When polling resumes after the summer, Scott Morrison may be surprised by the public’s assessment of his government’s handling of the bushfires.
Mick Tsikas/AAP
There is an obvious point upon which the LNP, Labor and Greens might agree to move policy forward: the national ‘cap and trade’ emissions trading system proposed by John Howard in 2007.
Throughout history, Australian bushfires have spread smoke over our cities. But this time it’s different.
David Mariuz/AAP
This is not the first time Australia’s major cities have been shrouded in bushfire smoke. But this time, the culprits must held to account.
A targeted, coordinated online campaign has tried to mislead the public. While the myths have been debunked, the culpable parties remain unknown.
SEAN DAVEY/AAP
We found about 300 suspicious Twitter accounts, which we suspect included a high proportion of bots and trolls pushing the #ArsonEmergency narrative.
Regrowth one month after fires at Colo Heights, NSW. A legacy of displacement and racism inflames bushfire trauma for Aboriginal Australians.
Vanessa Cavanagh
As Australia picks up the pieces after the fires, we must understand the unique grief Aboriginal people experience from a loss of country.
NASA’s Worldview software gives you a satellite view of Earth right now, and can help track the spread of fires.
Nasa Worldview
By understanding how bushfire maps are created, and what their features represent, you can get better at spotting fake ones.
Comedian Celeste Barber’s fundraising efforts have gained monumental support. But we need to think of long-term engagement in climate action too.
Facebook
Celeste Barber’s $45 million fundraiser is amazing, but battling Australia’s fires should be an ongoing effort. With the help of social media, it can be.
A rural fire service crew attempts to protect a property in New South Wales in December 2019.
Dean Lewins/AAP Images via AP
Wildfire smoke can damage animals’ respiratory tract and lead to breathing problems and even death.
The burnt out remains of a house in the Southern Highlands town of Wingello. There are three main factors to consider when thinking about the impact of bushfires on your personal treasures – smoke, heat, and water.
Mick Tsikas/AAP
Items can be recovered after a fire – here is how to look after them.
A volunteer sorts through donated clothing as part of a bushfire appeal. Generally, it’s best to give money - unless the organisation to which you are donating has requested specific goods.
AAP/DEAN LEWINS
It’s worth thinking carefully about how to give, to ensure you’re not wasting your contribution or inadvertently making things worse.
Use the slider tool in the images below to see before and after NASA satellite images of Australia’s fire and drought effects.
NASA
We pulled four before-and-after NASA satellite images and asked bushfire researcher Grant Williamson to reflect on the story they tell.
Locally managed hazard reduction could give communities greater ownership over prevention and leverage local knowledge.
David Bowman
Local, self organised, community groups can be supported to do strategic hazard reduction through a range of techniques – including targeted grazing, and prescribed or fuel reduction burning.
Koalas have long featured in tourism ads, including this new one from Tourism Australia. Amid our bushfire crisis, this digital ad has been ‘paused’.
Tourism Australia
Koalas take a starring role in Australian tourism advertising – but what happens when our primary image of this animal is one of pain and destruction?
Scott Morrison’s response to the bushfires has been roundly criticised as being too slow and out of touch.
James Ross/AAP
As the bushfire crisis worsens, the prime minister’s fallback positions on climate change and lack of urgency on a federal disaster plan are no longer tenable – the public is demanding more.
Australia needs a nationally mobile, fully-funded emergency management workforce.
AAP Image/Dean Lewins
As this horrific summer of disaster continues to unfold in coming weeks, we need to overhaul our emergency management plan.
Fire can kill animals and destroy their habitats, leading to extinction.
Lukas Koch / AAP
The asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs sparked global firestorms. On land, only creatures that could evade fire survived
Residents of Grantham pay their respects during the dawn memorial service after the 2011 Queensland flash floods. Research into natural disaster recovery suggests there is a long road ahead for survivors of the current bushfire crisis.
AAP/PATRICK HAMILTON
Research on other natural disasters tells us there’s a long road ahead for survivors of the current bushfire crisis – but there are some key lessons.
When the immediate threat of this bushfire crisis passes, many questions will remain.
Dean Lewins/AAP
We escaped through blackened landscapes where sheep wandered paddocks with the wool burnt off their backs. My three-year-old son, sensing the mood, asked why his dad and I were so quiet.
An evacuation centre at the Hanging Rock Sports Club Function Centre at Batemans Bay, Friday, January 3, 2020. Maybe it’s time to rearrange Australian calendar and reschedule the peak holiday period to March or April, instead of December and January.
AAP Image/DEAN LEWINS
Sending holidaymakers directly into forests and national parks right in the middle of peak bushfire season is madness.
A firefighting helicopter tackles a bushfire near Bairnsdale in Victoria’s East Gippsland region, Australia.
State Government of Victoria
Here’s how Australians and their overseas family and friends can monitor the movement of fire fronts in real time.