Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has defended his leadership and his government’s record on climate change.
Sunday saw milder temperatures that brought hope of a respite from wildfires that have ravaged three Australian states, claiming 24 lives.
Mr Morrison has faced widespread criticism for taking a family holiday at the start of the crisis, his sometimes distracted approach as it has escalated and his slowness in deploying resources.
He told a news conference it was not the time for blame.
As dawn broke over a blackened landscape on Sunday, a picture emerged of disaster of unprecedented scale.
The Rural Fire Service says 150 fires are still active, 64 of them uncontrolled.
It is estimated a billion animals across the country will die in what officials have warned could be a crisis that continues for several months.
Australia wildfire crisis escalates to 'entirely new level' as angry firefighter attacks PM https://t.co/qPUumzypWm
— dolly daydream (@dollymixture) January 5, 2020
