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Scott Morrison Says Australia Won't Be Helping Amazon Fire Effort Because It's 'Not In Our Sphere'

Scott Morrison Says Australia Won't Be Helping Amazon Fire Effort Because It's 'Not In Our Sphere'

He recognises the Amazon is important but just not close enough.

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

Despite suffering tens of thousands of fires this year, people have only just started getting on board with the crisis that's been unfolding in the Amazon rainforest.

The area dubbed 'the world's lungs' has been hit with more than 72,000 fires that are so intense they can be seen from space.

People have been trying to donate in big and small amounts, hoping every little bit preserves one of the world's most interesting ecosystems.

However, it seems like the Aussie government won't be lending a hand.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced that it's simply not close enough for Australia to dedicate any foreign aid. He was invited as a guest to the G7 summit, where Germany, France, the US, Japan, Canada, Italy and the UK committed $30 million to help local forces deal with the fires.

Speaking after the meeting, the PM was asked whether the Land Down Under would be helping out in a similar way.

"That should be well within the means of those countries for which this is their primary sphere," he told reporters in France.

"This is not directly in our sphere but it is the lungs of the world and we understand it's important.

PA

"The Boxing Day tsunami, things like this, Australia has been quick out of the blocks. Whether they're in Indonesia or elsewhere in the Pacific, we are the first responders and Australia takes our responsibility in our sphere very seriously."

While ScoMo isn't going to be pledging any money, that's not to say that funds aren't coming from elsewhere.

An organisation backed by Leonardo DiCaprio has just committed a massive chunk of money to help authorities tackle the many fires currently burning in Amazon.

Earth Alliance has donated $5 million to the fire effort, which will go to five local organisations that are directly related to combating the collective blaze.

PA

Those organisations are Instituto Associacao Floresta Protegida (Kayapo), Coordination of the Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB), Instituto Kabu (Kayapo), Instituto Raoni (Kayapo) and Instituto Socioambiental (ISA)

Earth Alliance was started in July with DiCaprio and billionaire business investors and philanthropists, Laurene Powell Jobs and Brian Sheth.

While the funds continue, warplanes were recently spotted dropping massive loads of water onto the smouldering forest below.

According to an official spokesperson, Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro ordered military operations in seven states to fight the flames in the Amazon.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: News, Australia, Politics