this. I’ve recently been in California. The best resourced firefighting place in the world really. They can’t cope with the fires driven by climate change. So they are having a huge rethink about how they do it. So fuel reduction is part of the picture, but that’s all.

Updated

Asked about Scott Morrison’s comments yesterday, claiming there has never been any dispute about the impact of climate change on natural disasters:

I should stress there is no dispute in this country about the issue of climate change globally and its effect on global weather patterns and that includes how that impacts in Australia. I have to correct the record here. I’ve seen a number of people suggest that somehow the government does not make this connection. The government’s always made that connection. That has never been in dispute.

Greg Mullins says:

What a load of rubbish. So we’ll meet and beat the Paris targets by using credits from the very weak Kyoto targets set for Australia and emissions under this government went up every year for five years, they’ve gone down slightly this year because of the drought and less emissions in the agricultural sector, so not through government action.

I worry for my grandchildren, their grandchildren. If this is how it is now, this is driven by climate change, imagine what future generations are up against and if Australia doesn’t take moral leadership on this, like we did with apartheid, nuclear weapons, things that we didn’t even have a 1.3% stake in, but we spoke loudly from a moral base. We can’t talk to Brazil, India, China or America about their emissions, so it’s about our grandkids and we need to take action and not pretend.

... If you look around the world at countries taking action, it’s around energy and climate change, there are strategies to reduce emissions in every sector, there are not in Australia. Mother nature doesn’t understand dodgy spread sheets so if the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and other greenhouse gases go up, it gets warmer, mother nature gets more angry and we are on the front of that right now.

Updated

'Management by news grab'

Greg Mullins is also very critical of the government’s response to requests for more resources, before the fire season began:

Look, firstly, we welcome the fact that the federal government is providing extra resources.

The issue is, we were asking back in April.

They sat on a business case from the current fire chiefs for nearly two years.

They put in another 11m in December, late December or mid-December when there was a lot of media pressure and now there’s extra money.

Let’s put all that aside. It’s great to see the extra money, but there needs to be more consultation.

What we have seen, my group and I, is that this seems to be a government that just does not like to consult. It seems to be management by news grab.

Updated

The former fire chief Greg Mullins, who has been speaking out about Australia’s fire preparedness since April, along with former fire and emergency commissioners from across the nation, says this is why they are concerned about what is coming:

What worries former fire chiefs, current fire chiefs is that we are just coming into the time when the southern states start to burn, so they are already burning, you already have fires threatening property in Tasmania which is almost unheard of, you have got south, south-west Western Australia, Victoria and New South Wales still ablaze.

So, this is what we have been concerned about with climate change, simultaneous fire seasons. They used to be progressive, so we used to be able to share resources. That is why you see the US and Canadian New Zealand firefighters coming in, because it’s really stretched the capabilities. The worst fires were always in February, so this might just be the beginning.

Given this image is doing the rounds on social media, it is important to provide some context to it. It shows the areas which have been hit by bushfires from 5 December to 5 January - and has been compiled using data. It doesn’t show all the fires burning now.

Linda Reynolds denied she was on leave when asked about this yesterday.

I have had a holiday with my family for a few days over Christmas, but again, I wasn’t on leave.

Which obviously was news to the executive, which appointed Christian Porter as acting defence minister, according to the New Daily.

A watch and act alert has been issued for the Bemm River and Cann River in Victoria.

NORTHERN TERRITORY

* No current bushfires

* Five homes confirmed destroyed

ACT

* No bushfires burning

* Significant smoke haze from interstate blazes

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

* Three people dead

* 25 bushfires burning

* More than 200,000 hectares burned

* 88 homes confirmed destroyed but number expected to rise significantly

QUEENSLAND

* 33 bushfires burning

* 250,000 hectares burned

* 45 homes confirmed destroyed

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

* 30 bushfires burning, one of significance

* 1.5m hectares burned

* One home confirmed destroyed

TASMANIA

* 23 bushfires burning, two of significance

* 30,000 hectares burned

* Two homes confirmed destroyed

Updated

Here is where we are at (via AAP) across the states:

NSW

* 18 people dead, two missing

* 136 bushfires burning, 69 uncontained

* Almost 5m hectares burned

* 1,482 homes confirmed destroyed but number expected to rise significantly

VICTORIA

* Two people dead, four missing

* About 30 bushfires burning

* More than 1m hectares burned

* More than 110 homes or businesses confirmed destroyed but significantly more expected

Updated

PNG is one of the countries which has offered defence force support.

The man who wants to build the biggest coal mine in the southern hemisphere, and spent up to $80m to help the Morrison government get elected now has some thoughts on the fire crisis.

In response to the radio host saying “whoever was advising the prime minister should be out of a job” over the ad, and the original link to the Liberal party donations button (which was very, very quickly taken down) Anthony Albanese responds:

Well, I was somewhat stunned by that, I have got to say.

I asked twice for it to be checked if that was true because I just found that unfathomable on a day in which, of course, we had two deaths on Kangaroo Island.

We had probably the worst day of this tragedy in terms of what was happening on KI, what was happening in East Gippsland, what was happening on the south coast, what was happening in the Monaro region around Tumbarumba, and around other areas in Snowy Mountains, and the alpine region of Victoria as well.

For an ad to go up so quickly using defence force imagery with the music that was attached to it. This isn’t a time for elevator music.

Anyway, I’m surprised that the ad is still up. I would have thought that it was appropriate it be withdrawn.

But that is a decision for the prime minister, really. I have remained focused, in a positive way.

Updated

Anthony Albanese has kept up his regular slot with Adelaide radio 5AA.

He was asked why he has been “muted” in his criticism of Scott Morrison and his handling of the fire crisis:

Well, my focus has been on the victims of this unfolding tragedy and on the communities. And I have been constructive. I haven’t seen it as a time for partisan politics. And I think people draw their own conclusions as well. Everyone can have a look at the footage of the prime minister with young Zoey, the 20-year-old pregnant mum in Cobargo. And they will draw their own conclusions.

... I wrote to the prime minister calling for COAG to be convened in mid-November, which is when I think it should have been. I do think from the beginning there should have been a national response that was agreed to by the prime minister on Saturday. I do think that’s why people have responded very negatively to the Liberal Party ad that was authorised by the prime minister on Saturday which even had a button on it for donations, not to the bushfire recovery, but to the Liberal party.

Updated

A few more watch and acts from VicEmergency.

Updated

There is a push on from social media, to compile a national map of what is needed where, as well as what is available where - for those needing accommodation, help with pets/livestock, food, water, resources, communications, access to donations etc.

You can find quite a bit of information here - and add to it, if you know where people can find help.

It is raining in Melbourne and the smoke is still choking the city.

Health authorities are warning vulnerable people to “minimise” their exposure to smoke - but they’re telling everyone to stay inside if you can.

And just a reminder a P2 mask isn’t perfect protection. And if you have a beard, you need to shave it, for the mask to have any hope of working.

VicEmergency has issued a couple more watch and act alerts.

The air quality in Canberra has been so bad, the emergency management department is temporarily relocating.

From AAP:

The department responsible for coordinating Australia’s response to disasters and emergency management has closed its doors due to poor air quality.

The Department of Home Affairs has told staff to stay home as thick bushfire smoke blankets Canberra.

Staff have been told to stay away from Canberra headquarters for 48 hours, but some essential employees will work from other locations.

The capital’s air quality is the worst of any major city in the world on Monday morning, as winds carry in smoke from bushfires in NSW.

The Department of Health is relocating staff in Canberra to other offices in the city due to the smoke but is otherwise operating.

This week is going to be spent preparing for what could come by Friday, when the heat and fire conditions return.

The loss of animal life in these fires has been absolutely staggering.

Researchers estimate wildlife deaths will reach 500m. The images of farmers having to shoot their livestock in places like Batlow should haunt us all.

David Littleproud said a lot of today’s efforts will be focused on what to do with the animals caught in the fire crisis.

“We will be trying to take pre-emptive steps today with state agencies making sure the disposal of the livestock is done quickly – there is a biosecurity risk there,” he told the ABC.

“We have to think about our native species that have been decimated by the fires, too, in terms of our recovery.”

Updated

We have broken heat records – and now we have some of the coldest January days on record for part of the country.

Just your semi-regular reminder that weather and climate is not the same thing. You can’t look at a frozen zooper dooper and claim warming doesn’t exist.

Updated

You may have missed this yesterday, but Scott Morrison was asked if the government would still be committed to delivering a surplus this year, given the cost of the fire season – which is still going. He did not answer the question.

There are months to go. And particularly in the southern states and speaking to Premier Hodgman, I mean in Tasmania and in Victoria, their more difficult seasons usually come later in January and in February.

So there is still a long way to go.

And sadly there will still be more costs that will be incurred as a result of the devastating impacts.

The recovery need is going to be great. Very great and that recovery, the rebuilding will be done.

It’ll be done, supported by the commonwealth government, by the state governments by the local government.

The commonwealth will be acting across all those tiers, providing financial support, both directly whether its primary producers, to small businesses, to local councils and others to engage in that rebuilding effort.

There will be no levy because we have been assuring that we have been in a position to deal with matters such as this. And so we will be committing everything that is needed and more as it is required.

Updated

Scott Morrison is in Canberra again today. There is a cabinet meeting, where the government will sign off on the national recovery agency.

David Littleproud, appearing on the ABC this morning, was asked whether the government under-estimated the impact of climate change on the bushfire season.

No, we didn’t. I think what the former fire chiefs can take great comfort in is that the current cohort of fire commissioners were very clear to me when I first became minister around the severity of this season because of a changing climate.

They were very clear on that.

That’s why they prepared meticulously for the season.

I think we should take great pride in what they achieved in keeping many of us safe.

While there have been 24 tragic lives lost and over 1600 homes lost, it would have been a lot worse if we did haven’t the professional men and women keeping us safe and prepared meticulously on their advice, not on political, but expert advice.”

And yet we had several members of the government, including the deputy prime minister, rubbish that link as the season took hold. Members of the government – like Craig Kelly – are still rubbishing that link.

Updated

In Victoria, there are still two emergency warnings – for Wangarabell, Wingan River, Wroxham and Buldah, Chandlers Creek, Club Terrace, Combienbar, Hilo Crossing, Noorinbee, Noorinbee North, Weeragua.

Updated

Here is David Crowe’s exchange with Scott Morrison.

Crowe: You’ve announced more air tankers yesterday. You announced $11m in December, but there have been calls for a long time now for more capacity with aerial firefighting and more contributions from the federal government. Why wasn’t more done by the federal government sooner to put in funding ahead of the bushfire season? Have you been putting in too little, too late?

Morrison: Well David I addressed this yesterday at the press conference we had yesterday. The response that we made was to provide the additional funding last year of $11m and this year of $11m. Which brought it up to the level that was being sought in those years. And in this year’s budget, that will be provided again on an ongoing basis. And so after becoming prime minister they were matters we put in train with that additional funding and resource and as was noted yesterday, at 8pm the previous evening we received the request for an additional water bombing asset and we moved to provide four with an additional $20m so when you look at that over the scheme over the last couple of years and the additional resource that has been provided on top of our standing commitment of $15m, it means that the resources were delivered and now we will ensure they are there on an ongoing basis.

Updated

Scott Morrison has also deflected any questions on whether or not our agencies had everything they needed in advance of the fire season. Morrison has repeatedly said the government had warnings that last year was going to be the monster season, but those fears weren’t realised. We have it now, obviously – but we knew it was coming.

Updated

It is also worth noting that the government has shown no indication it is open to shifting its position on emission reduction policies.

In fact – just the opposite. Scott Morrison has repeatedly said the government will not be changing its policy and continues to parrot the line we will “meet and beat” the Paris target.

Updated

If you haven’t read this, I recommend it.

Phil Coorey, the Australian Financial Review political editor, on what happened when the south coast was told to evacuate – and what became important.

Updated

You may remember that Scott Morrison was asked yesterday if Australia would advocate for better global climate change action with allies like the US yesterday.

Here was his response:

I should stress that there is no dispute in this country about the issue of climate change globally, and its effect on global weather patterns, and that includes how that impacts in Australia. Because I have to correct the record here.

I have seen a number of people suggest that somehow the government does not make this connection.

The government I lead has always made that connection and that has never been in dispute.

What we are focused on is what our response is and we set that out very clearly and that response, as it always has, will continue to be upgraded to ensure we meet and beat the commitments that we have made.

Now, I participate in these discussions globally all the time and if you look actually at what is occurring in the United States and you look what their emissions trajectory is currently, you will note that it is not increasing, as I am advised, and whether that is done and it is achieved in isolation as an individual country or how they choose to engage in an international agreement is ultimately a matter for sovereign governments to determine.

'We should be showing leadership on climate change,' Julie Bishop says

Julie Bishop saved her best line for last, with some advice for her former colleagues.

Australia is a highly developed country. We should be showing leadership on the issue of climate change. I attended a number of international conferences and countries do look to Australia for direction for guidance and leadership. And I believe we should be showing leadership on the issue of climate change …

At the international conferences, Australia should be putting forward a cogent, coherent case for energy policy.

We don’t have a national energy policy in this country and a national approach to climate change so we are part of a global effort.

If a country like Australia fails to show leadership, we can hardly blame other nations for not likewise showing leadership in this area.

Updated

Karl Stefanovic went on about hazard reduction burns and the “huge issue there ... a massive issue that’s bigger than anything Scott Morrison has done wrong” – because he’s an expert, obviously.

I refer you, again, to this:

A former NSW fire and rescue commissioner, Greg Mullins, has written that the hotter and drier conditions, and the higher fire danger ratings, were preventing agencies from carrying out prescribed burning.

But as well as climate change narrowing the window to carry out prescribed burning, Mullins said some fires have become so intense they have burned through areas that had been subject to hazard reduction.

Mullins has been fighting fires in NSW for months. Speaking to the ABC on Friday, he said he witnessed a fire in Grafton in an area that had burned only two weeks previously, but “the burnt leaves were burning again”.

He said: “There has been lots of hazard reductions done over the years – more by national parks than previous years – but the fires have burned through those hazard reduction areas.”

Updated

Julie Bishop popped up on the Nine Network’s Today show.

She was, of course, asked about Scott Morrison’s leadership and response in the fire crisis.

“I think Scott Morrison is doing the best he can,” she said, before going on to describe the “national crisis”.

Linda Reynolds was asked about her holiday in yesterday’s press conference.

Here is how that exchange, with Samantha Maiden, went down:

Maiden: The prime minister has obviously copped a bit of belting for going to Hawaii during the bushfire crisis. Minister Reynolds, have you taken any leave during this period? Have you been out of the country at all?

Reynolds: Like many of my colleagues, I have certainly spent time with my family over Christmas. But throughout that time I can assure you that I have been regularly on the phone with the CDF, with the prime minister, with Minister Littleproud, constantly. So ...

Maiden: So you haven’t been out of the country?

Reynolds: I have had a holiday with my family for a few days over Christmas, but again, I wasn’t on leave.

Maiden: Was that in Bali?

Reynolds: Yes I was.

Maiden: Were you on holidays in Bali?

Reynolds: I spent a few days with my family, yes. But again, I was in total contact with the prime minister and the secretary and the CDF.

Updated

Samantha Maiden at the New Daily reports that the defence minister, Linda Reynolds, went on holiday in Bali with her family after Scott Morrison was forced to return from Hawaii.

Maiden reports the prime minister approved Reynolds’ leave from 28 December. She was away as the navy was called in to evacuate Mallacoota after residents were forced to shelter on the beach.

From Maiden’s report:

Defence Minister Linda Reynolds has confirmed she holidayed in Bali while Australia burned for six nights, including during the Navy’s dramatic evacuation of Mallacoota last week.

The Prime Minister personally approved Senator Reynolds’ Bali break, which was planned to run eight nights from December 28 to January 5 as bushfires raged across the country.

Updated

There is good news for Canberra residents as well – you can actually see the sky today.

The smoke pollution which has covered the city for the past few days (with a slight reprieve on Saturday) has cleared but it will be back when the bushfires flare up again.

Updated

Given that this KEEPS coming up, Graham Readfearn has taken another look at it.

The focus today, the NSW authorities said, will be on “turbocharging” the recovery effort.

That includes getting fuel and food back to the NSW south coast and southern highlands communities which have been cut off.

Power is likely to be out for a few more days but authorities are also working on getting communications up and running.

Updated

There is no update on the number of homes which have been destroyed as yet.

There are 54 uncontained fires burning in NSW, but the RFS has no emergency alert level fires as yet.

There are still 2,500 firefighters on the ground, working on containment lines.

Some 4.9m hectares have been burnt across NSW. Shane Fitzsimmons says that number will grow:

Unfortunately, I don’t think it will be too long before we are up over 5m hectares of largely forestry country, burning along the Great Dividing Range from the Queensland border to the Victorian border.

Updated

Two people are missing in NSW

Gladys Berejiklian has begun her briefing.

She says two people in a remote part of the fire zone are missing.

There is no room for complacency, especially given we have over 130 fires burning across the state still. We can assume conditions will not worsen from what we have today until at least Friday or Saturday.

Certainly, we don’t intend for them to be as bad as what conditions were just prior to New Year’s Eve.

Unfortunately, overnight, it has become apparent we have two people unaccounted for in New South Wales. I hope that ends in good news but currently in remote parts of far New South Wales there are two people unaccounted for.

We hope that ends in good news. At this stage, we can’t account for their safety.

Updated

Helen Davidson wrote about what she saw at the weekend on the NSW south coast:

Strike teams rushed to Milton and St Georges Basin where there were a few nursing homes which they weren’t sure had been evacuated. A short time later a fire and rescue strike team was told it was going to Kangaroo Valley. There were intakes of breath.

Kangaroo Valley was later reported to be under serious threat. Not everyone in those communities had left.

At Nowra one firefighter explained the strategy: we can’t stop the fire, so we’re just trying to direct it as best we can.

Strike teams were sent across the state on Saturday, moved around like chess pieces against an opponent that ignores all the rules.

Updated

Gladys Berejiklian and Shane Fitzsimmons are about to give their morning briefing.

We’ll bring you that in the next few minutes, hopefully.

Updated

Australia has had another offer of help.

Updated

Good morning.

You have Amy Remeikis with you this morning as we enter another day in the bushfire emergency.

But we have good news for you today – conditions in those bad bushfire zones have eased with some much needed and welcome rain, thanks to a couple of developing lows, including one off the Western Australian coast.

It’s not over, not by a long shot, but it takes some of the pressure off fire crews, who can use the reprieve to rest, change shifts and try to get a little ahead of the fire’s path.

Scott Morrison is still under pressure though. He has been on the back foot since coming back from Hawaii and is still trying to find his balance.

We’ll see what happens today.

Updated

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