As flames threatened the doors of suburban Sydney and destroyed homes across NSW and Queensland this week, there seemed to be a change in the relationship between bushfires and politics.
Fire has become a political force as much as a physical one. Nick Moir
Before flames shot above the treeline, choking smoke blotted out the sun and the sirens of emergency vehicles filled Field of Mars Avenue, Douglas Greening heard the crackling.
Like a natural accelerant, a layer of dead pine needles that carpeted the forest floor spread the fire through the overgrown underbrush opposite Greening's solid brown-brick home in suburban northern Sydney around 4pm on Tuesday afternoon.
Aaron PatrickSenior correspondentAaron Patrick was a senior correspondent at The Australian Financial Review.
Tom McIlroyCanberra Bureau ChiefTom McIlroy is the Financial Review’s Canberra bureau chief based in the press gallery at Parliament House. He was previously the AFR’s political correspondent. Connect with Tom on Twitter. Email Tom at thomas.mcilroy@afr.com
