Relief supplies packed for NSW fire victims

Soldiers joined police to pack relief supplies for bushfire-afflicted people in New South Wales on Monday.

After loading trucks with the supplies at an Emergency Operations Centre, they delivered the packages to the Milton Showground for further dispersal in bushfire-affected towns on the state's South Coast.

Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced Saturday that he would dispatch 3,000 army, navy and air force reservists to help battle the fires.

He also committed 20 million Australian dollars ($14 million) to lease fire-fighting aircraft from overseas, announced a new firefighting agency, and pledged $2 billion Australian dollars ($1.4 billion) to help communities bounce back from bushfire devastation.

But the moves did little to tamp down the criticism that he had been slow to act, even as he has downplayed the need for his government to address climate change, which experts say played a key role in supercharging the blazes.

His handling of the deployment of reservists also came in for criticism Sunday. Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons, who is leading the fight in New South Wales, said he learned of the deployment through media reports.