Today host Karl Stefanovic is the latest person to praise former prime minister Tony Abbott on his firefighting effortsFormer prime minister Tony Abbott has once again been praised for lending a hand during Australia’s bushfire crisis, this time by Today show host Karl Stefanovic.
Stefanovic, who made his long-awaited return to the morning show on Saturday, commended Abbott after footage was played of him arriving at the Rural Fire Service in New South Wales’ south coast for another day of battling blazes.
“He truly loves it, he loves being part of a team,” Stefanovic said.
“He’s one of just a team out there and he loves fighting fires.”
Abbott, who has been a volunteer firefighter for 20 years, has been praised for his firefighting efforts in recent weeks, as Australia continues to battle an unprecedented bushfire season.
He was filmed greeting army reserve members at the Nowra staging centre this morning.
“So ScoMo’s troops have arrived, well done! Good on you fellas,” Abbott said, referring to the Prime Minister’s decision on Saturday to deploy 3000 ADF soldiers to the country’s worst fire-stricken areas.
When asked by reporters if he was there to lend a helping hand, Abbott called out the other 70,000 volunteers who have dedicated their time to fighting the fire crisis.
Stefanovic commended Abbott on his efforts and humble response, saying the former leader’s work exemplifies how Australia has banded together during this time of tragedy and crisis.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen, for a long, long time, the country come together and certain people have lifted and led, without really wanting acknowledgment for it,” Stefanovic said.
The praise comes after footage emerged yesterday of Abbott running into a burning house yesterday.
In the end his services weren’t needed.
But that didn’t stop some speculating that the local commander may have had second thoughts about putting the Prime Minister in harm’s way.
Sources claimed that there was no conspiracy.
Mr Abbott is said to carry his phone with him everywhere, to check texts whenever there is fire activity around his region, and sends message to his crew to alert them.
Another source said the PM was complaining on the plane all the way back to Canberra on Sunday night that he had to sit in the truck all day.
SYDNEY’S cool reprieve is about to come to an abrupt end.
Authorities have warned the city, along with parts of the Hunter, will tomorrow return to the kind of conditions that sparked devastating blazes over the weekend.
A NSW Rural Fire Service spokeswoman said strong winds and temperatures of up to 32C would create severe to extreme fire danger across Sydney and the Hunter, where blazes have already destroyed six properties since Sunday afternoon.
As more than 60 fires burned across NSW late yesterday, including 24 that remained out of control, mayors raised concerns about the level of risk in their towns.
Bogan Shire Mayor Ray Donald, a former joint president of Local Government NSW, said RFS volunteers continued to be bogged down in paperwork: “More resources need to be directed to the National Parks and Wildlife Service to make sure hazard burn-offs are carried out and done at an appropriate time.
“My experience with the RFS is the bureaucracy and paperwork is increasing and it’s questionable if this is helping activities on the ground.”
A derelict house was among the property burnt yesterday in a blaze that swept through grassland near the New England town of Uralla.
Firefighters managed to contain its spread before it reached a school that had been evacuated due to the threat.
Another home went up in flames in Newport on Sydney’s northern beaches, but that was an isolated incident rather than the result of a bushfire.
The RFS spokeswoman said more than 500 firefighters had been mobilised to fight fires across the state. RFS crews have responded to more than 2700 fires statewide since July 1, including hundreds in the past week alone.
“It could be another extreme fire danger day on Thursday,” the spokeswoman said.
“The east coast of NSW will mostly have a very high fire danger, but across Sydney and the Hunter region there’s a possibility of severe and even extreme conditions.”
The Bureau of Meteorology predicts Sydney’s CBD will reach 32C tomorrow, but it will climb to 34C further west, with winds of up to 45km/h.
But the RFS will at least have some new hardware on their side – a firefighting air-crane to bolster their waterbombing capabilities.
Premier Barry O’Farrell said a second air-crane would enter service next month.
Port Stephens Mayor Bruce MacKenzie slammed government bureaucracy for getting in the way of hazard reduction burns following Sunday’s destructive Salt Ash blaze, but other NSW councils yesterday said the biggest hurdle with getting them done was often the weather.