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  • No you're an idiot mate.

  • Stand down now.

  • ScoMo has got to go!

  • Australia is on fire.

  • Are you from the media?

  • Tell the prime minister to go and get-

  • And people are turning their anger on the prime minister, Scott Morrison.

  • You're out, son.

  • You are out.

  • So what happened to Morrison,

  • I have always believed in miracles.

  • and his miracles,

  • a man who as tourism boss, signed off on this famous, or perhaps infamous, advert.

  • So where the bloody hell are you?

  • Well it was this very catchphrase that came back to bite Morrison, hard.

  • As fires ravaged the country in the lead-up to Christmas

  • and some politicians were spotted helping out,

  • it emerged that the prime minister was on an unannounced holiday

  • in Hawaii.

  • And despite days of public outcry,

  • he only cut his vacation short by about 48 hours.

  • But his actions, once back on Australian soil, didn't do much to improve the situation.

  • The prime minister's decision to compensate volunteer firefighters

  • only came after weeks of pressure from the opposition,

  • and after claiming that the firefighters 'want to be out there'.

  • In the period from Christmas to New Year,

  • as the fires reached catastrophic levels, Mr Morrison made just one public appearance,

  • despite finding time to host a cricket reception

  • and hit the beach.

  • While on another beach the world saw unprecedented scenes

  • of Australians huddling to escape the fires,

  • as Morrison toured the country, seemingly unable to secure a single handshake.

  • I'm only shaking your hand if you give more funding to our [Rural Fire Service].

  • So many people here have lost their homes.

  • The solution, from a prime minister who prides himself on his marketing acumen?

  • A promotional video, complete with upbeat music.

  • And for a short while, a link for donations - to his own party.

  • Well thankfully we've had no loss of life.

  • To make matters worse, on a visit to an island affected by fires,

  • Morrison appeared not to realise lives had been lost there.

  • Two.

  • Two, yeah two that's right.

  • I was thinking about firefighters.

  • For some of his critics, the prime minister's failure has been one of leadership

  • in the face of an immediate disaster.

  • For others, it's a failure to address the wider context of climate change.

  • This has to stop.

  • We can't keep forgetting and pretending that climate change isn't real.

  • He has, however, acknowledged climate change in recent press conferences.

  • Climate change has impacted on the world weather patterns

  • that have led to where we are here today, to some extent.

  • The ruling Liberal Party does not have a robust record of taking climate change seriously, though.

  • Back in 2015, ministers were caught joking about rising sea levels affecting Pacific Island nations.

  • Time doesn't mean anything when you're about to be, you know, have water lapping at your door.

  • There's a boom [microphone].

  • But while climate change may have increased the likelihood and severity of the fires,

  • it didn't cause them.

  • In any case, climate change is a global problem which requires global responsibility.

  • Many people strongly support Morrison's defence of the mining and energy industries,

  • which have long been at the heart of Australia's economy.

  • But the public mood suggests he must also be seen to take leadership on climate change,

  • particularly as the hot country will in all likelihood continue to be at the front line of the issue.

  • This is coal. Don't be afraid!

  • But it may take a lot to convince the public

  • that a man who brought a lump of coal into parliament is serious about climate change.

No you're an idiot mate.

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