Emergency Services minister to jet off to Europe for holiday amid bushfire crisis and the PM’s Hawaii trip saga – but says blazes will be ‘at the front of his mind’
- David Elliot, MP for Baulkham Hills in western Sydney, and wife will fly to London
- The 49-year-old said his thoughts will be on the communities affected by fires
- His decision comes less than a week when Scott Morrison cut his holiday short
- The Prime Minister apologised for his absence during the bushfire disaster
The Emergency Services minister will travel to Europe for a family holiday amid the bushfire crisis – less than a week after Scott Morrison apologised for his trip to Hawaii.
David Elliot, the MP for Baulkham Hills in western Sydney, and his wife will jet off to London and France, but he said his mind will be on the communities affected by the ferocious fires while he’s away.
‘Bushfire-affected communities and firefighters are always at the front of my mind during this difficult time in NSW,’ he told The Daily Telegraph.
‘I have toured over a dozen fire lines in the past six weeks and, together with the Premier and the Commonwealth, we have announced more than $88 million in recovery assistance to bushfire affected communities.’
David Elliot, the MP for Baulkham Hills in western Sydney, and his wife will jet off to London after they both lost their fathers due to illness
Prisons Minister Anthony Roberts will be reporting back to Mr Elliott on any issues affecting the area.
‘I will continue to receive two briefings each day from the RFS Commissioner. If the bushfire situation should demand it, I will return home,’ he said.
Mr Elliott and his wife both recently lost their fathers to illness. They will be visiting friends in the UK while Mr Elliott will stop by his uncle’s grave at France’s Commonwealth War Cemetery.
Mr Elliot’s decision comes less than a week after Mr Morrison returned from his holiday in Hawaii and apologised for leaving the country as bushfires ravage the country.
Mr Morrison cut short a break with his wife and adult children amid public anger at his absence from Australia at a time of national crisis.
He arrived home on Saturday and on Sunday morning spoke to reporters while visiting the headquarters of the Rural Fire Service in Sydney.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison cut his family holiday to Hawaii short amid public anger at his absence during a crisis
Two firefighters pictured battling the Gospers Mountain fire on December 21
‘If you had your time over again and you had the benefit of hindsight, we would have made different decisions,’ Mr Morrison said.
‘I am sure Australians are fair-minded and understand that when you make a promise to your kids you try and keep it. But as prime minister, you have other responsibilities and I accept that and I accept the criticism.’
Mr Morrison said this was not a time for political point-scoring but a ‘time to be kind to each other’.
He said he is not a trained firefighter, ‘but I’m comforted by the fact that Australians would like me to be here just simply so I can be here, alongside them, as they are going through this terrible time.’
Morrison also answered critics who say his government has not done enough to fight climate change, which has been cited as a major factor in the spate of fires burning across New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.
He said there were also ‘many other factors’ responsible for the unprecedented number of fires during a record-breaking heatwave.
‘There is no argument … about the links between broader issues of global climate change and weather events around the world,’ he said.
‘But I’m sure people equally would acknowledge that the direct connection to any single fire event — it’s not a credible suggestion to make that link.’
As of 7pm on Thursday, there are 77 fires burning across NSW, with 30 yet to be contained.
Fire and Rescue personal watch a bushfire as it burns near homes on the outskirts of the town of Bilpin on December 19