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By Isabelle Truman

The Firefighter Who Went Viral For Swearing At Scott Morrison Hasn’t Paid For A Beer Since

People from all across the country have been adding to his tab at a local pub since the viral video in January

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – DECEMBER 21: Firemen prepare as a bushfire approaches homes on the outskirts of the town of Bargo on December 21, 2019 in Sydney, Australia. A catastrophic fire danger warning has been issued for the greater Sydney region, the Illawarra and southern ranges as hot, windy conditions continue to hamper firefighting efforts across NSW. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian declared a state of emergency on Thursday, the second state of emergency declared in NSW since the start of the bushfire season. (Photo by David Gray/Getty Images)

In January, NSW RFS firefighter Paul Parker, who was on the frontline fighting during the worst of the bushfire crisis, went viral after he stopped his truck beside a news crew to send a direct message to Scott Morrison: “Tell the Prime Minister to go and get fucked.”

At the time, his anger resonated with thousands across the country who were – and still are – reeling that the PM took off to Hawaii amid the crisis and refused to give adequate funding to those working around the clock to battle the blaze.

In true Aussie fashion, since then, people have been ensuring Parker knows he’s appreciated by sending money his way so that he doesn’t have to pay for any of his own beers at his local pub in Nelligen near the NSW South Coast.

In an interview with The Age, Joel Alvey from the Steampacket Hotel revealed that not only have locals and passersby been dropping in to add money to Parker’s tab, but there’s also been crowdfunding campaigns and people phoning the establishment from all across the country to transfer money.

“Pretty much every day someone comes in and puts their money down, telling us to buy a few beers for that bloke who got stuck into the Prime Minister,” Alvey told the publication. “We’ve had people ringing up from all around Australia, wanting to transfer money so Paul doesn’t need to pay for his own beers. A lady from Brisbane raised $150 through a GoFundMe campaign. A bloke from Adelaide rang just today and is sending $20. I suppose about $500 has turned up, and it keeps coming.”

Parker has been sharing generosity around, using the tab to shout friends and other firefighters each time he’s visited since the clip went viral. He also noted that the government should be doing more to help businesses in the region, such as the pub which Alvey estimates has lost somewhere in the vicinity of $250,000 in revenue due to evacuations.

The pub is “not able to get government assistance because the building wasn’t actually impacted by fire. They lost all their trade, but they weren’t impacted? It’s ridiculous,” Parker said. “The Prime Minister should come and talk to us. But of course, we haven’t heard from him.”

In the original video, Parker pulled his firetruck to a complete stop after spotting a 7 News camera crew. “Are you from the media?” he asked, before quickly adding, “Tell the Prime Minister to go and get fucked from Nelligen. We really enjoy doing this shit, fuckhead.”

An icon.

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