Opinion: Scott Morrison in damage control but far from terminal

After saying he’d burn for us it’s been one misstep after another for Scott Morrison during Australia’s bushfire crisis. But you’d be silly to write him off, says Renee Viellaris. VOTE IN OUR POLL

THERE’S no doubt about it: Scott Morrison is in damage-control mode.

He will cancel his bilateral trip to India planned this month (ironically the reason why he brought forward his holiday to Hawaii) because of the blazing fires ripping through Australia.

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After a phone hook-up today, he will undoubtedly provide more support and help for communities that remain in the grip of a crisis.

On Monday, he will convene another National Security Committee meeting.

What this highlights is how the Government now considers these fires to be a national security issue.

It also shows that Morrison is again under pressure — not from colleague challenges but because as prime minister, he has been forced to run at high tempo.

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It started when he took over from Malcolm Turnbull following the leadership coup, then bringing forward a Budget earlier with Josh Frydenberg in April, and then calling and leading an election.

The win drew more out of him, but then he had a lull after Parliament rose in December.

He went to Hawaii and then two volunteer firefighters died.

The PR around his holiday was handled badly, and even though he came back early it was too late.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison was heckled by locals in Cobargo and an RFS firefighter refused to shake his hand.

Victims wanted someone to blame. For them it’s Morrison — even though “normal” fires are a state responsibility.

These are no normal fires, however states have to wear the blame too.

Misinformation has spread, states claimed they had things under control but didn’t (like the need for evacuations, fuel supplies and power — NSW didn’t ask for defence force assets but should have) and not all recommendations from the royal commission into Black Saturday were implemented, namely backburning of public land.

But it is too late. The public mood has changed and they want Morrison to take his medicine. The footage of him trying to shake a volunteer’s hand who didn’t want a bar of him was cringe-worthy.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but Australia knew it was in for a catastrophic fire season when the Bushfire and Natural Hazard Co-operative Research Centre and fire services warned in August what was coming.

At some point in the past couple of months this should have landed on the National Security Committee radar.

The Government now looks flat-footed, and Morrison has not helped by claiming this is a state issue.

It looks like a national crisis and for those on the ground they are living it.

Morrison and his team now need to have a national plan for fires of the future, especially given the experts are warning about drier wet seasons and longer periods of drought.

A plan needs to be in place, and given the public sentiment on climate change appears to have shifted from May, Morrison needs to address the mood and implement new mechanism for future events.

He is right not to go to India, which would turn the conversation to coal (which is OK but the timing is not right).

Morrison needs to show he is in control, that services people need are being provided.

Some victims appear to be ringing the wrong phone number for financial support (the right number is 180 22 66) and are getting frustrated.

The Government needs to have on loop how victims can contact Centrelink.

And where safe, Centrelink staff should be sent to disaster zones to help people who have lost power or where communication towers were damaged.

Morrison also needs to think about the PR strategy ahead.

At some point he needs to strip the Emission Reductions portfolio from Angus Taylor — let Taylor concentrate on Energy — and given Greg Hunt is busy enough, give it to a moderate and someone in the Senate, such as Simon Birmingham.

Mitigation and adaptation is key, plus a strong sell on the billions of dollars the Government will spend on its Climate Solutions Package.

And it’s time for some tough questions and realities.

Australia needs to backburn more.

There are parts of the country that are probably too dangerous to live in.

It is silly for people to claim this is the end of Morrison’s prime ministership.

These same critics were the ones screeching he would lose the election.

There are two-and-a-half years to go until the next election, and it will take some communities and some victims that long to rebuild.

The challenge is to ensure they are not forgotten long after the fires have been extinguished.