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Editor's note
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Just weeks into spring and already bushfires on the east coast are dominating headlines. As of late Wednesday, up to 30 homes were feared lost in northern NSW. Thousands of hectares of land have been razed.
Such scenes are, unfortunately, an inevitable part of the Australian summer. But a start to the bushfire season as early as October, or even September, is a fairly recent phenomenon.
Today, Bureau of Meteorology researchers explain exactly why this is happening. They painstakingly analysed more than 40 years of weather station data from across Australia and found that, while climate change is part of the answer, there’s a lot more to it.
Meanwhile, as Coalition leaders have embarked on much-publicised drought tours of New South Wales and Queensland in recent weeks, questions have been raised about the federal government’s drought relief efforts and the lack of a national drought policy driving its response.
As Linda Botterill explains, Australia’s initial attempt at a national drought policy was plagued with problems and gutted in 2009. Since then, successive governments have reacted to droughts with ad hoc and knee-jerk responses, highlighting the need for a new comprehensive approach.
Botterill provides several recommendations for developing a new drought policy that is fair, forward-looking and effective. In some regards, this should be an easy fix – drought policy is something all political parties can agree is important.
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Nicole Hasham
Section Editor: Energy + Environment
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Top stories
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Firefighters battle bushfires in Angourie, northern New South Wales, on September 10 this year, marking another early start to the season.
Jason O'Brien/AAP
Chris Lucas, Australian Bureau of Meteorology; Sarah Harris
Bureau of Meteorology researchers painstakingly analysed more than 40 years of data to work out exactly what is causing Australia's spring bushfire phenomenon.
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The Coalition has been promoting its $7 billion drought relief package, but critics say what’s needed is a more effective national drought policy.
Dan Peled/AAP
Linda Botterill, University of Canberra
Australia's initial drought policy was plagued with problems and gutted in 2009. Since then, there has been no further attempt at developing a comprehensive national approach to the problem.
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The most unionised occupation is teaching, the next most unionised is health care.
Shutterstock
Anthony Forsyth, RMIT University
The Ensuring Integrity Bill would restrict the activities of the unions who represent teachers and nurses as well as the construction workers who are its real target.
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It can be difficult to work out whether you should believe a study’s reported findings.
GaudiLab/Shutterstock
Hassan Vally, La Trobe University
Wondering if that latest study finding is too good to be true, or whether it's as bad as we're told? Here are five questions to ask to help you assess the evidence.
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Politics + Society
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Wang-Sheng Lee, Deakin University
This quiz will measure your 'locus of control' – a psychological term referring to the extent you believe you have control over the outcomes of your decisions.
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Health + Medicine
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Rodney Sinclair, University of Melbourne
Hives are incredibly common and most people find antihistamines help relieve this itchy skin rash. But for some, hives persist, so they have to try other treatments.
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Science + Technology
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Lucyna Kedziora-Chudczer, Swinburne University of Technology
Astronomers have found 20 new moons around Saturn, and will keep finding more as technology improves.
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Michael Cowley, Queensland University of Technology
The 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics went to a cosmologist who helped unlock the secrets of the Big Bang's aftermath, and two astronomers who found a "hot Jupiter" orbiting a nearby star.
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Cities
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Wendy Walls, University of Melbourne
Some might scoff at the free-ranging ideas sparked by a competition to design future parks for Melbourne. But the legacy of a radical idea to green a CBD street in 1985 shows why we need such thinking.
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Environment + Energy
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
Opposition resources spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon has had his proposal to bring Labor's climate change target into line with the government's immediately torpedoed by the party's climate spokesman Mark Butler.
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Iain Walker, University of Canberra; Zoe Leviston, Edith Cowan University
It's easy to spot outright rejection of the facts on climate change. But it's far harder to see our own biases and excuses that lead us to delay or deny the need for real action.
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Arts + Culture
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Amelia Walker, University of South Australia
Short story cycles can satisfying a reader's need for deeper engagement and Rebekah Clarkson's Barking Dog is a great example.
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Timothy McKenry, Australian Catholic University
A new film examines the life and tragic death of a concert pianist once hailed as our nation's brightest prodigy - and a former PM's accusations of neglect by cultural leaders.
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Featured jobs
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University of Melbourne — Parkville, Victoria
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CSIRO — Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
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University of Adelaide — Adelaide, South Australia
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Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions — Attwood, Victoria
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Featured events
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Deakin Burwood Corporate Centre, Level 2, Building BC, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Victoria, 3125, Australia — Deakin University
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TBC, Wellington, 5000, New Zealand — Australia New Zealand School of Government
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Curtin Universtiy, Kent St, Bentley WA 6102, Perth, Australia, Western Australia, 6102, Australia — Australia New Zealand School of Government
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Carriageworks, 245 Wilson St , Eveleigh, New South Wales, 2015, Australia — UNSW
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