- Bushfires -

Fire has always been a feature of the Australian environment (and became more frequent with the arrival of aboriginal Australians - with a resulting loss of many fire sensitive species and the animals that depended on them). But changes made as a result of European settlement (who prevented aborigines from burning and allowed the bush to thicken) have created the potential for much more serious fires  (Flannery T., 'Bushfire of our vanities', Bulletin,  4/2/03)