Q&A: Victor Steffensen, 48, author, filmmaker

Lighting “cool, controlled” fires is the best way to protect against future bushfires, says Victor Steffensen. Are politicians listening?

Indigenous knowledge: Victor Steffensen. Picture: Andrew Watson

Since the 2019-20 bushfires you’ve combined your creative talents and cultural knowledge to advocate for traditional burning. Has progress been made? We still need to change our viewpoint of fire and use it to manage the land. We should be lighting cool, controlled fires in order to prevent wildfires, rather than just fighting them as they ignite and spread. People are starting to wake up to our alternative solutions, but even after the 2020 fires governments haven’t provided a very good response. Initiatives towards getting the practice out there, supporting training and the communities that want to do this work, haven’t been good enough.

What are we doing wrong in our national parks? We’re still seeing government agencies lighting at the wrong times of the year and burning a large amount of country. [In the southern states] I’ve noticed a lot of green country from grasses that are not from Australia and burn much hotter than native grasses. People were saying the country looks beautiful and green, but knowing what that vegetation is capable of is quite scary.

Isn’t intentionally lighting fires dangerous in a warming climate? The Indigenous approach is all about adaptation, reading landscapes and knowing when and where to put fires... we’ve been doing it for generations. In the face of a heating climate, it’s important to share our knowledge of cool burning so we can flip the western world’s negative perspective.

Victor Steffensen. Picture: Andrew Watson

On your mother’s side you’re descended from the Tagalaka people of the Gulf of Carpentaria, but the cultural connection was broken in the 1920s. What drove you to seek traditional knowledge? Growing up in Kuranda in Far North Queensland, I felt it was a disadvantage to not have questions answered about my country. After leaving school I went searching for knowledge and found my mentors [the late Kuku-Thaypan elders Tommy George and George Musgrave]. I lived with them for years; they taught me about looking after country as well as the positive resilience embedded in Indigenous culture. I just wish they were still here with me.

Following your 2020 book Fire Country you’ve written a picture book, illustrated by your sister. What do you hope kids will take away from it? With Looking After Country With Fire I hope to give them more resources for the future, and to create some positivity around preventing climate change. Strengthening our culture across the nation and giving our kids a little hope through education allows them to be proactive rather than leaving them in a space of uncertainty.

Why do you believe the arts are the best way to communicate knowledge? In Aboriginal culture, knowledge was always transferred through song, dance, paintings and stories. This ancient technique is a wonderful thing that relates to children and adults alike. Most people are at square one with the fire issue, so communicating our knowledge in a way that’s fun is refreshing – and it also takes out the irrational fear of fire that has been pushed into people’s minds.

Despite the challenges, positivity and hope seem to be your guiding principles. Yeah, I’m into positivity. When you look at Indigenous elders across Australia, they’re proactive and positive; it’s the most resilient trait in Aboriginal culture. It’s why I still believe it isn’t too late to teach people to start fixing and healing our country and communities. There’s so much more to learn from the oldest cultures in the world.

Looking After Country with Fire: Aboriginal Burning Knowledge With Uncle Kuu by Victor and Sandra Steffensen (Hardie Grant, $24.99) is out now