I knew the South Coast was doomed when the fires broke out around Sydney. Justifiably you protect five million people.

There were not enough assets. Perhaps there would have been had Morrison wanted to hear what the fire experts were trying to tell him, but to him it would harm the sacred surplus. He was not alone, previous leaders could also have acted.

He and his fellow conmen are content to be teflon men (nothing sticks to them, and anything wrong is done by someone else) while the real leaders try to help us.

Thank you Gladys, thank you Shane.

The little people have been great. Dear friends, the agencies, and my NRMA are all open and helping.

I hold Morrison and his gang responsible for the loss of my house and the mental anguish of my South Coast neighbors.

We must seize control of our country before Morrison and company destroy it. Julie Bishop has it nailed: "We should be showing leadership on the issue of climate change".

It is personal Scott. I will not forget, I will not forgive.

I stand with the angry residents of Cobargo.

As a South Coast resident I take some comfort from the fact there is commitment of funds of $2 billion plus, if necessary, to bushfire relief.

Hearing Mr Colvin on radio I am somewhat comforted by the message he is conveying. I hope his mission has the backing of a balanced secretariat capable of registering the facts.

There needs to be a better assessment of the potential costs than just "$2 billion plus" however. It is not a matter of just throwing money at the problem.

If the ABS still has the capacity, there needs to be an urgent income/expenditure survey of the effects of the disaster across the seaboard and the hinterland as well as affected inland areas.

This would provide some micro-evidence of the impacts on people. I think there is a whole of government impact that needs to be recognised.

Uptown in Batemans Bay near Centrelink I met a young person who was one of 30 employed at a Mogo tourist icon. They are all out of work. He has no confidence the tourist icon will be rebuilt. He told me he has to wait two weeks to get any unemployment benefit.

It was a rare pleasure to get in and out of Woolies in 30 or 40 minutes. In a smaller shop I got a new battery for my watch. I got the impression I was one of few customers for the day.

I am glad governments appreciate the importance of a reliable electric power supply. It should be noted poles and wires have been repaired as quickly as possible.

Supplies to some newer housing with underground mains are going to take longer. The fires have burnt the plastic insulation off the mains.

As to mitigating climate change, maybe we could start imposing conditions on our coal exports (compliance with the Paris accord) similar to those we require for uranium exports (accession to the NPT treaty).

In my opinion the ACT's RFS chief officer has made a blunder.

If a fire tanker is responding to an emergency and adhering to road rules there is nil problem.

If, upon entering an intersection, they slow down to a safe speed and proceed with caution there is no problem. The existing laws cover such contingencies.

I don't really see the need for a truck full of water to exceed the speed limit. It's dangerous whether driver has special training or not.

The Coalition government hammers the point that its Paris target of a 26 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions will be met "in a canter".

They also asserted before the May election that the ALP's 45 per cent target would be a wrecking ball through the economy. If 26 per cent is such a doddle, it would be interesting to know what target the Coalition could nominate that requires a bit of effort.

Speaking of censoring things (Letters, December 24). I'd add the Christmas carol White Christmas to the list. In the ever warming Southern Hemisphere heat box that is Australia, it conjures up images of towns, cities and rural properties covered in ash from the worsening bushfires.

ICON water has a very large current overall water holding. It has also been able to spend $140 million on a 2011 pipeline it has virtually never used. It has not imposed extra restrictions in the current drought.

In order to preserve the safety and well-being of Canberrans, and the planned Canberra environment, ICON needs to have a back-dated moratorium on water charges for households, golf clubs, and the like.

This should cover above average consumption for the period of this unprecedented drought and the associated heightened fire risks.

Scott Morrison's significant political accomplishments to date have included brandishing of a lump of coal in Federal Parliament, an approach to asylum seekers he glorifies with an insulting sculpture of a refugee vessel that sits on his desk and the savaging of Save The Children workers on Nauru.

He has surpassed even these lofty heights with his decision to take an overseas holiday as a disaster loomed in the country, his calamitous return and the dreadful performance of Angus Taylor and Craig Kelly, two lieutenants whose causes he has championed.

How can we believe our nation's finances are being managed prudently when, just six months ago at the opening of the 46th Commonwealth Parliament, the Morrison Government failed to accept, prioritise, and publicise emerging risks of a longer and more catastrophic bushfire season.

The early warnings of experts were ignored.

Scott Morrison invented the "Canberra bubble" to deflect attention from the bubble he had put around himself and his ministers so they could not hear anyone deemed to be climate activists, including 23 former state government leaders of fire and emergency services.

The Emergency Leaders for Climate Action highlighted the increasing bushfires risks last April.

In May, the Bureau of Meteorology correctly predicted a positive Indian Ocean Dipole would develop in June and persist through winter and into spring. This implied deeper rainfall deficiencies and higher than average temperatures in bushfire risk areas, particularly our national parks and favourite summer holiday destinations.

In the past six months, the Prime Minister steered our government ship in the wrong direction.

We don't want to hear excuses that this bushfire catastrophe was unforeseen and that bushfire prevention is a state government responsibility.

We would like to see our Prime Minister share national and international grief over the massive environmental losses. Admitting mistakes, expressing remorse and taking action to combat climate change would be a good place to start.

The sincerity of Coalition criticism of Craig Kelly's ill-informed comments is doubtful.

This is the same lot who have prevented the development of evidence-based climate change and energy policies for over a decade.

The massive cost of the unprecedented bushfire emergency has to be a wake up call leading to the acceptance of the science and the development of policies consistent with limiting temperature rise to under two degrees. If Coalition members, including the Prime Minister, do not become immediate advocates for real action then they should apologise for their ineptitude and resign.

Could the planned homage to Captain James Cook landing at Botany Bay 250 years ago be scrapped and the money spent on the restoration of devastated communities?

Many are suggesting recent catastrophic fires have been caused by "climate change". But is that really the case?

New South Wales police have accused 24 people of deliberately lighting bushfires. Detectives from the Financial Crimes Squad's Arson Unit said action had been taken against 47 people for carelessly discarding lighted cigarettes or matches. A further 53 people face legal action for failing to comply with a total fire ban.

Is it 'climate change' or mischievous and stupid humans?

Email: letters.editor@canberratimes.com.au. Send from the message field, not as an attachment. Fax: 6280 2282. Mail: Letters to the Editor, The Canberra Times, PO Box 7155, Canberra Mail Centre, ACT 2610.

Keep your letter to 250 or fewer words. References to Canberra Times reports should include date and page number. Letters may be edited. Provide phone number and full home address (suburb only published).

To send a letter via the online form, click or touch here.