Australia Bush Fires: Climate Protestors Want Prime Minister to Step Down

Blamed by at least one protester for lacking empathy over the raging bushfires in Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison is facing calls to step down from advocates of climate change who believe it is linked to the fires.

Protesters chanted “Sack the Prime Minister” at Morrison for not taking global warming seriously and downplaying any role it may have had in the fiery disaster. So far 27 people have been killed and more than 10 million hectares (24 million acres or a country the size of Portugal) have been scorched.

Rallies on climate change have been held in Australia by thousands of protesters critical of the government’s handling of the bushfire crisis. In Sydney, an estimated 30,000 people attended a Jan. 10 demonstration in addition to other events held in other major cities.

The protestors also heaped scorn on “fossil fuel loving politicians” who they accuse of overseeing “decades of climate destruction.” When questioned about how Morrison could have improved his response to the bushfires, one protestor said, “Humanely, with empathy. I think that is a huge thing. I think the way Scott Morrison has handled this and his lack of empathy to the whole situation is embarrassing. I would like the firefighters to be funded more, I would like more schemes to be set up, and just money and to actually admit that climate change is real, like it is clearly happening and this is what we are doing about it. We are marching.”

Climate change activists and those that deny it will agree that that the record-setting hot dry season has made conditions ideal for bushfires to start. They may even agree on what sparked the flames, be it lightning, campfires or even arson. The arguments begin when the topic of climate change enters the discussion.

The protesters, or “Greens,” will express with absolute certainty that climate change is related to the bushfires and will make demands for fossil fuels to be eliminated (an unlikely event) and that the government throw money at the problem, which may or may not solve anything.

Deniers will point to the fires being part of nature’s natural cycle and argue that scientific data supporting global warming is deliberately skewed to scare the public for political gain.

One volunteer Australian firefighter named Tyson Smith and former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce offered their insight in a recent article on an Australian website called Whimm.com.au. They referred to the “Greens” opposition to hazard-reduction burns, particularly in national parks and how this created “fuel re-loading,” enabling the fires to spread.

Tyson Smith posted a Facebook statement that went viral, blaming “authority figures that have stood for environmental protection” over the past five years are “directly responsible for this devastation.”

Dozens of fires continue to burn, mostly in southeastern Australia. Cooler conditions are forecast for the next week, which should help the firefighting effort. Prime Minister Morrison will likely keep his job and continue to defend his energy and climate policies as adequate and responsible.

The protestors will need to ask themselves if this is the right time to stage a demonstration that will take government resources away from the still-burning fires.