Scott Morrison urges calm amid bushfires debate

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has called for an end to the bickering over bushfires and climate change as firefighters continue battling blazes across Queensland and New South Wales.

Morrison slammed Coalition and other politicians for their “provocative” and “unhelpful” comments following an exchange of insults between the Coalition and the Greens.

Nationals backbencher Barnaby Joyce suggested two people who died in NSW bushfires “most likely” voted for the Greens. The remark sparked backlash across the parliament, with Liberal senator Mathias Cormann admitting it was inappropriate.

Greens senator Jordon Steele-John accused the Coalition and Labor of increasing the risk of catastrophic bushfires through their policies of climate change.

“Your selfishness and your ignorance have known no bounds for decades, and now our communities are paying the price,” Steele-John said.

Morrison addressed the heated debate on Tuesday during a visit to a crisis coordination centre in Canberra.

“I think it’s important that at moments like this, everybody take it down a few notches,” Morrison said.

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“There have been a lot of provocative comments made over the last few days from all sides of the debate and I find it very unhelpful.

“The last thing that people in an urgent crisis need at the moment is hearing politicians shout at each other. There is a time and a place to debate controversial issues and important issues, right now it's important to focus on the needs of Australians who need our help.”

More than 200 homes in NSW had been affected by fires over the past week, said the Rural Fire Service (RFS).

Residents should brace for “a few more really bad days”, according to Ross Bradstock, director of the Centre for Environmental Risk Management of Bushfires at the University of Wollongong.

“It ain’t over, it’s as simple as that,” Bradstock told ABC. “It looks like we’re locked in this pattern at the moment of no rain and one or two major cold fronts a week.”

RFS commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said fire conditions were unlikely to significantly improve any time soon.

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“Unless we get some rain, we’re talking months before we can get any confidence in having consolidation and containment of these fires,” Fitzsimmons said.

“Unfortunately the forecast is for nothing but above-average temperatures, below-average rainfall for the new few months, and we’ve still got summer around the corner.”

Fitzsimmons urged residents to prepare themselves.

“The more you can do to prepare yourself, to prepare your loved ones, to prepare your property, to prepare your home, the better chance you’ve got of withstanding any fires that might occur as we head into the worst of our fire season this year.”