Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been lambasted for releasing videos on social media advertising his Government's response to the country's current bushfire crisis.

Key points: The Morrison Government announced a raft of military assistance to bushfire affected areas

The Morrison Government announced a raft of military assistance to bushfire affected areas The Prime Minister's office later released a 50-second video, set to electronic music, detailing his decisions

The Prime Minister's office later released a 50-second video, set to electronic music, detailing his decisions The Australian Defence Association, a defence watchdog, says the video breaches the military's impartiality

Earlier on Saturday, Mr Morrison announced a raft of assistance measures in response to Australia's deadly fire crisis, including the deployment of 3,000 Australian Defence Force (ADF) reservists and Royal Australian Air Force and Navy craft for rescue efforts.

The Commonwealth has also set aside a further $20 million to lease four additional firefighting aircraft, while ADF bases in Brisbane and Adelaide will be made available for emergency short-term accommodation.

Since September, 23 people have died in bushfires across the country, with two people on Kangaroo Island becoming the latest victims overnight.

To date, the fires have burned more than 6 million hectares of land — a number greater than Brazil's 2019 Amazon fires and 2018's California wildfires combined.

Around the country, there are also grave fears for various species of vulnerable Indigenous flora and fauna caught in the fire path.

'It's like being 'sold to' at a funeral'

As the bushfires have intensified, the Morrison Government announced the leasing of four firefighting planes. ( Twitter: @ScottMorrisonMP )

Hours after the announcement, Mr Morrison's office released a social media video outlining the arrangements.

The 50-second video, released on Twitter and Facebook, is set to electronic music as text of the additional assistance appears over vision of the disaster relief efforts, Defence craft, and the Prime Minister's visits to affected communities.

"We're calling out up to 3,000 Defence Force Reservists to help in fire-affected areas," the text reads.

"We've also deployed three Australian Navy ships … that's on top of the $26 million already committed this year."

The video also summarised Australia's response to the fire crisis, which noted the use of 140 aerial firefighting aircraft; payments to volunteer firefighters; the availability of P2 face masks; and emergency payments to those who have lost homes or income as a result of the crisis.

After Mr Morrison's video was released, the Liberal Party's Facebook and Twitter accounts released posts also detailing the additional ADF assistance linking through to an article on the party's website.

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The Opposition has not released posts on Facebook or Twitter referencing the ADF assistance.

The video was slammed as "political advertising" on social media, with former ABC broadcaster Barrie Cassidy labelling it "absolutely obscene".

"They are advertising their responses to the fires — promoting themselves — at the height of the crisis," he said.

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Todd Sampson, an advertising expert and panellist on ABC TV's Gruen, said the video was "not right".

"Advertising! There is something not right about running political advertising during a devastating national crisis," he wrote.

"It's like being 'sold to' at a funeral."

Mr Morrison's efforts also made waves overseas, with veteran British broadcaster Piers Morgan labelling the video on Twitter a "self-promotional commercial with cheesy elevator music".

"This is one of the most tone-deaf things I've ever seen a country's leader put out during a crisis. Shameless & shameful."

However, numerous comments under the Prime Minister and Liberal Party's bushfire assistance posts from general users have shown there is significant support for the Morrison Government's response.

Video a 'clear breach' of non-partisanship, says watchdog

The Australian Defence Association criticised Mr Morrison for politicising the imagery of the ADF. ( Twitter: @ScottMorrisonMP )

The Australian Defence Association (ADA) — a public-interest watchdog of Australian Defence matters — said on Twitter the video "milking ADF support to civil agencies fighting bushfires" was a "clear breach of the (reciprocal) non-partisanship convention applying to both the ADF & Ministers/MPs".

The ADA website notes that "politically expedient Government announcements" featuring the ADF "is always wrong".

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Presently, keeping the ADF free from political partisanship remains a convention that both politicians and Defence personnel are obliged to adhere to.

The ADA website lists numerous examples of breaches of this convention, including the "hijacking of ADF activities in the wider community" and "ADF personnel being used improperly as background props during party-political announcements and events".

Mr Morrison's predecessor, Malcolm Turnbull, was similarly criticised for politicising the ADF following a national security announcement featuring special operations soldiers in 2017.

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ADA head Neil James told Guardian Australia that the ad's purpose was "clearly [for] party political advantage".

"It's simple. You don't use the Defence Force for party political advantage," he said.

The association has urged the Commonwealth to enshrine this convention in law, and has alleged that the convention was breached in both the 2016 and 2019 federal elections.

When contacted by the ABC about the criticism, the Prime Minster's office referred to Mr Morrison's responses on Twitter.

"It is a legal requirement in Australia to include an authorisation on all video messages used on social media by Australian MPs," Mr Morrison wrote.

"The video message simply communicates the Government's policy decisions and the actions the Government is undertaking to the public.

"The same practice is rightly employed by the Leader of the Opposition and the Labor Party. This is required and standard practice in Australia."