NOT too long ago I spent a month following the annual whale migration up the east coast of Australia. We started from Adelaide in South Australia, through Victoria and New South Wales, on up to the nearly the most northerly tip of Queensland.

Travelling by camper van at every campsite the first thing we and every other camper checked was the latest fire status. Huge moving arm signs everywhere gave the latest up-to-date state of the risk of forest fires. Australians took these warnings very seriously and recent catastrophic events down under show they were right to do so.

The recent fires have already caused nearly thirty human deaths with many more still to be discovered when rescue teams can safely access burnt out houses. Millions of dollars worth of housing stocks, other buildings and infrastructure as well as huge losses on farms need to be added to the cost of the disaster.