Australia to scale up defense response to fires,PM Morrison says

The prime minister was heckled on Thursday by angry residents when he visited the bushfire-ravaged town of Cobargo, where two people died last week.

Australia will ramp up its response to the country’s “unprecedented” wildfire disaster, deploying additional army, naval and aircraft services, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.

A Forest Corporation worker manages a fire hose as he battles a fire near Moruya, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2020. Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison called up about 3,000 reservists as the threat of wildfires escalated Saturday in at least three states with two more deaths, and strong winds and high temperatures were forecast to bring flames to populated areas including the suburbs of Sydney. (AP)

As many as 3,000 army reserve personnel will be called out to support firefighters battling blazes that have killed 23 people since September, Morrison told reporters in Canberra. The Royal Australian Navy’s HMAS Adelaide is due to sail from Sydney on Saturday afternoon, joining two other naval vessels in assisting with the evacuation of fire-affected communities, he said.

The prime minister was heckled on Thursday by angry residents when he visited the bushfire-ravaged town of Cobargo, where two people died last week, while others declined to shake his hand and called for more resources to tackle the disaster. His handling of the crisis -- highlighted by his curtailed trip to Hawaii just days after declaring a national disaster -- has stoked criticism over his political judgment, including by members of his own party.

“We are moving past responding,” Morrison said Saturday. “We’re integrating with what is happening on the ground.”

Additional defense measures outlined Saturday include deploying three helicopters, spending of A$20 million ($14 million) for four extra water-bombing aircraft, and the establishment of a national recovery agency.

The scale up will be aimed at saving lives, helping with evacuations, assisting isolated communities and aiding the recovery of those devastated by the wildfires.

The government has also allocated A$25 million for disaster-recovery payments in response to about 26,000 claims, Morrison said.

“This disaster has escalated to an entirely new level,” he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jason Gale in Melbourne at j.gale@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael Patterson at mpatterson10@bloomberg.net, Stanley James, Karthikeyan Sundaram

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