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Australia fires live: Craig Kelly undermines PM in Piers Morgan interview – latest updates Australia fires live: NSW and Victoria bushfires insurance bill tops $700m – latest updates
(32 minutes later)
Rain falls on some NSW, Victorian and South Australian bushfire-affected areas, but worse fire conditions are forecast to return. Follow all today’s latest news and live updatesRain falls on some NSW, Victorian and South Australian bushfire-affected areas, but worse fire conditions are forecast to return. Follow all today’s latest news and live updates
VicEmergency also has a brief update on the recovery:
NSW RFS has issued a building impact assessment.
The number of homes saved, given what they were facing, just shows how lucky we are to have the volunteer force we do.
I bet Tourism Australia is really kicking itself spending $15m on the Kylie Minogue ad, when it could have had Craig Kelly publicise Australia in the UK for free.
Both NSW and Victorian authorities are starting to open up fire-ravaged communities - but if you are in a fire zone, check with your local authorities.
HMAS Adelaide is off the NSW south coast.
It has been helping with supplies and refueling the airfleet being used to waterbomb the fires.
There is so much misinformation surrounding these fires, a lot of it being pushed across social media.
That these fires are mostly the fault of arsonists is one of the biggest ones.
Hazard reduction is another.
Former Australian tennis champ, Pat Cash, followed Craig Kelly onto Piers Morgan’s UK breakfast TV show, and had a *slightly different* take to the Morrison government backbencher.
The Business Council of Australia has written to all its members encouraging them to offer at least 20-days paid leave to any volunteer firefighters.
The Business Council has also announced a community rebuilding initiative to “be the first point of contact for companies to coordinate during this crisis and will work as an interface with federal and state authorities”.
It is being set up as a five-year initiative, so far, and will work in conjunction with the National Bushfire Recovery Agency set up by the government and headed by former AFP commissioner Andrew Colvin.
Smoke from the Australian bushfires has again travelled over 10,000km to South America and can now be seen in Chile.Smoke from the Australian bushfires has again travelled over 10,000km to South America and can now be seen in Chile.
That happened in November as well.That happened in November as well.
Comedian and Instagram star Celeste Barber’s bushfire fundraiser has now hit $40m.Comedian and Instagram star Celeste Barber’s bushfire fundraiser has now hit $40m.
The last bids on Shane Warne’s baggy green was over $300,000 (in less than a day) before the website crashed.The last bids on Shane Warne’s baggy green was over $300,000 (in less than a day) before the website crashed.
AAP reports that a barge is on its way to Mallacoota to evacuate the remaining people who want to leave the town, after fire tore through it:AAP reports that a barge is on its way to Mallacoota to evacuate the remaining people who want to leave the town, after fire tore through it:
Josh Frydenberg has told the ABC it is too early to even begin putting a figure on the economic cost of the fires to the nation:Josh Frydenberg has told the ABC it is too early to even begin putting a figure on the economic cost of the fires to the nation:
The UK has also offered Australia support.The UK has also offered Australia support.
The state response controller, Gavin Freeman, spoke to the ABC about the Victorian fire situation, stressing that small rainfall is not enough:The state response controller, Gavin Freeman, spoke to the ABC about the Victorian fire situation, stressing that small rainfall is not enough:
Asked how long it would take for the fires to return to full strength, when the dangerous conditions return at the end of the week, Freeman says:Asked how long it would take for the fires to return to full strength, when the dangerous conditions return at the end of the week, Freeman says:
Yup.
Also “weather girl”. Laura Tobin has a degree in physics and meteorology from the University of Reading.
Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg will meet with the Insurance Council of Australia today, as well as bank CEOs, to discuss the response to the bushfire crisis.
The Insurance Council estimates the disaster has surpassed $700m in claims.
So far, 8,985 claims have been submitted.
At least 1,830 homes have been destroyed.
Asked if Scott Morrison’s initial response to the crisis was embarrassing for the nation, Craig Kelly says:
“There is no denialist cult,” Craig Kelly says, about views about climate change within the Morrison government.
He says the debate should be about hazard reduction. Which has already been explained about a million times.
“The weather girl had no idea what she was talking about,” Craig Kelly says.
“She says the Australia continent is drying out and that is just not true.”
On what Craig Kelly says his colleagues will think:
Craig Kelly is on ABC radio now, making the same points he made on the BBC and British television.
He denies he embarrassed the prime minister and says he will continue to defend Scott Morrison.
Cold Chisel, Birds of Tokyo and Magic Dirt have cancelled their Day on the Green concert at Rutherglen in Victoria because of the hazardous air quality.
From the promoter Michael Newton’s statement:
All tickets will be refunded but that could take up to a week.
Friday’s and Saturday’s shows are still planned to go ahead, at this stage.
The Coalition backbencher Craig Kelly has been trending on Twitter most of the night after agreeing to this interview with Piers Morgan on UK breakfast television.
Morgan has been critical of Scott Morrison’s response to the bushfire crisis, so it only makes sense that Kelly decided to go on his show and speak to him, and reinforce all of his anger.
Kelly was saved during a pre-selection battle by Morrison’s intervention. He’s repaid him by consistently going on UK media and undermining the prime minister’s attempts to pretend that his government has always believed in the link between climate change and worsening natural disasters, like the drought and bushfires.
Good morning.
Firefighters in NSW and Victoria are seizing another day of cooler temperatures and lower winds to try to get ahead of the fires which have blazed across at least 4.9m hectares.
There are no emergency alert fires as we begin today, but Victoria still has watch and act alerts.