Australian comedian Celeste Barber has beseeched Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to become Australia's new leader amid the devastating bushfire crisis.
Barber, who has helped raise more than $50 million for the NSW Rural Fire Service and Brigades Donations Fund through her Facebook fundraiser, called upon Ardern to step up as Australia's leader in a tongue-in-cheek Instagram story on Sunday.
According to Barber, Ardern's first order of business as Australia's new leader should be a more appropriate name to unify her two governments.
"Can you please make us 'West New Zealand'?" the 37-year-old joked.
"Can you be our leader and look after us? We need you."
Barber illustrated her plea with a photo of Ardern speaking to youth about the importance of climate change.
The comedian has been vocal about her dissatisfaction with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison's response to the bushfire disaster, which has decimated thousands of properties, ravaged more than eight million hectares of land and killed 28 people and more than 500 million animals.
Earlier this month, Barber shared a video of her mother-in-law, Joy Robin, slamming the Australian government. Robin was among a number of people who sought shelter by the wharf in Eden, New South Wales (NSW) before the town was ordered to evacuate.
"This is our war," Robin said in the clip. "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 [Australian Defence Force member] on the ground.
"But they'll come in and mop up and say, 'Oh, how good we are! Aren't we great we are for doing this?'"
Morrison has also been widely condemned for taking a pre-Christmas holiday to Hawaii amid the devastation of the raging bushfires.
On Friday, Barber's fundraiser raised an incredible $50 million in donations. A number of high-profile celebrities, including Pink, Kylie Minogue, Leonardo DiCaprio and Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban have donated to the cause.
An additional 22 New Zealand firefighters were deployed to NSW on Thursday to help tackle the bushfires. More than 150 New Zealanders have been rotating on the front line since October.
Meanwhile, Ardern has been holidaying with her fiance, Clarke Gayford, in Australia. The two have spotted enjoying food and wine in both Queensland and NSW.
