Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been put on notice by a firefighter battling a bushfire in New South Wales.
The unknown firefighter, who is a member of a brigade on the NSW far-south coast, has penned an open letter to Australia's leader; slamming him for his inaction.
"This is a national emergency, not a minor weather event," he wrote, according to 9News. "We don't have time for you to sit on your hands and wish us platitudes and cricket news.
"We are not frantically impressed with these platitudes down here. When I see my colleagues from my brigade jump into a plane or a bus to take them up north in a strike team to go into battle against an unprecedented enemy of catastrophic proportions, I wonder if we might ever see them again. And they are my friends and wonderful people.
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"When my pager goes off in the middle of a hot, blustery severe fire danger day and I have to rush off to a bushfire, and as I am sitting in the truck proceeding under sirens and lights to the fire, I wonder if this might be my last day too."
Scott Morrison revealed yesterday that he was opening up $11 million in federal funding to help crews do more water bombing on fire affected areas.
He also admitted, for the first time, that climate change has played a role in this horror start to the bushfire season.
More than 700 homes have been destroyed and several lives have been lost since the fires kicked off a few weeks ago.
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Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Mr Morrison said: "We also know that there are many contributing factors that relate to these fires. The drought is obviously one, and the dryness of the bush is the biggest factor.
"And we all know...that climate change, along with many other factors, contribute to what is occurring today."
There has been some understandable distress during this period, especially with the smoke haze that has been choking Sydney and other regions. But Mr Morrison wants everyone to just chill out.
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"I know, because I'm a Sydneysider, how unusual it is to see haze across my city. And I know how distressing this has been, particularly for young people, who wouldn't have seen that before...that's why it's important to have a sense of calm about these matters and calm on the basis of information," he said.
"But let me be clear about this - climate change is a global challenge. Australia is playing our role as part of this global challenge. In fact, I can tell you that emissions from Australia are lower today than at any other time than before we came to government."
Featured Image Credit: PA