Dave McRae

‘Painting with fire’: how northern Australia developed one of the world’s best bushfire management programs Satellite data and traditional know-how combined have drastically reduced fires across northern Australia over the past 20 years.

Webapp NAFI theconversation.com/painting-wit...

Blame John Howard for our housing and migration woes, says Amy Remeikis – but is he due some credit too? Australia’s impossible housing crisis, One Nation as a political force, privatised education … how many of our problems can be traced back to John Howard?

A very generous review in the @theconversation.com for Where it all went wrong: theconversation.com/blame-john-h...

It's time for the Australian Government to admit we can’t insure our way out of the climate crisis.

It's impossible to get insurance against likely events, and climate disasters are becoming more and more frequent. It's time to make polluters pay for the damage.
#auspol @richarddenniss.bsky.social

the police presence at Town Hall is unfuckingbelievable. They are deep inside the station, stopping and searching people at the top of the stairs from the platform. Absolutely off the charts I have never seen anything like it and I have protested for over 40 years.

Vale @kudelka.bsky.social

Striated grasswren from my last visit to Gluepot Reserve.
This was a lifer for me at the time and a very fun (but freezing cold!) weekend with a friend who had never been to Gluepot.

Very sad to share the news of this legend of Australian political cartooning, and art. Dear Jon Kudelka has died, and we will be the poorer and more dull for his passing.
Sending love and condolences to his family.
What a legacy of scorching wit and joyful capturing of life he leaves.

Several parts of Australia are likely to face the worst heatwaves since the 2019/2020 bushfires.

Volunteers and underpaid frontline workers will step up to help communities.

Meanwhile, in just one year, the Australian government gave $14.9 billion in subsidies to fossil fuel producers and users.

~80% of emergency services personnel during the 2019/20 bushfires volunteered - earning $0.

We’ll likely see the same in 2026.

Meanwhile, in 2024, CEOs of companies fuelling these fires earned:
- Rio Tinto: $9.2 million
- Santos: $8.4 million
- Woodside: $7.45 million
- Whitehaven: $6.6 million

“The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, told Victorians: “We’ve got your back”.”

This coming from the PM who approved the extension of Woodside’s North West Shelf project, which is expected to generate 4 billion tonnes of emissions over 50 years, further fuelling these fires.

Withdrawing the United States from International Organizations, Conventions, and Treaties that Are Contrary to the Interests of the United States MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United

Trump has just withdrawn the US from a stack of organisations including

(xi) Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict

Because it is “Contrary to the Interests of the United States”

www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

The fires of climate change The Climate Institute and firefighters say Victoria's blazes were the result of climate change.

The fires of climate change. I wrote this analysis after the deadly 2009 Victorian bushfires. Our ALP/LNP duopoly still will not take leadership in doing what the global community must do - end carbon energy. www.abc.net.au/news/2009-02...

When this blows over I might have to share some of the emails I’ve received over the days which really make me wonder why I am the one accused of hatred. There is deep unresolved trauma being spewed by some of these people and we cannot consent to living according to their warped reality.

Bendigo Writers Festival, Meanjin, now Adelaide Writers … powerful vested interests would rather destroy the cultural institutions they are supposedly responsible for than allow certain voices to be heard

It has been a truly upsetting revelation how many people who I thought cared about disinformation, advocating for science, etc just flipped in 0.002 microseconds after a tech company programmed a chatbot to tell them how great their questions are

Labor delivers net zero (policy achievements) Legislation so far in second term adds up to zilch

What has Labor done with its golden opportunity in this term?
Net zero, says @johnquiggin.bsky.social. I agree.
Absolutely nada of any substance.

Not surprising that Israel’s list of most “antisemitic” Australians is only a list of people against genocide and contains not one far-right/Nazi.

🫡 to those on the list

‘We've tried nothing and we're all out of ideas’: Labor turns blind eye to Melbourne’s 100,000 empty homes | Red Flag “Melbourne may be an unhappy home for its 24,000 homeless residents”, begins Prosper Australia’s

What a disgrace that no State or Federal Politician has the will, or backbone to fix this. @albomp.bsky.social #Auspol

redflag.org.au/article/weve...

Australia’s gas bonanza is for corporate super-profits, not climate superheroes The point.com.au

@chrisbowenmp.bsky.social smile, can spin and pretend as much as likes.

Sorry Chris, words mean absolutely nothing ... Madeleine King and Anthony Albanese are trying to crash future environmental stability with cynical recklessness

thepoint.com.au/opinions/251...

But Also John Clarke John Clarke, Australia and NZ's defining satirist, is revealed through candid talks with his daughter Lorin. This tribute explores his defiance, move to Australia, and four decades of comedy, blending...

Pardon me if I add the streaming link to your post
iview.abc.net.au/show/but-als...

'Nature is warning us' about climate change, but 'nobody's listening' In wet season, Jonathan and his family have to drive, boat and drive again if they want to reach town. The remote NT traditional owner says nature has long been warning us about climate change, "but n...

Extraordinary, breathtaking imagery. But deeply upsetting ecological change is underway, that will impact communities and culture. This is the very real impact of climate change. And yet, Australian governments keep approving fossil fuel development projects. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12...

Australia's road toll is rising, but not for the reason you think A grim year on our roads, especially for pedestrians.

TAX. THESE. OUT. OF. EXISTENCE!

These monstrosities should be illegal! Large vehicles are markedly deadlier for pedestrians. Being struck by a large SUV raises the risk of death by around 40 per cent compared with a smaller car; for children, the risk is up to eight times higher..."

earthlyeducation (@earthlyeducation) look at this air pollution drop, it’s inspiring! Paris cleaned its air by choosing people over traffic. the city expanded low emission zones, removed thousands of car parks, built hundreds of kilometr...

So impressive. Pollution begone.
Fossil fuels begone.

substack.com/@earthlyeduc...

On the 10th Anniversary of the Paris Agreement, you’re going to hear a lot about the progress we’ve made — people saying we “are” heading to 2.5 degrees heating instead of four.

I deeply regret to tell you that this is complacent misinformation.

🧵

Is language the same as intelligence? The AI industry desperately needs it to be The AI boom is based on a fundamental mistake.

Grateful to The Verge for publishing my essay on why large-language models are not going to achieve general intelligence nor push the scientific frontier.

www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...

How Zionists are weaponising the courts to silence critics | The West Report - Michael West The Zionist Federation of Australia has launched one of the most extraordinary legal actions we have ever seen, a sprawling 18C case against former SBS newsreader Mary Kostakidis over 61 tweets and re...

Israel's shadow war to silence critics via the Australian courts. Cassuto v Kostakidis. What is the cost
#freespeech #auspol #antisemitism
michaelwest.com.au/how-zionists...

Dark forces are preventing us fighting the climate crisis – by taking knowledge hostage | George Monbiot The fundamental problem is this: that most of the means of communication are owned or influenced by the very rich, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

Climate breakdown is driven by a storm of lies. This lying is systemic, funded and coordinated, and operates across almost all media, old and new.
This week's column argues that we cannot fight the climate crisis without also fighting the epistemic crisis.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

"Take Senator Bridget McKenzie opining without challenge on ABC Radio last week that renewable energy and climate policy are economically negative"

Zoe Daniel answers her own question.
The media is too often lazy.

Or more likely complicit - ignoring LNP lies and actively spruiking fossil fuels.

Dark forces are preventing us fighting the climate crisis – by taking knowledge hostage | George Monbiot The fundamental problem is this: that most of the means of communication are owned or influenced by the very rich, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

Must-read in @theguardian.com from my friend @georgemonbiot.bsky.social: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

We should all thank Professor Lidia Morawska for her incredible work over many years which has influenced how the world mitigates the risks associated with the airborne virus that causes COVID-19.
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...