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Australia Bushfires: 'This Is Our War' Celeste Barber's Mother In Law Lashes Out At Government’s Lack Of Response To Crisis

"They've left us high and dry."
Celeste Barber's mother-in-law has berated the federal government's lack of military presence in the bushfire-hit town of Eden.
Huffpost Australia
Celeste Barber's mother-in-law has berated the federal government's lack of military presence in the bushfire-hit town of Eden.

Joy Robin, who is the mother-in-law of Australian comedian Celeste Barber, has unleashed on the federal government’s response to the bushfire crisis in an emotional video.

In the footage, Robin berates the lack of military presence in the fire-hit NSW town of Eden, near the Victorian border after she was told to evacuate.

“This is our war. This fire is Australia’s war at the moment. It’s been right down the Great Dividing Range and now it’s going right to the coast. And there isn’t one ADF on the ground, and that’s what we want,” she told a reporter.

“We pay $6 billion of hard earned tax payer’s money for them every year and where are they?”

Robin vented her frustrations that the government has seemed to have forgotten little towns like Eden.

“When the Prime Minister from some other country comes here, they’ll show up and put on the best show for them,” she said.

“They’ll come in and mop and say how good they are ‘aren’t we great for doing this?’”

Barber’s husband posted the video to his instagram with the caption “Proud of you mum”.

Barber Tweeted the video and said “@ScottMorrisonMP I wouldn’t try and shake her hand.”

It had more than 244k views on Monday.

Barber, who launched a Facebook Fundraiser on Saturday, has raised more than $30m in bushfire donations in under two days - that’s more than $625k per hour.

Celeste said on her Instagram she spoke to “the king of the RFS” about the donation effort and said it “gave them a bit of positivity in the terror.”

“They’re going to disperse it in such an incredible way so it gets where it needs to go,” she added.

Celeste Barber gives an update on her bushfire fundraiser.
Huffpost Australia
Celeste Barber gives an update on her bushfire fundraiser.

Other celebrities have also opened their hearts and wallets to help Australia’s worst bushfire crisis in living memory.

Authorities began assessing the damage on Monday, as cooler conditions provided a temporary respite from blazes that have scarred the country’s east coast for weeks.

The death of a 47-year old man, who was defending a friend’s rural property in NSW, took the national toll this season to 24 but NSW Premier Berejiklian said on Monday there were two people unaccounted for on NSW’s far south coast. There were four people unaccounted for in Victoria on Monday.

No fires were burning out of control in New South Wales, but four fires in Victoria had ‘Evacuate Now’ or ‘Emergency Level’ warnings.

In this photo released and taken Jan. 2, 2020, by the Australian Department of Defense, evacuees are transported in a lighter, amphibious, resupply, cargo (LARC) transport amphibious vehicle, from Mallacoota, Victoria, Australia. Navy ships plucked hundreds of people from beaches and tens of thousands were urged to flee before hot weather and strong winds in the forecast worsen Australia's already-devastating wildfires. (Australia Department of Defense via AP)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
In this photo released and taken Jan. 2, 2020, by the Australian Department of Defense, evacuees are transported in a lighter, amphibious, resupply, cargo (LARC) transport amphibious vehicle, from Mallacoota, Victoria, Australia. Navy ships plucked hundreds of people from beaches and tens of thousands were urged to flee before hot weather and strong winds in the forecast worsen Australia's already-devastating wildfires. (Australia Department of Defense via AP)

Haze from the fires was turning skies orange as far away as New Zealand at the weekend, with local police having to tell people to not call the emergency phone number.

In Canberra, officials asked for 100,000 extra breathing masks from the national stockpile as the capital recorded the worst air quality in the world on Sunday, according to the IQAir AirVisual global index.

This fire season 5.25 million hectares of land has been burnt, half a billion animals are feared to have perished, thousands of people have been evacuated from holiday beaches, and more than 1300 homes have been destroyed.

MALLACOOTA, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 03: A view of fire damage on January 03, 2020 in Sarsfield , Australia. The HMAS Choules docked outside of Mallacoota this morning to evacuate thousands of people stranded in the remote coastal town following fires across East Gippsland which have killed one person and destroyed dozens of properties. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
Darrian Traynor via Getty Images
MALLACOOTA, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 03: A view of fire damage on January 03, 2020 in Sarsfield , Australia. The HMAS Choules docked outside of Mallacoota this morning to evacuate thousands of people stranded in the remote coastal town following fires across East Gippsland which have killed one person and destroyed dozens of properties. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

The federal government announced an unprecedented call up of army reservists to support firefighters as well other resources including a third navy ship equipped for disaster and humanitarian relief.

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