NSW, Queensland fire emergency: Darker days ahead, PM warns

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has praised the incredible spirit of Australians during an emotional visit to fire-devastated communities in NSW.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison comforts Owen Whalan, 85, who has been evacuated from his home in Taree.

Scott Morrison has praised the “incredible spirit” of firefighters and volunteers who have rallied around fire-ravaged communities in northern NSW as the state braces itself for even worse “catastrophic” conditions on Tuesday.

Visiting the Taree Evacuation Centre on Sunday, the Prime Minister warned Australians facing and fighting bushfires that darker days could be ahead.

“We’re not out of this yet,” he said. “There is a long way to go and Tuesday is looking more difficult.”

READ MORE: Live coverage: Third fire victim named | Township razed by wall of flame

A state of fire emergency has been declared in Queensland, where two emergency level fires are threatening homes, while more than 70 fires are burning in NSW, where three people have died and more than 150 homes have been lost.

Mr Morrison said he was proud of how the community had supported each other through the unprecedented blazes, which have torn through the state

“People have reached out, got people out of homes, made sure they have got to safety, looked after each other’s livestock and animals, talking to each other, putting themselves in harm’s way for each other,” Mr Morrison said.

“As a Prime Minister I am never more proud of Australians and in moments like these they just show incredible spirit, incredible heart, incredible generosity.”

Mr Morrison and NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian are briefed on the fires at Mid North Coast Fire Control Centre in Wauchope on Sunday.

He was flanked by NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, who thanked volunteers, as well as those that had travelled interstate to support affected communities. She called on the public to watch out for their neighbours.

“Some people are coming here having lost everything or in very traumatised states,” Ms Berejiklian said. “Even though some people know that their homes are OK, they are still extremely traumatised by what they have experienced, by what they have seen, what their neighbours are going through, so just because someone’s property is safe, doesn’t mean they are OK.”

Later, Mr Morrison visited fire-affected residents at an evacuation centre in Taree, sharing an emotional moment with local man Owen Whalan, who broke down in the Prime Minister’s arms as he spoke of not knowing whether he had lost his home.

Mr Whalan told the Prime Minister he did not know if his home had survived the fires.

Nationals Leader Michael McCormack echoed Mr Morrison’s words as he visited fire ravaged communities in Queensland.

“I can’t overstate this, the fact is that in these worst of times,” Mr McCormack said. “You see the best in Australians. People who will literally give the shirt off their own back if it means helping somebody in need. We’ve seen that in this situation.”

He urged the public to heed the warnings of the fire services.

“If you are being asked or told to leave your home by asked or told to leave your home by somebody who is in charge, who is in authority, then please do so,” he said. “It is for your own sake and safety and your own life.”

“Make sure you follow the instructions, make sure you save your life. We can always rebuild homes. We cannot always rebuild properties. We can’t rebuild lives if they are lost.”

Labor Leader Anthony Albanese told ABC Insiders on Sunday he intends to visit the bushfire-affected areas when it is appropriate.

“One of the things that we should ensure, though, is that politicians don’t get in the way of the work that has to be done,” he said, explaining he had offered his services to Mr Morrison, who at that stage hadn’t planned to visit northern NSW.

“These are really extraordinary circumstances, particularly at this time of the year, at the beginning of the season or before the normal bushfire season,” Mr Albanese said. “And to have fatalities, to have so many people missing, my heart goes out to them.”