Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has sparked outrage after echoing Victorian premier Jacinta Allan’s crude description of people who defy a total fire ban.
As devastating bushfires continue to rage in western Victoria’s Grampians National Park, Mr Albanese held a press conference with Ms Allan on Sunday where he endorsed a tweet she sent warning people not to light fires with a total ban in place.
‘I saw a tweet, it must be said, from another prominent figure just to my right here who used an appropriate term of “don’t be a d***head”,’ Mr Albanese said with Ms Allan heard laughing at his shoulder.
‘Help your fellow Victorians and fellow ns. Common sense has got to apply here and your head shakes that people aren’t taking the warnings.’
Mr Albanese was referencing a tweet sent by Ms Allan on Boxing Day.
‘The message couldn’t be clearer: today’s a day of total fire ban across Victoria,’ Ms Allan wrote on X.
‘Don’t be a d***head. No fires to be lit.’
A number of Aussies took issue with the wording used by Ms Allan with their fury reignited on social media platform X after Mr Albanese defended it.
Businessman and prominent Liberal member Matthew Camenzuli did not mince words.
‘This is disgusting,’ he tweeted.
‘This man is supposed to be the Prime Minister of . He is in no position to speak down to anyone. I would like to see mandatory IQ tests for parliamentarians.
‘That goes for his chum the Victorian Premier as well.’
‘Shows how inarticulate he and his state premier really are,’ a social media user replied.
‘If they speak to us in public like this, I wonder how they reference us behind closed doors?’
‘Language fit for a premier and PM unfit for their office. Both are fools,’ another X user wrote.
‘The insufferable village idiot needs to take his own advice (‘Don’t be a d***head’),’ another commenter said.
‘When will this clown just go away?’
Some thought the term was appropriate.
‘Saving lives more important than worrying about ‘language’ here brother,’ one wrote.
‘I despise the bloke but I agree with him here.’
Huge bushfires continue to burn out of control in Victoria though cooler, settled conditions in the Grampians have allowed emergency crews to start initial impact assessments.
At least three homes and nearly a dozen outbuildings have been destroyed by the mammoth blaze.
Despite the cooler conditions, a Watch and Act message was issued on Saturday night for the area on the eastern side of the Grampians National Park from Moyston to Bornes Hill, including Mafeking, Watgania and Maroona.
A Watch and Act alert also remains in place for Halls Gap and Pomonal, while residents on Long Gully Road to College Road, east of Mt William have been told it is not yet safe to return after an earlier evacuation order.
On Sunday the blaze had a perimeter of more than 380km and has scorched more than 75,000 hectares
It’s expected to burn into the new year due to dry conditions and difficult, mountainous terrain.
Emergency Management Commissioner Rick Nugent said the week ahead would bring more favourable conditions for fire crews.
‘Weather over the next week looks relatively stable,’ he said in a statement late on Saturday afternoon.
‘This will allow us time to stabilise the fires and continue backburning operations, and look to support the community further.’