(PERTH, Australia) — Prime Minister Scott Morrison was confronted by angry residents who cursed and insulted him Thursday as he visited a wildfire-ravaged corner of the country.
Locals in Cobargo, in New South Wales, yelled at him, made obscene gestures and called him an “idiot” and worse, criticizing him for the lack of equipment to deal with the fires in town. They jeered as his motorcade drove off. In the New South Wales town of Quaama, a firefighter refused to shake hands with him.
Scott Morrison has hastily left a meeting with bushfire victims after angry residents began yelling furiously. #9News pic.twitter.com/q0iqmBp7to
— Nine News Australia (@9NewsAUS) January 2, 2020
“Every single time this area has a flood or a fire, we get nothing. If we were Sydney, if we were north coast, we would be flooded with donations with urgent emergency relief,” a resident said in Cobargo.
The outpouring of anger came as authorities said 381 homes had been destroyed on the New South Wales sou..