The 2019–2020 Australian bushfires: a potent mix of climate change, problematisation, indigenous disregard, a fractured federation, volunteerism, social media, and more

Lynne Chester

Review of Evolutionary Political Economy, 2020, vol. 1, issue 2, 245-264

Abstract: Abstract The intensity and duration of the 2019–2020 Australian bushfires were unprecedented, as were the global impacts. The area burnt was greater than the size of South Korea or Scotland and Wales combined. These bushfires took 7 months to contain or extinguish. The smoke plume, which spread around the world, was the equivalent size of the 11 largest states of the US. Carbon dioxide emissions approached Australia’s annual total emissions. Over 90% of the adult population was impacted in some way. Thirty-three people died, and nearly 450 people died from smoke affects. More than a billion animals perished. This article contends that the story of these bushfires is much more complex than one of climate change, as posited by some. It is argued that the scale and catastrophic impact of these bushfires were caused—and exacerbated—by a conjunction of cumulative events, (in)actions, and institutions. This story is a potent mix of the problematisation of bushfires and governing, a federation of nation and local states fractured by constitutional responsibilities, the impact of neoliberal austerity policies on land management, discordant local-state policies, a long-term disregard of indigenous fire practices, the role of community (volunteerism), the transmission of (mis)information by social and traditional media, record temperatures, national rainfall the lowest for over a century, at least a third of the continent experiencing a severe 3-year drought, and more.

Keywords: Australia; Climate change; Fire preparedness; Governing; Indigenous fire practices; Problem representation; Social media; E02; H11; H12; Q54 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1007/s43253-020-00019-y

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