They come to Childers for the small crops picking and so forth, so there were about 86 backpackers in the hostel at this particular time, probably near capacity I would say. Childers was blanketed in a very thick fog at the time, and that, combined with the smoke made visibility very poor. The residents of the hostel who had been evacuated, I guess, were sitting across the road watching the hostel burn virtually. Community support Childers Mayor Bill Trevor has spoken with some of the survivors and says many have been left with only the clothes they were sleeping in. But the community has come out in force to help with whatever is needed and some people have escaped from the fire with only what they stand up in.
Asthma medications face tests.
The election campaign is coming as Australian retailers brace themselves for massive impacts from last month's terror attack in New York. The Anglican Church in Melbourne has attacked Australia's treatment of asylum seekers, with some members of the clergy calling for a royal commission.