Firefighters battling raging bushfires in southern NSW have delivered a blunt message to Prime Minister Scott Morrison, telling him to “stand down now”.

Crews near Nelligen, west of Batemans Bay in the far south of the State, were left exhausted late yesterday as a monster blaze grew more intense as wild winds whipped up the flames.

Paul Parker, 57, could not contain his anger as he approached a 7 News cameraman: “Tell the Prime Minister to go and get f***ed from Nelligen.”

He was later seen collapsed by the roadside, saying he had already seen seven houses lost “and I’m not going to lose any more”.

Mr Parker later said was “absolutely appalled” by the Government in Canberra and “particularly Scott Morrison”.

He slammed Morrison’s assertion that thousands of exhausted volunteer firefighters wanted to be there, in language showing how raw emotions have become.

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“You’re a d*** mate — if you were ever in the field to see what we go through, you’ve got no idea, man. Government’s got no idea.”

He said firefighters were “putting their lives at risk” to tackle the blazes. At least three firefighters have died in the field since the crisis began in September.

“That’s how much we enjoy it mate — putting our lives at risk. 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 p***ks in government.”

Another firefighter in Nelligen said Mr Morrison must “stand down now”.

The Prime Minister brushed off that and other criticism.

Camera Icon The same firefighter was later seen left exhausted on the side of the road. Credit: 7 News

“There has been plenty of criticism, I’ve had the benefit of a lot of analysis on a lot of issues. But I can’t be distracted by that. The public, I know are not distracted by that,” he claimed.

“There has been a lot of blame being thrown around. Now is a time to focus on the response that is being made.

“Plenty of people have blamed me, people have blamed the Greens, people have blamed… who knows?… it doesn’t help anybody at this time.”

Mr Morrison, who had been on a family holiday in Hawaii as the bushfire threat grew, has been accused of “neglecting his duties as the leader and Prime Minister of the country to protect the public”.

The PM has sought to repair strains in his relationships with State authorities after a crucial bushfire announcement caught emergency bosses by surprise.

Camera Icon Ash falls over Mallacoota’s lake in Victoria as the fires turn night to day. Credit: David Caird

NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons welcomed news from Mr Morrison that up to 3000 Army reservists would be deployed for bushfire recovery, but said he only found out through media reports.

“I was disappointed and I was frustrated on one of our busiest days,” Mr Fitzsimmons said on Sunday of Saturday’s announcement.

“They apologised that in hindsight they could have done better with communicating that.”

Victoria’s Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp also confirmed he had received no official notification before the announcement.

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Mr Morrison hosed down the issue during a press conference on Sunday morning, complimenting State authorities and conceding there had been a communication breakdown.

“The decisions we took and enacted were a statement about the scale of the crisis — it is in no way a statement on the performance of the state and territory agencies,” he said.

“There was a breakdown of communications at the defence liaison level with the headquarters yesterday. We’ve addressed any issues that have arisen from that.”

Mr Morrison shrugged off questions about his leadership.

“There has been plenty of criticism but I can’t be distracted by that,” he said.

“The public, I know, are not distracted by that.”

Camera Icon The last of the remaining evacuees are airlifted out of Mallacoota Airport by Army chinook helicopters bound for Sale. Credit: David Caird

He also defended a much-criticised video posted on the Liberal Party’s twitter account detailing the Government’s bushfire response after it was labelled “shameless” and a breach of political advertising rules.

British broadcaster Piers Morgan said the video was 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,” he posted on twitter.

Former prime minister Kevin Rudd was also outraged.

“On a day we have catastrophic fire conditions, in the midst of a genuine national crisis, Morrison, the marketing guy, does what? He releases a Liberal Party ad! He is no longer fit to hold the high office of prime minister,” Mr Rudd tweeted.

Mr Morrison took to Twitter to defend the video late on Saturday, saying it was a legal requirement in Australia to include an authorisation on all video messages used by MPs on social media.