Constructive political action is needed

We have a Prime Minister who tells us that organising water-bombing aircraft is a state responsibility and outside his jurisdiction.

This is the same Prime Minister who, during the recent campaign, assumed responsibility for municipal carparks as a vote-buying tactic in Central Coast electorates.

It appears that federal jurisdiction extends to whatever the Prime Minister feels like on the day, but, weighing the relative importance of the two issues, an impartial person might expect that a national catastrophe on the scale of our bushfires would draw a more responsive attitude from someone who purports to be our national leader.

Calling in the army reserves, as a panic move and without any consultation with the operational leaders on the ground, is not a substitute for thoughtful consideration of our current and future fire-protection needs.

Perhaps, he is still praying for guidance (or for rain), but seeking divine intervention is not a constructive political action in the current context.

Email, 5 Jan 2020

Bruce Hyland, Woy Woy