Australia’s existing emissions reduction policies will do enough to protect the environment and seek to reduce bushfire risks, Prime Minister Scott Morrison insists, as vast bushfires burn in all six states | JacquelineMaley auspol NSWFires
More than $21 million in disaster payments have been made to affected residents in NSW, and more would be made available to Victorians affected by the fires, he said.
Mr Morrison said his government had always acknowledged the link between "the broader issues of climate change and what they mean for the world's weather and the dryness of conditions in many places". Mr Morrison also said the issue of fuel loads on the ground had been "a constant source of feedback on the ground".
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