NSW RFS firefighter Paul Parker unintentionally became the face of a nation furious over government inaction when he delivered a succinct message to Prime Minister Scott Morrison earlier this month.
If you haven’t seen the footage, the heroic firie was fighting the catastrophic bushfires in Nelligen when he came across a Channel 7 camera crew. He used the crew as an opportunity to do what we wish we all could and tell ScoMo to “go and get fucked.” The footage then saw Parker collapse on the floor from exhaustion.
“That’s how much we enjoy it mate, putting our lives at risk.” he can be heard saying, slamming Scott Morrison’s comments that volunteer firefighters. “I do it for my local community, I do it for the township of Nelligen, and the people of Australia.
“That’s what I do it for. I don’t do it for you Scott Morrison, I don’t do it for any of you pricks in government.”
Now, his legacy has been immortalised in a mural that recently popped up in Melbourne city. The mural was painted by Artist Van Nishing — who happens to be Kevin Rudd’s nephew.
“The firefighter that said what so many of us are thinking,” the artist wrote in an Instagram post.
This is the second mural Van Nishing has executed in light of the bushfire crisis. On New Years Eve, the artist unveiled a piece that took aim at Scott Morrison’s climate inaction and the government’s decision to go ahead with the scheduled firework display. Read what he had to say below.
