Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison doubled down on his governments climate policy Monday amid a record-breaking heat wave and a devastating weekend of wildfires.

Hundreds of fires burned across four states, with the worst conditions in New South Wales, where approximately 100 homes have been destroyed since Thursday. More than 800 total homes have been lost since the fire season commenced in October.

The disaster has prompted criticism of Morrisons leadership and inaction on climate change; many also took issue with his decision to vacation in Hawaii during such a difficult time. Following the death of two firefighters on Thursday, Morrison yielded to complaints and returned to Sydney over the weekend.

As Morrison sought to stem the political fallout from his holiday, he defended his stance on climate in a series of media interviews Monday.

When I say were sticking with our policies, our policies actually address the need to continue to address this challenge, he told Seven News , adding that people want to create conflict where theres none.