Well, I got up this morning and, as I always do, read a copy of The Australian. There on the front page – open warfare. Let’s start with the Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack. Inexplicably, Michael McCormack is out blaming the states. That’s right, when it comes to the bushfire crisis and the bushfire recovery, the Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack is not standing up and leading, he is sitting down and shifting blame.
He is blaming the states. Michael McCormack says in The Australian today, quote, he is quite annoyed that the states haven’t stepped up and done more to help with the bushfire crisis and the recovery. He is annoyed that somehow, to quote Michael McCormack, this has all “fallen in the lap of the Federal Government”.
Well, breaking news for you Michael McCormack – you’re the Deputy Prime Minister, you are the Federal Government and in a time of crisis, the Australian people look for leadership.
They don’t look for blame shifting, they don’t look for marketing spin, they don’t look for Defence Force being used in a political advertisement from the Prime Minister trying to tell us what a great job he’s doing, they look for action, they look for response, they look for help.
And let’s talk about the states. My home state of New South Wales (sic: and Australia) had 33 people die. My home state of New South Wales had significant loss when it comes to the death of citizens, the death of firefighters and, quite frankly, the loss of wildlife, the loss of homes, the devastation that was reaped upon New South Wales in this bushfire crisis was the worst in living memory for that state.
