Fuel reduction burning remains something of a contentious issue in Victoria, but that hasn’t deterred the state’s Department of Sustainability and Environment, writes Lionel Elmore.
Bushfires
Nillumbik Council grapples with the afternath of fire
At a council meeting in semi-rural Victoria last week, the clearing of native vegetation struggled to make the agenda.
Bushfire memorial service had hollow ring
A national day of mourning works at multiple levels, writes Dr Melinda Hinkson.
How will the fires affect Victoria’s water supply?
Will the impact of fires on the water supply catchments and this policy, especially its origins, be considered by the Royal Commission? asks Lionel Elmore.
In support of controlled burns at Wilson’s Prom
The question is not if there will be another fire at the Prom, but when, writes Don Jewell.
That’s not a debate, that’s Australian politics and commentary
Politicians, journalists, commentators — they’re all pushing a narrative, and they’re pushing them like drug dealers because they’re selling to addicts, writes Bernard Keane.
Privatised power won’t pay for its part in the fires
Who will be punished if the pending law suits find private power companies liable for Victoria’s bushfires? You will, writes Jeff Sparrow.
Fires spark a new front in the culture wars
The fierce debate over the role of fuel-reduction burning in preventing bushfires has exposed a deep divide in Australia over attitudes to the natural environment, writes Clive Hamilton.
Don’t blame the greenies, blame the lack of bunkers
The flames of culture wars are burning fiercely over Black Saturday, writes Ben Sandilands.
Backburning damages water, tourism and health
There are many wide ranging impacts of bushfires and ‘management’ fires than have not been considered to date, writes Lionel Elmore.
Wankley Awards: And the Wankley Award goes to…fire reporting
With a sensitive issue comes the need for great sensitivity and accuracy. And so it was with the bushfires, writes Jane Nethercote.
Apocalypse Now lesson for bushfire survival
Lives could have been saved in last Saturday’s fire storms if simple guidance had been broadcast over areas where people had no information, writes Ben Sandlilands.
Tabloid fire coverage slips into grief p-rn
There are two words which immediately spring to mind over the media’s coverage of the Victorian bushfires – mawkish and disproportionate, writes Greg Barns.
How fire refuges became a thing of the past
Once considered a practical, even obvious approach to bushfire safety, the provision of designated Fire Refuges in at-risk communities has fallen out of favour, writes Chris Paver.
The Australian’s fuel reduction obsession
With the embers still burning, The Australian’s obsessive, one-sided attempt to paint the fires as basically down to evil greenies continues apace, writes Guy Rundle.
Gawenda: journalists move on, disaster remains
Media not only covers an event like the Victorian fires, but in a sense, creates and defines it as well, writes Michael Gawenda.
Parks Victoria uses the fire crisis to light up the Prom again
Why is it that Parks Victoria and DSE get away with taking every opportunity to light fires in National Parks and stir local sentiment for more and more fires? asks Lionel Elmore.
A fire leader loses its way
For those of us who have regarded Australia as a world leader for the calibre of its fire sciences and bushfire brigades, the handling of the recent fires is dismaying, writes Stephen J Pyne in The Australian.
Finding a name for that bastard wind
We need a better name for this bastard wind. The hot north-westerly is not adequate for this killer, writes Jim McNamara.
Forget your fire plan: go while you can
People are still dying because they are being told they can defend their houses, writes Lionel Elmore.
Victoria’s bushfires: a Crikey media wrap
As Victoria’s bushfires continue and the remains of destroyed towns are revealed, local media coverage remains in overdrive, while the world watches.
Tips from a bushfire survivor
Canberra firestorm survivor Liz Tilley writes, I just can’t bear to see those victims in Victoria not benefit from what we learned in Canberra. So, for what it’s worth, here are my tips for a “great” relief.
