Sydney, Australia is ringing in the new year with its world renowned fireworks, but as the country also faces an unprecedented wildfire crisis, many have questioned if these fireworks should be happening at all. Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he supports the decision to go ahead with the fireworks, saying the event shows his country's resilience, reports CBS News correspondent Ian Lee.
Resilience is all well and good, to a point. When it crosses into idiocy, however, there's nothing especially noble about it.
Amid the country's worst wildfire seasons ever, more than 275,000 people signed a petition to cancel the show, saying cities like Sydney that are already choking in smog from fires didn't need any more smoke in its air.
The petition also said the millions of dollars being spent on the fireworks should have gone toward the firefighters battling the flames and used to protect some of the country's devastated wildlife. The fires have destroyed more than 1,000 homes, as well as habitats for koalas and other animals.
It does seem to be rather a ludicrous expenditure at this time, given that it's being spent purely for entertainment purposes.
Wildfires burning across Australia's two most-populous states have trapped residents of a seaside town in apocalyptic conditions Tuesday. The blazes are feared to have destroyed many properties and caused fatalities.
In the southeastern town of Mallacoota, around 4,000 residents fled toward the waterside as winds pushed an emergency-level wildfire towards their homes. The town was shrouded in darkness from the smoke before turning an unnerving shade of bright red.
Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews said there were plans to evacuate the trapped people by sea.
Just spitballin' here, but it seems unlikely that those folks are going to be especially interested in fireworks displays at present.
Around here, we've got some strong winds blowing, temps in the mid-40s, some light rain - and folks down the mountain detonating charges fairly regularly (much to the displeasure of the dog). But should they manage to set their places on fire, they're far enough downslope that it shouldn't affect us, so hey. Just glad they're not next door.