The embers from Australia’s horror bushfire season were still glowing when a new catastrophe, COVID-19, flooded the public consciousness. Now the pandemic has somewhat eased, we can take a collective breath and look back at how we handled the summer hellfires.

The federal government’s bushfire royal commission, which began this week, will help in this task of reflection. The broad-ranging probe has already heard of hundreds of deaths brought on by toxic smoke plumes blanketing our cities, and scores of living things pushed closer to extinction. Soon it will examine bushfire management - including how ancient Indigenous fire practices might help avoid monster fires in future.

As David Bowman and Greg Lehman write today, Australia must acknowledge and embrace the wisdom of the “fire people” who have nurtured this flammable land for millenia. This will be a complex and far-reaching task, requiring both caution and haste.

As our authors note, the last fire season was in many ways an extension of the brutal acquisition of land in Australia, and the dispossession of those who best cared for it. It’s time to start righting that wrong.

Bushfires in Australia will become more frequent and intense under climate change, and this demands a new response. And if 2020 has shown us anything so far, it’s that Western science does not always have the cure.

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Nicole Hasham

Section Editor: Energy + Environment

Rangers from Kanyirninpa Jukurrpa, conducting cool season burning on Martu Country. Tony Jupp,The Nature Conservancy

Australia, you have unfinished business. It’s time to let our ‘fire people’ care for this land

David Bowman, University of Tasmania; Greg Lehman

The bushfire royal commission will look at incorporating Aboriginal knowledge into mainstream fire management. But in practice, what does that mean?

Shutterstock

The vaccine we’re testing in Australia is based on a flu shot. Here’s how it could work against coronavirus

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A potential vaccine for coronavirus is undergoing a human trial in Australia. It's based on a vaccine that was already in development for influenza, and has shown promise in animal studies.

Malka Leifer is brought to the Jerusalem District Court for a hearing in 2018. AAP/EPA/Atef Safadi

Malka Leifer has been ruled fit to stand trial. Will extradition to Australia follow?

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The former head of Melbourne's Adass Israel School has been ruled fit stand trial on charges of child sexual abuse. After many delays, she will now face an extradition hearing.

Juukan 1 and 2 in June, 2013. Puutu Kunti Kurrama And Pinikura Aboriginal Corporation

Rio Tinto just blasted away an ancient Aboriginal site. Here’s why that was allowed

Samantha Hepburn, Deakin University

It's a devastating loss, but the destruction of a culturally significant Aboriginal site is not an isolated incident. Rio Tinto was acting within the law.

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    Hazel Easthope, UNSW; Laura Crommelin, UNSW; Laurence Troy, University of Sydney; Megan Nethercote, RMIT University

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