Mr Joyce visited evacuees at Guyra before heading over to the Sport and Rec Club in Tingha, near where the fire was still burning.

“I talked to people who’ve lost things and made it clear that we are all in this together and a person who loses one house is just as relevant to someone who has lost multiple,” he said.

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He also spoke with Glen and Diane Cross, owners of the car wreckers business on the outskirts of Tingha. 

The business they spent 24 years building was destroyed in under half an hour as the fire ripped through their property last week.

“We spoke to Glen and Di and basically I want to make sure we are doing as much as we can to help down in Canberra, working closely with state and local governments to provide assistance.”

Mr Joyce wanted to keep the profile of the fire up as it was declared a natural disaster, and said he would relay the details of his trip once back in Canberra.

“We saw areas where cars were melted, the aluminium melted off which means the fire was over 600 degrees; that’s pretty severe. What surprised me was the intensity of where it hit.

“I think residents were just shell-shocked, they hadn’t processed what had happened,” he said.

Assistance is being provided through the jointly funded Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).

Assistance measures available include:

For information, to to seek assistance, contact the Disaster Welfare Assistance Line on ‪1800 018 444‬.