Australia declares national emergency as thousands flee deadly floods
- Government now has more powers to deploy aid and personnel; Prime Minister Scott Morrison says “Australia becoming harder country to live in’
- Floods put climate change in focus ahead of a national election, as the current government has been criticised for its inaction on the climate
Australia declared a national emergency on Wednesday in response to devastating floods along its east coast, and designated catastrophe zones in towns swept away by swollen rivers.
“Australia is becoming a harder country to live in because of these natural disasters,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison said after touring the worst-hit Northern Rivers area of New South Wales.
The emergency declaration, which was set up after Australia’s destructive 2019 bush fires, will help cut red tape and speed up aid amid criticism about a slow response to the floods in which at least 21 people have died.
Frustrated residents in the Northern Rivers, with no access to power and internet for several days, have blamed authorities for the slow speed and scale of relief efforts.
Morrison, who is trailing in polls ahead of a federal election before May, kept media away from his meetings with flood victims, which he said was to protect their privacy.
Television footage showed some people gathered in front of an emergency operations centre Morrison visited, yelling “the water is rising, no more compromising” and “fossil fuel floods”.
Speaking to reporters, Morrison linked the devastation to climate change, which he said had also caused earlier bush fire catastrophes, but he went on to say the greater challenge was reducing other countries’ emissions.