Prime Minister Scott Morrison has apologised for holidaying in Hawaii while much of Australia burned but also stressed now is not the time for point-scoring but rather "a time to be kind to each other".
The country has been fighting wildfires since September, with blazes destroying more than 700 homes and 1.2 million hectares of bushland. At least nine people have died, including two firefighters.
The Liberal leader returned to Sydney on Saturday night and on Sunday morning confirmed he had been in Hawaii with his family on a trip that was planned six weeks ago.
"If we had our time over again and with the benefit of hindsight we would have made different decisions," Morrison told reporters in Sydney.
"(But) I am sure Australians are fair-minded and understand that when you make a promise to your children you try and keep it."
Morrison said to the people he'd upset by being away during the latest bushfire emergency: "I apologise for that."
He acknowledged his holiday had caused anxiety.
"I get it that people would have been upset to know that I was holidaying with my family while their families were under great stress."
He extended sympathy to the families of NSW Rural Fire Service volunteers Geoffrey Keaton and Andrew O'Dwyer who were killed on Thursday night fighting fires.
It was their deaths that prompted Mr Morrison on Friday morning to say he planned to rush home.
"I deeply regret any offence caused to any of the many Australians affected by the terrible bushfires by my taking leave with family at this time," Mr Morrison said in a statement then.
"I have been receiving regular updates on the bushfires disaster as well as the status of the search for and treatment of the victims of the White Island (volcano eruption) tragedy."
Morrison's wife and daughters will remain in Hawaii. He was originally scheduled to return to prime ministerial duties on Monday.
CLIMATE POLICIES DEFENDED
The Prime Minister on Sunday also addressed his conservative Liberal-National coalition's climate policies, which his government has been forced to defend following the severity of this year's bushfires.
Morrison said there was no argument that there is a link between climate change and weather events around the world.
"But I’m sure people would equally acknowledge the direct connection to any single fire event is not a credible suggestion to make that link," he old journalists.
Earlier this month, Australia drew criticism at a United Nations climate summit in Madrid for its climate-change policy of using old carbon credits to count towards future emissions targets.
Australia is one of the world’s largest carbon emitters per capita because of its reliance on coal-fired power plants. It has pledged to cut carbon emissions by 26% from 2005 levels by 2030, but critics accuse Morrison of paying lip service to that commitment.
Mr Morrison recommitted to those policies, which he took to a general election in May, on Sunday.
The intensity of fires eased overnight in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia states, where fires had been burning out of control on Friday and Saturday as a combination of extreme heat and strong winds created "catastrophic" conditions in some areas.
"We have still got an enormous amount of fire burning in the landscape," NSW RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said on Sunday, adding that the spreading fires in the Blue Mountains area around 100km west of Sydney would be a significant focus for crews.
More than 105 fires were still burning across NSW on Sunday, with 59 considered uncontained and one burning at an emergency level.
Dozens of properties were reported damaged or destroyed. A man who had been unaccounted for early Sunday after staying on Saturday to protect his property was later found safe.
"Today is thankfully expected to be much cooler for large sections of NSW, which will be a welcome reprieve. However, many communities away from the coast will still experience significant heat," the Bureau of Meteorology said in a tweet.
Conditions were expected to remain favourable over coming days and firefighters will work to contain some of the firefronts near communities, particularly in the Blue Mountains region to the west of Sydney.
