Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott helped fight raging bushfires south of Sydney on Friday while current leader Scott Morrison relaxed on holiday in Hawaii.
Mr Abbott, who has volunteered with the Rural Fire Service for more than a decade, was pictured at the Bargo BP service station wearing the yellow uniform of his Davidson squadron before battling the Green Wattle Creek fire.
He agreed to take a few snaps with fans and the photos quickly went viral on social media as Australians called for the 62-year-old, who led the nation from 2013 to 2015, to be made Prime Minister once more.
Meanwhile, Scott Morrison was pictured relaxing in Hawaii just hours after telling voters he would come home ‘as soon as I can’.
Helping hand: Former prime minister Tony Abbott (right) was pictured in his RFS uniform as he fights alongside firefighter in Sydney’s south-west
Mr Abbott (left) agreed to take a few snaps with fans – and the photos quickly went viral on social media
Australians have been questioning Mr Morrison’s whereabouts as he fled the country during the bushfire crisis. Pictured: Mr Morrison in Hawaii on Friday
The Prime Minister angered voters in a radio interview on Friday morning as he apologised for ‘any offence caused’ by his decision to go on holiday to the idyllic American island with his wife and two daughters while the country burns.
‘It’s not easy to get back, but I will as soon as I can,’ Mr Morrison told 2GB radio.
‘I know Australians will understand this, and they’ll be pleased I’m coming back… but they know that, you know, I don’t hold a hose mate.’
A photo of a group of Australian tourists with Prime Minister Scott Morrison (second from right) emerged on social media
As images circulate on social media of Tony Abbott helping with the bushfires, some have called for Mr Morrison to step down. Pictured: Mr Abbott in 2018
A change.org petition has called for Mr Morrison to step down as prime minister, with 77,000 signed in the first 18 hours.
Dozens on social media slammed the PM and compared him unfavourably to Mr Abbott.
‘I was never a fan of Tony Abbott but he’d be at the fire front with his local RFS crew doing his best were are current PM is sending his ‘Thoughts and Prayers’ from his holiday in Hawaii!!!’ one wrote.
Another added: ‘I was never a fan of Tony Abbott but this has given me food for thought. How many other politicians have there been out there fighting the fires?’
The Green Wattle Creek blaze is categorised at ‘watch and act’ level. The fire is still burning across more than 176,000 hectares.
It comes as New South Wales firefighters are bracing for yet another grim day on Saturday as the thermostat peaks at 47C in Penrith, in western Sydney and two mega-blazes rage on, sending a cloud of smoke and ash over the Habour City.
With road closures expected, residents have been told to steer clear of remote bushland.
A total fire ban is in place across New South Wales – a day after 40 homes in the state’s Southern Highlands were destroyed by the Green Wattle Creek blaze (pictured)
Previous efforts: Kulnura brigade captain Mark Towell (left) and member Andrew Griffith (right) with Davidson deputy captain Tony Abbott (middle)
New South Wales is bracing for catastrophic fire danger on Saturday and the loss of more homes – just two days after 40 homes were destroyed by bushfire in the state’s Southern Highlands
A total fire ban is in place across New South Wales – a day after 40 homes in the state’s Southern Highlands were destroyed by the Green Wattle Creek blaze and two firefighters lost their lives in the region when their truck rolled off a road.
RFS deputy commissioner Rob Rogers told The Daily Telegraph it was ‘a fairly sure thing we will lose homes somewhere tomorrow’.
‘Basically homes are not built to withstand fires on these kind of days,’ inspector Ben Shepherd said.
‘People need to understand that they may not get a fire truck. They may not even be able to fly planes or helicopters in this kind of weather.’
South Australia will also face the worst day of the summer so far as the state battles catastrophic fires conditions with temperatures of 44C.
This map released by the New South Wales Rural Fire Service shows how the bushfires burning south of Sydney could spread on Saturday
Andrew O’Dwyer (left) and Geoffrey Keaton (right) were killed when their truck rolled off the road after hitting a fallen tree last night at Buxton, south of Sydney
On Friday, firefighters broke down in tears as they laid flowers and paid tributes on Friday to their two mates killed battling a blaze near Sydney.
Volunteers Andrew O’Dwyer, 36, and Geoffrey Keaton, 32, were killed on Thursday evening when their truck rolled off the road after hitting a fallen tree at Buxton, south of Sydney.
Their colleagues were seen sharing embraces and wiping away tears at Horsley Park Rural Fire Brigade in Sydney on Friday.
Mr O’Dwyer and Mr Keaton, who were both fathers, had been fighting fires for more than a decade and were remembered as heroes
There are currently 100 bush and grass fires in NSW, with 55 still to be contained