Fired weatherman signs off final on-air appearance with brutal comments
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: 7News
Ever thought what you would do as final act to a job you're about to get fired from? Well, it seems like Channel 7 presenter Paul Burt had something in mind for his final broadcast.
The weather presenter, who had been on the Australian channel for the best part of a decade, was recently let go by the network amid ongoing cost-cutting measures.
On Saturday (July 27), Burt presented the Queensland weather for the final time and he certainly went out with a bang.
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Speaking on the 6pm news bulletin over the weekend, Burt began by saying: "Hello everybody yes, it is my last weather for the network tonight.
"Let’s get straight into it everyone because it’s the most important thing is your Sunday and not me."
The 51-year-old then delivered the weather forecast as normal before programme anchor, Samantha Heathwood, paid tribute to his long-running contribution at Channel 7.
She said: "Bertie, we can’t let you go tonight without thanking you for your passionate weather reporting over the past decade and a bit.
"I’ve loved your energy and our laughs and on behalf of our entire news team and I’m sure all of the viewers I’d like to wish you all the best for your next chapter."
The weather presenter then thanked viewers for placing their ‘trust, loyalty and support’ in him over the years in a career that has spanned nearly three decades.
However, Burt did not stop there as he then added: "If I’d had the opportunity I wouldn’t have wanted to go this way. It’s what happens when you get sacked."
Ouch.
The programme then cut to a montage of Burt's time at Channel 7, having presented various segments since 2013 - including the time he'd rescued a boy from drowning.
Burt recently told The Australian how he'd had been given just '55 seconds to say my goodbyes' after being informed last month that his contract would not be getting renewed.
He also told the Sunday Mail that he'd been away for a weekend in Melbourne before being called into the office upon his return on Monday.
Burt said: " I felt instantly ill… I don’t have many weekends off so it put a dampener on everything. By the time I went into the studio when I got back to the coast, some of my colleagues there had already been let go earlier that morning, so I knew what was coming
"There was no leniency, there was no discussion, there was no “Is there a way we can keep going?"
Adding that he still loved the network, Burt continued: "There was certainly some shock there initially, and embarrassment to have it in the news, but over the last few weeks I’ve taken a lot of heart from all the people who have come up to wish me well and say how much they enjoyed what I did, whether it was people down at the local boat ramp or Costco or wherever."
Channel 7 has announced 70 redundancies so far, according to Sky News Australia, with MEAA Acting Director Michelle Rae adding that they are 'attempting to negotiate a new enterprise agreement'.