General Chat

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/dec/19/2020-to-be-one-of-hottest-years-on-record-met-office-says

Just seen the news again about the awfull. fires in OZ totally heart breaking all the Animals people are amazimg helping to look after the rescied ones it will take years to get over the fires .How can anybody even think to burn & destroy so much . some rain about now still Thinking of all involved <3

:-D :-D ;-)

Barbara, camels are a major problem in Australia, which has more of the beasts than Saudi Arabia

https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-22522695

At one stage there was a proposal to export wild camels to the Middle East, a bit like sending coals to Newcastle :-D :-D

Camels being culled they are roaming streets looking for water & Ferral. Horses .starts Today sad stories every day.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jan/08/australia-climate-disaster-denial-bushfires-online-rightwing-press-politicians

Finally found the link that I was looking for about accidental and non-accidental causes of bush fires

https://www.news.com.au/national/crime/shocking-number-of-arson-charges-in-bushfireravaged-regions-indicate-sinister-start-of-blazes/news-story/be73567276fcbb39b8e7f58bf79268cb

Ah! The good old meat substitution racket. :-D

It also happened in the UK over thirty years ago.

Regarding fire bugs there have been some prosecutions in NSW.

A major problem is with motorists throwing still glowing 'dog ends' from car windows.

I am not surprised by this Allan.

The reason I mentioned arson in my 2 January post is we saw this happen on more than one occasion when we lived in Oz and I half expected it in at least one case.

Such a dreadful state of affairs and there is little likelihood of these arsonists being caught if they acted alone.

It makes one wonder about the states of mind of some people.


There is nothing wrong with kangaroo meat of course. Some years ago there was a court case involving the sale of kangaroo meat passed of as beef by an Oz company to Americans. It happened over a considerable considerable period (years not weeks). Prison terms were passed down but it beggars belief that it had gone on so long.

I have looked at your links Allan it's just Awfull idiots starting fires the China water story was on news item ? When we looked after Holiday let a.few years ago a couple from OZ talked about the Blue Mountains. One woman came from Sydney I have a little Koala bear nothing significant really but you wonder if their okay Sad times for many people .They will rebuild Keep safe Barbara

Regarding exporting water to China, I don't know where that came from, but I doubt it very much...everything else, yes.

Animals are being culled for humane reasons, although the kangaroo population has long been increasing beyond sustainable numbers. In fact there is a move to encourage Australians to eat more kangaroo meat.

And, yes, under normal conditions they do compete with other livestock for both water and food.

Skippy is fine on TV but not in the paddock :-0

Nothing could be done Babra, when this happens

https://7news.com.au/news/bushfires/queensland-bushfires-deliberately-lit-sparking-criminal-investigations-c-552729

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/police-suspicious-that-nsw-bushfire-was-deliberately-lit-in-a-bastard-act

What could have reduced the risk would have been to have controlled burns where the fuel load is reduced under controlled conditions. However the greenies were dead set against this type of action because of 'smoke pollution.

Well they have all the pollution they wished to avoid by the truckload :-|

On the news today Culling Kangaroos as they are drinking to much water can you believe it OZ lets China have water to bottle it it just beggers belief all the animals dying .people .have lost their lives property gone but hey we still want.to make $ for our Country we don't need water??????

It's alright us talking but the devastation is far reaching why didn't they do anything in September before it got hold properly .. .could have more been done ? on the news today animals .& people dying suffering it's totally heart breaking one time we wouldn't have known stories from far afield bit it's such a small world now .people can travel long distances. News covers so much now I just feel so sorry for all involved it's horrendous God love them Barbara

I think Notre Dame and Australia are only similar in that they involve fire.

Notre Dame was a one off building fire that could be rectified by having money thrown at it whereas the Australian fires are on-going. The world watches in horrified disbelief, not knowing how to help.

Only about 10% of the pledged funds for Notra Dame have actually been released. Most of these pledges are from within France. The president, Macron, is trying to get as much done as possible before he stands for election again - regardless of quality. There are two chief architects at war with each other, one modernist supported by Macron and the other ultra trad. In any case the 5th Republic can easily afford to restore N.D. without foreign funding.

That is also true of Australia. It is a wealthy country and has no need of outside financial aid re the bush fires. It does have a massive deficit in fire fighting capability thanks to the inane policies of the Oz Liberal Party.

"Former New South Wales fire chief Greg Mullins and 22 other former emergency services chiefs wrote to Morrison outlining the potential crisis and asking for more specialised equipment to deal with hotter and longer bushfire periods.

They were ignored. Emergency services have been asking for resources since 2016, when the National Aerial Firefighting Centre asked for a “national large air-tanker fleet” to support firefighting operations but were rebuffed.

The consistent refusal to stump up the cash or even engage with a chorus of experts warning about a crisis has defined the conservative government’s policy since it took power under Tony Abbott in 2013.

Now, as the country faces one of the worst natural disasters in its history, a short-term, transactional austerity politics has collided with the long arc of climate change in a way that is clearly visible on the ground.

Firefighters in some areas have been forced to crowdfund for basic equipment while until recently the federal government remained steadfast in its refusal to back-pay volunteers for their time, even as the prime minister praised their “spirit”. It took sustained public pressure to drag the government to compensate volunteers, with Morrison announcing last Saturday that they would receive up to $6,000.

The denial of reality was seemingly reinforced on New Year’s Day, when Morrison held a reception for a professional cricket team at Kirribilli House, the official residence.In a throwback to an earlier scandal when Morrison was photographed on holiday in Hawaii as the first homes were lost in New South Wales,

As the country burned, the prime minister was pictured playing backyard cricket.“Whether they’re started by lightning storms or whatever the cause may be, our firefighters and all of those have come behind them to support them, whether they’re volunteering on the front line or behind the scenes in a great volunteer effort, it is something that will happen against the backdrop of this test match,” Morrison said.

These words might have been of little comfort to locals huddled together on a beach in Mallacoota against the approaching inferno on Tuesday morning and who were, on Saturday afternoon, again bracing for “another round”."
"

In response to Dermot's post. this from the Sydney Morning Herald

https://www.smh.com.au/national/here-s-how-you-can-help-australia-s-bushfire-victims-20200104-p53ot2.html

and

https://www.cnet.com/how-to/australian-bushfires-everything-we-know-and-how-you-can-help/

When the NOTRE DAME burned in April last year, over $650 million was pledged in 24 hours for the reconstruction of a church building.

An area the size of BELGIUM is currently on fire in South East Australia, scores of people have lost their lives, hundreds have lost their homes and property, fire-fighters are collapsing through exhaustion, and it is reported almost 500 MILLION animals have perished.

Where is the global outcry? Where is the support for Australia? Where are the funds for our eco-systems? The human race needs to sort out their priorities!

(Copied from RTE's website.)

The intense heat has killed off just about everything down to a metre or more plus nearly all the small animals and insects. Natural regeneration may just not happen being replaced by desertification. Hopefully those with the relevant skills will be able to jump start the process.
A return to business as usual is difficult to envisage.
How is the surviving stock and wildlife going to eat and drink? There are already crowds of desperate roos.
God knows what the next few months will bring.
Cry the beloved country.

What may exacerbate the situation is that Australia has now moved to private certification for building control whilst planning control still remains with local councils.

Private certifiers only have to certify that a plan complies with the Building Code of Australia, so can issue permits even if the proposed building does not comply with planning controls