Bushfires: don’t let them knock you, evacuee tells Scott Morrison

Bushfire victim Owen Whalan, 85, has defended Scott Morrison’s handling of the fire crisis, telling him ‘don’t let them knock you’.

Owen Whalan with Smudge and Sharlie at his Koorainghat property. Picture: Adam Yip

The 85-year-old bushfire victim who rose to fame when he was brought to tears as Scott Morrison hugged him at an evacuation centre in November has offered his support to the Prime Minister in the wake of growing criticism of his handling of the crisis.

Owen Whalan, who broke down when he met Mr Morrison at the Taree evacuation centre on the NSW mid-north coast in early November, has issued a message to the Prime Minister: “Don’t let them knock you too much, boy.”

In an interview with The Australian, Mr Whalan said that despite angry receptions in fire-ravaged towns such as Cobargo and footage of firefighters refusing to shake the Prime Minister’s hand over his decision to take a Hawaiian holiday, Mr Morrison had shown political leadership “just by going there”.

“It’s so important for politicians to be somebody that will listen to what the people say, not just read what has happened in the newspaper. You’ve got to be there on the ground for the personal feel. And that’s what he did right after his holiday,” Mr Whalan said.

When they were pictured praying together at the Taree evacuation centre, the Prime Minister had been touring around the devastated region in a week when six people would be killed in the region.

Since then, Mr Whalan and his 84-year-old wife, Cathie, were evacuated for a second time, just days after their initial retreat to Taree. Their home and two border collies, Smudge and Sharlie, survived both waves of blazes.

Their daughter’s husband, Jamie, who had travelled down from Queensland to his parents-in-law’s Koorainghat home to help defend it, has also developed post-traumatic stress disorder from his experience fighting the fire, where “the shirt burned off his back” as he fought.

Despite the tumultuous period for both the Whalan family and Mr Morrison — whose popularity has plummeted over the fire season — Mr Whalan still defends the Prime Minister as “an absolute gentleman”.

Mr Whalan’s tearful November meeting with Scott Morrison at the Taree evacuation centre. Picture: AAP

“He can come around and have dinner any time here,” Mr Whalan said of Mr Morrison.

The former pastor said he felt terrible watching the news every day as he knew what it was like to have “absolutely ferocious fires threaten your life”.

“Whether you do something or you do nothing, you’ll always be criticised,” he said.

“The fires are devastating and I can understand why some people are very upset,” Mr Whalan said.

Remaining humble in the face of death and destruction that followed in the months after his meeting, Mr Whalan felt “like a fraud” he had garnered so much media attention despite his property surviving.

Mr Whalan last week received a follow-up letter from Mr Morrison, which said: “I have seen a lot of tragedy and heartache in recent months as Prime Minister, but Owen’s experience was one of my tougher engagements,” causing Mr Whalan to tear up.