Residents of the fire-struck town of Cobargo in New South Wales (NSW) have unleashed on embattled Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, visiting there on Thursday afternoon.
Cobargo is within a large area that the NSW Rural Fire Service ordered tourists leave from on Thursday. It is currently under a Widespread Extreme Fire Danger warning with conditions expected to get even worse by Saturday.
Morrison - whose leadership during the horrific recent Australian bushfires has been severely criticised - ventured to the settlement to meet emergency workers and offer his support to a community where two people have died in the blazes.
What awaited him was unbridled anger and desperation.
Footage of the Prime Minister's meet shows locals yelling at him as he walks around the dusty village.
"You're an idiot mate. You really are," said one person.
"You're being a c***," said another.
"You're not welcome you f***wit," added a third.
One woman said the region was the "forgotten corner of New South Wales" with only four trucks to defend the town from the colossal infernos that have burnt many buildings to crisp. She said the town didn't have much money, but had "hearts of gold".
"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."
Cobargo falls into the Eden-Monaro federal electorate; a swing seat, having jumped between the Labor and Liberal parties over the last two decades. It's currently held by Labor's Mike Kelly, and residents suggest Morrison's Liberals won't get a look-in next election.
"You won't be getting any votes around here buddy. You're an idiot. What about the people round here? Nobody. No liberal votes. You're out, son. You are out. Goodnight Vienna. Bye. Go on, piss off."
On a state level, the Bega electorate is held by the Liberal Party's Andrew Constance, who is the state's Transport Minister.
As the heckling got worse, Morrison hastily walked towards a car and made a getaway. Despite the bruising insults, the Prime Minister said he wanted to give the town "every support".
"Well, I'm not surprised people are feeling very raw at the moment and that's why I came today, to be here, to see it for myself, to offer what comfort I could. But you can't always, in every circumstance, I think everyone understands that," he told reports.
"I appreciate the welcome we received, [his wife] Jenny and I. But at the same time, I understand the very strong feelings people have, they've lost everything."
Following the confrontation, the country's Water Resources Minister David Littleproud announced relief packages for the region. The Federal Government has been cautious with its response to the fires, with Morrison not wanting the Federal and State Governments to be "tripping over each other". He's called for calm and patience as state authorities deal with the "natural disaster".
But the fires have become a political nightmare for the Prime Minister, who has been labelled incompetent and out-of-touch after firstly holidaying in Hawaii in December as his country burnt, and then on New Year's Day taking photos with cricketers.
He apologised for the Hawaii trip and returned, but continues to be dogged by questions of whether his Government is doing enough to tackle climate change and its effect on creating the dry conditions fires thrive in.
More than 110 fires burn across New South Wales while around 45 are ripping across Victoria. It's believed 18 people have been killed in the fires.
