PA ImagesAs Australia continues to be ravaged by deadly bushfires, Greta Thunberg has weighed in – just days after the country’s prime minister, Scott Morrison, was condemned for jetting off to Hawaii.
Across South and Western Australia, homes and habitats are being destroyed by the ruthless blazes, with humans and animals suffering immensely, and firefighters working tirelessly to extinguish the never-ending flames. More than 10 people have died as a result of the fires so far this season.
After Morrison was reported to have taken some time off in paradise, the 16-year-old activist has condemned the government for failing ‘to make the connection between the climate crisis and increased extreme weather events’.
Not even catastrophes like these seem to bring any political action. How is this possible?
Because we still fail to make the connection between the climate crisis and increased extreme weather events and nature disasters like the #AustraliaFires
That's what has to change.
Now. https://t.co/DQcZViKJQz— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) December 22, 2019
The Swedish teen is known for calling out those in power for their lack of action – for example, her now iconic speech to UN delegates, saying: ‘You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words.’
Retweeting a video of a ring of fire around Sydney, Thunberg wrote:
Not even catastrophes like these seem to bring any political action. How is this possible? Because we still fail to make the connection between the climate crisis and increased extreme weather events and nature disasters like the #AustraliaFires. That’s what has to change. Now.
The tweet was only posted this morning, December 22, yet it has already amassed more than 66,000 likes and nearly 20,000 retweets.
PA ImagesIn New South Wales, it’s feared more than 100 buildings have been wrecked as a result of the bushfires. The state’s Rural Fire Service commissioner, Shane Fitzsimmons, says the extent of property damage is ‘significant’.
Fitzimmons said, as per the MailOnline:
We could be talking about another hundred buildings being added to the state tally so far this season. We are expecting another heavy toll unfortunately with estimates that property loss could be in the dozens of buildings including homes, outbuildings, sheds and businesses.
Rumours about the prime minister’s whereabouts started to spread when NSW Greens MP David Shoebridge sent out a tweet suggesting Morrison had swapped the burning country for Hawaii.
PAMorrison has since returned and apologised for causing ‘great anxiety’ by leaving the country for a personal trip. However, citing a lack of dialogue with the leadership in Canberra, the Emergency Leaders for Climate Action Group is planning its own emergency summit to ‘to come up with a national, multifaceted plan’.
NSW Fire and Rescue Commissioner Greg Mullins told news.com.au:
There’s just so much to be done and there’s just no leadership coming from Canberra to even think about it. Australia has become a much more dangerous place because of climate change.
The meeting will bring together farmers, indigenous land owners, fire services, military, the insurance industry, state, territory governments and the prime minister.
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After graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with an NCTJ and BCTJ-accredited Multimedia Journalism degree, Cameron ventured into the world of print journalism at The National, while also working as a freelance film journalist on the side, becoming an accredited Rotten Tomatoes critic in the process. He’s now left his Scottish homelands and took up residence at UNILAD as a journalist.