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| Australia fires live: NSW and SA count cost of bushfires after Balmoral and Cudlee Creek devastation – latest | Australia fires live: NSW and SA count cost of bushfires after Balmoral and Cudlee Creek devastation – latest |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Residents in South Australia and New South Wales wait to discover the extent of devastation from the weekend’s fires. Follow today’s events live | Residents in South Australia and New South Wales wait to discover the extent of devastation from the weekend’s fires. Follow today’s events live |
| Some good news at last for the bushfire victims: ANZ has extended its bushfire relief package to take in customers across the country. | |
| The package, which allows customers hit by the fires to suspend loan repayments and avoid fees, was previously available to those in NSW and southern Queensland. | |
| ANZ’s general managing director of retail banking, Kath Bray, said the bank had also given extra paid leave to employees who were volunteering fighting fires or performing other emergency services. | |
| Under the relief package, customers can suspend repayments on loans, including credit cards, for up to three months. | |
| The bank says it will also give interest rate cuts to customers who are “experiencing extreme financial distress in areas impacted by the fires”. | |
| It will also waive fees to restructure business loans for customers hit by the fires and allow depositors to crack term deposits open early without penalty. | |
| CBA, NAB and Westpac also have disaster relief packages for customers in NSW and Queensland bushfire areas. | |
| Cricket Australia is preparing for smoke from bushfires to impact play during Sydney’s New Year’s Test match between Australia and New Zealand. | |
| On Saturday, a Big Bash League fixture in Canberra was abandoned because of poor air quality. Reduced visibility on the field, caused by smoke from the bushfires currently ravaging parts of NSW, is the primary issue that could put players and umpires at risk of injury at the 3-7 January fixture. Spectators could also face health risks. | |
| Young Australians on social media are mocking Scott Morrison and expressing their anger over his six-day holiday to Hawaii during Australia’s bushfire crisis. | |
| The online parodies of Scott Morrison, including a video with Kourtney Kardashian saying “Working is not my top priority”, are going viral, Naaman Zhou reports. | |
| Heatwave update: the extraordinary nationwide burst that gave Australia its hottest three days on record between Tuesday and Thursday continued into Friday before dipping slightly on the weekend, the Bureau of Meteorology says. | |
| The average maximum temperature across the country on Friday was 40.3C. Before last week, that would have made it the equal hottest day recorded, alongside 7 January 2013. | |
| But that mark had been broken on Tuesday (initially reported as 40.9C after a preliminary assessment by the bureau, now confirmed as 41.0C), then smashed on Wednesday (41.9C). Thursday fell back to 41C. | |
| It means the country endured four of its five hottest days in a row. | |
| The average maximum fell to 39.1C on Saturday before climbing back to 39.6C on Sunday. | |
| Federal opposition leader Anthony Albanese says the federal government should be playing a bigger role coordinating the fire response. | |
| Albanese questioned PM Scott Morrison’s leadership, saying a Coag meeting – to discuss the development of a new national strategy for disaster preparedness and the appropriate funding by governments for emergency services – must be brought forward. | |
| The prime minister “can do three things immediately, which is to bring forward the Coag meeting, meet the former fire chiefs and do something now to provide support for those volunteer firefighters who have been in the field for such a long time,” AAP reports Albanese said. | |
| “This is a national issue that requires some form of national coordination and national leadership.” | |
| But Morrison rejected this, saying he did not accept the proposition that Coag had to meet for things to get done, because options and proposals for improving fire management were already being worked on. | |
| “Our fire services are responding to this fire better than last time, and the next time it will be better still with the resources and the technology and the other things that we can put in place,” he said. | |
| “So there’s no need for knee-jerk responses.” | |
| For many people with friends and family in the bushfire zones, the feeling of helplessness is overwhelming. | For many people with friends and family in the bushfire zones, the feeling of helplessness is overwhelming. |
| Gavin Fenwick, son of Colin Todd, a Balmoral local who was featured in our story on Friday about the town, said he drew this cartoon to help cope with these feelings. | |
| Colin and his partner, Sandy Lockwood, who is a prominent Australian potter, are still waiting to establish if their Balmoral home and studio has survived the fires. | Colin and his partner, Sandy Lockwood, who is a prominent Australian potter, are still waiting to establish if their Balmoral home and studio has survived the fires. |
| There are fears the rare and ancient Wollemi pine has been caught up in the fires that are sweeping the Blue Mountains. | There are fears the rare and ancient Wollemi pine has been caught up in the fires that are sweeping the Blue Mountains. |
| The Wollemi pines are more than 200m years old and were thought completely extinct until they were discovered by bushwalkers in 1994 in a small grove in the Blue Mountains. | The Wollemi pines are more than 200m years old and were thought completely extinct until they were discovered by bushwalkers in 1994 in a small grove in the Blue Mountains. |
| The discovery makes the pines some of NSW’s most precious flora. They are listed as critically endangered by the UN and their whereabouts have been kept secret from the public to keep them safe. | The discovery makes the pines some of NSW’s most precious flora. They are listed as critically endangered by the UN and their whereabouts have been kept secret from the public to keep them safe. |
| But as the Gospers Mountain megafire burns through the area, Sydney’s Daily Telegraph has reported that three of four of their locations may be in danger. | But as the Gospers Mountain megafire burns through the area, Sydney’s Daily Telegraph has reported that three of four of their locations may be in danger. |
| The NSW Department of Environment is remaining tightlipped but said it was “doing everything we can to protect them”. “Fire activity across the Blue Mountains and Wollemi National Park is ongoing,” a spokeswoman said. “We are doing everything we can to protect them. Their ongoing survival depends on their location remaining protected. | The NSW Department of Environment is remaining tightlipped but said it was “doing everything we can to protect them”. “Fire activity across the Blue Mountains and Wollemi National Park is ongoing,” a spokeswoman said. “We are doing everything we can to protect them. Their ongoing survival depends on their location remaining protected. |
| “The Wollemi pines have survived for over 200 million years and are not found anywhere else in the world. They are an important part of our heritage.” | “The Wollemi pines have survived for over 200 million years and are not found anywhere else in the world. They are an important part of our heritage.” |
| Many more homes could have been lost in the NSW town of Balmoral on Saturday when the RFS firefighting crew ran out of water. | Many more homes could have been lost in the NSW town of Balmoral on Saturday when the RFS firefighting crew ran out of water. |
| Guardian Australia’s Helen Davidson reports flames began reaching 200m above the treetops and the town, which is on tank water, simply did not have enough to meet demand. | Guardian Australia’s Helen Davidson reports flames began reaching 200m above the treetops and the town, which is on tank water, simply did not have enough to meet demand. |
| As village Rural Fire Service brigade captain Brendon O’Connor tells it: | As village Rural Fire Service brigade captain Brendon O’Connor tells it: |
| The NSW Rural Fire Service says the scale of the bushfires is “unprecedented” for this point in the season. | The NSW Rural Fire Service says the scale of the bushfires is “unprecedented” for this point in the season. |
| The total area burned in NSW has reached 3.41m hectares, according to the RFS. | The total area burned in NSW has reached 3.41m hectares, according to the RFS. |
| “To put it in perspective, in the past few years we have had a total area burned for the whole season of about 280,000ha,” RFS spokeswoman Angela Burford said. “This year we’re at 3.41m and we are only halfway through the season.” | “To put it in perspective, in the past few years we have had a total area burned for the whole season of about 280,000ha,” RFS spokeswoman Angela Burford said. “This year we’re at 3.41m and we are only halfway through the season.” |
| The total number of houses destroyed currently sits at 829, but damage assessments of areas affected by the catastrophic conditions on Saturday are still underway. Burford said that number could increase by “up to 100”. | The total number of houses destroyed currently sits at 829, but damage assessments of areas affected by the catastrophic conditions on Saturday are still underway. Burford said that number could increase by “up to 100”. |
| Morrison also responded to this tweet from Greta Thunberg: | Morrison also responded to this tweet from Greta Thunberg: |
| He said Australia would set policies based on Australia’s national interests.He also strongly rejected rumours that had been floating around on Twitter that he went to New York around the time of the Hawaii holiday for the opening of the Hillsong church in New York City with Brian Houston.“That’s rubbish ... If you’re going to ask me a question about something as specific as that, you might actually tell me the source of what it is based on. So someone, somewhere, has started some rumour about apparently me being in New York and we’re going to ask that in the middle of the bushfires? I mean, seriously!” | He said Australia would set policies based on Australia’s national interests.He also strongly rejected rumours that had been floating around on Twitter that he went to New York around the time of the Hawaii holiday for the opening of the Hillsong church in New York City with Brian Houston.“That’s rubbish ... If you’re going to ask me a question about something as specific as that, you might actually tell me the source of what it is based on. So someone, somewhere, has started some rumour about apparently me being in New York and we’re going to ask that in the middle of the bushfires? I mean, seriously!” |
| Morrison has been asked whether communities can wait until the Coag meeting in March for decisions on policies around the fires. | Morrison has been asked whether communities can wait until the Coag meeting in March for decisions on policies around the fires. |
| Morrison says he doesn’t accept the premise of the question, and argues decisions are being made now, for financial support and for help from defence. | Morrison says he doesn’t accept the premise of the question, and argues decisions are being made now, for financial support and for help from defence. |
| He says decisions around coordination will be made at Coag. That includes on whether volunteers should be given the resources they need. But he isn’t keen to talk about paying the volunteers because he says it’s a bit like meals on wheels. | He says decisions around coordination will be made at Coag. That includes on whether volunteers should be given the resources they need. But he isn’t keen to talk about paying the volunteers because he says it’s a bit like meals on wheels. |
| “We need to understand that if it is fighting fires or patrolling our beach or supporting Meals on Wheels or any volunteer SES arrangement which supports during floods or storms, Australia’s system all around the country has always, and will always, depend on having a large volunteer force to deal with these issues.” | “We need to understand that if it is fighting fires or patrolling our beach or supporting Meals on Wheels or any volunteer SES arrangement which supports during floods or storms, Australia’s system all around the country has always, and will always, depend on having a large volunteer force to deal with these issues.” |
| Morrison is claiming he and his deputy Michael McCormack are on the same page when it comes to climate change policy. McCormack said the other day that more needed to be done, but Morrison has ruled out changes to climate change policy. Morrison is arguing more is being done as part of the government’s policy position. I guess it just depends on how you decide what the starting point for ‘more’ is? | Morrison is claiming he and his deputy Michael McCormack are on the same page when it comes to climate change policy. McCormack said the other day that more needed to be done, but Morrison has ruled out changes to climate change policy. Morrison is arguing more is being done as part of the government’s policy position. I guess it just depends on how you decide what the starting point for ‘more’ is? |
| Prime minister Scott Morrison is speaking at a media conference in Mudgee in New South Wales.He said he flew across the Bells Line out through Wollemi and saw the absolute incineration of land and homes. | Prime minister Scott Morrison is speaking at a media conference in Mudgee in New South Wales.He said he flew across the Bells Line out through Wollemi and saw the absolute incineration of land and homes. |
| Morrison isn’t saying anything particularly new at this stage, just a lot of platitudes. It’s his third visit of the day to one of these places. | Morrison isn’t saying anything particularly new at this stage, just a lot of platitudes. It’s his third visit of the day to one of these places. |