Inspiration and ugliness as fires draw best and worst

Midsummer is still a week away but, since August, our wide brown land has displayed its terror rather than its beauty. The blaze that tore through Binna Burra lodge amid subtropical rainforest in the Gold Coast hinterland in early September was a portent of what was to follow. About seven million hectares of forest, pasture land and towns have burned in all, an area almost half the size of England. To date, 24 lives have been lost. More than 2500 buildings, including 1300 homes, have been destroyed. Millions of animals have perished. As at other times in our nation’s history, brave men and women have fought the flames. The sight of volunteer firefighter Andrew O’Dwyer’s young daughter, Charlotte, beside his coffin on Tuesday was a poignant reminder of what some have sacrificed. The fires have drawn out the finest in human nature — on the frontlines and across the nation and the world. In a few ugly instances they have also brought out the worst.

For sheer political callousness, it would be hard to outdo the green group that rejoiced at the loss of the Eden woodchip mill, the biggest employer in a town of 3000 people. “YESSS!!!’’ Environment East Gippsland whooped in a Facebook post, since deleted. “In all this horrific loss some really good news. The Eden Chipmill is burning down.’’ And with it the jobs of local people, just as they need to rebuild their lives and get their families back on their feet. The mill employs 70 people directly and another 600 work in the industry in the region. A later EEG post said the burning of the mill was a “symbolic moment”. The comments underlined the extent to which environmental fanatics are driven by ideology but little logic, given the fact timber is a renewable resource.

Regardless of debates about backburning, land clearing and climate change, there is one sort of human activity that must be stopped — arson. Police have arrested 183 people for lighting bushfires across Queensland, NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania in recent months. Last week, a man was remanded in custody over a deliberately lit bushfire in northeast Tasmania. In the Shoalhaven region of southeast NSW, 29 blazes were deliberately lit between July and September last year, with Kempsey in the north of the state recording 27 deliberately lit fires. The damage caused is incalculable. Last month, NSW Rural Fire Service inspector Ben Shepherd warned arsonists could find themselves facing up to 25 years in jail. Penalties are also stiff in other states. Those who start bushfires deliberately or through carelessness are notoriously difficult to catch, however. Young offenders have often been let off with a slap on the wrist. In the aftermath of this season’s disasters, penalties and prevention should be reassessed.

Looters, who have stolen jewellery, digital devices and prescription medications from NSW south coast residents affected by fires, are also contemptible. Victims include a pensioner who was left without pain medication, who was robbed while he was helping an elderly neighbour. A single mother and her son who fled their property south of Batemans Bay on horseback on New Year’s Eve returned a few days later. It had been robbed twice. As Eurobodalla Shire Council deputy mayor Rob Pollock said, people “going through the greatest trauma of their life’’ were being “subjected to the lowest moral act”.

Such wickedness, however, is outstripped by countless gestures of solidarity and staggering generosity in support of bushfire appeals. Billionaires, millionaires and Hollywood stars are opening their wallets. So are children, with their pocket money. As the tennis season cranks up, the world’s top stars are serving up generous donations with every ace, with Ashleigh Barty to donate her Brisbane International prizemoney. Shane Warne’s baggy green cap is up for auction. Actor Celeste Barber’s bushfire appeal has raised $40m in a few days. On the ground, the resilience and community spirit that forged a nation from raw scrub has re-emerged. However acute their losses, pain or discomfort, those affected by the fires are looking out for each other. Shopkeepers providing essential services, such as pharmacists, have opened their doors to customers for essential medications, despite being unable to take payments as electronic systems are not functioning. Many continue serving their communities after losing their own homes and belongings. Charities and not-for-profit organisations remind Australians far from the blazes that a little can do a lot: “$50 can provide food for a family who have been evacuated from their home,’’ the St Vincent de Paul appeal reminds donors. “$1100 can help those whose homes have been damaged or destroyed to set up again with bedding, furniture and appliances.’’ Cash donations, most appeals point out, are the most effective way to help.

Cooler weather in the southeast has given firefighters a reprieve and many holidaymakers have returned home. Temperatures will rise again in coming days, but ADF support is in place and upgraded equipment on the way. It is impossible to predict what the national fire map will look like by Australia Day. But aside from a few episodes of criminal or appalling behaviour, the big hearts and toughness of Australians have shone in the face of adversity.