After the 1939 Black Friday bushfires, the Ash Wednesday fires in 1983, the 2009 Black Saturday fires and this week’s blazes, extraordinary stories of heroism, sacrifice and the will to rebuild emerged. However, a new, incessant political drumbeat surrounds the fires still raging in eastern Australia, and that is climate change.

A decade ago, senior figures in the Australian Conservation Foundation debated whether they should mention how they believed the impact of climate change was increasing the frequency and intensity of bushfires bringing death, terror and misery to Australia after more than 170 perished during the Black Saturday fires in Victoria. This week the issue was front and centre.