It’s bad enough that, as Australia’s bushfire crisis rolls on, we have to put up with green vultures swooping to exploit the tragedy for both political and monetary gain. But, the most truly disgusting human jackals are arsonists and looters.
Police arrested 183 people for lighting bushfires across Queensland, NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania in the past few months. NSW police data shows 183 people have been charged or cautioned for bushfire-related offences since November 8, and 24 arrested for deliberately starting bushfires.
Queensland police say 101 people have been picked up for setting fires in the bush, 32 adults and 69 juveniles.
In Tasmania, where fires have sprung up in the north of the state and outside Hobart, five were caught setting fire to vegetation. Victoria reported 43 charged for 2019.
theaustralian.com.au/nation/bushfires-firebugs-fuelling-crisis-asarson-arresttollhits183/
But, it gets worse. After these vermin have started the fires, the looters move in.
Looters have targeted south coast residents forced out of their homes by the bushfire crisis to steal prescription medications, expensive jewellery and digital devices.
In Batemans Bay, thieves raided 49-year-old Karl Watson’s property on Friday while he was helping an elderly neighbour prepare their home with water pumps before the weekend’s deadly bushfires. The thieves stole his prescription pain medications, a gold necklace, a digital camera and a mobile phone.
“The thing that hurt the most was the gold necklace that I lost because it belonged to a friend of mine who died 20 years ago and his parents gave that to me. It’s probably worth more than $5000 and it’s something I never wore because I never wanted to lose it,” he said on Monday […]
Single mother Bec Winter, 42, and her 10-year-old son, Riley, fled their property at Rosedale, 18km south of Batemans Bay, on horseback on New Year’s Eve when conditions worsened. Their property was burnt out, but the house survived […]After staying at the Waterfront Hotel in Moruya, they returned to find the property looted on Sunday. On Monday morning, she visited the property with a forensic police officer to take fingerprints to find thieves had robbed the property for a second time.
“Upon arriving, I saw the door was open and thought, ‘not again’. There were things scattered all over the place. They had even gone as far as emptying my clothes drawer all over the floor.”
“They have even taken a brand new shovel which I bought my son for Christmas because he wanted to earn money by picking up horse poo and bagging it to put on the side of the road.”
On Sunday, Ms Winter had first returned to their property to find the bike she had given her son for Christmas had been stolen.
“When I first came back to the house, I absolutely lost it. Riley rushed in because he had put his bike over near the fireplace because it’s the last place to burn. He came out crying and that’s when I lost it. It’s gut-wrenching.”
But if arsonists and looters represent the lowest scum of society, there are also still good people out there.
On Monday, Ms Winter received an anonymous call from a man saying he had bought her son a new bicycle, which was waiting at a local bicycle shop.
“He said, ‘I have paid for a bike and your son just needs to go and pick one out’,” she said.
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