Thursday, 26 June 2025
Government House, Sydney
Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC KC, Governor of New South Wales

Bujari gamarruwa

Diyn Babana Gamarada Gadigal Ngura

I greet you in the language of the Gadigal, Traditional Owners of this land, and pay my respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging, as well to Elders across New South Wales.

In doing so, I acknowledge the care of Indigenous people for Culture and Country across generations for tens of thousands of years.

Members of the Royal Society of NSW, distinguished guests all, whether here or online,

I was sworn in as Governor in May of 2019. By the end of September that year, Dennis and I made the first of what was to become many visits to communities impacted by bushfires.

We visited the village of Drake, meeting people at the Lunatic Hotel, the Drake Village Resource Centre and the Drake Community Hall, all of which had been important community hubs during the fires and were at then continuing to be places of support in the recovery phase.

In early December, we visited the people of Willawarrin who were dealing with the impacts of a bushfire that had swept through their area, northwest of Kempsey, in early November.

Here is a short video of that trip.

It was heart wrenching stuff as these people spoke to Dennis and I of their sudden change in circumstances – loss of life, loss of livelihoods, loss of homes. There was a mix of sadness, strength and solidarity, and a palpable gratitude for the efforts of emergency responders and recovery workers.   But people were weary, weary to the bone.

In January 2020 we were in Balmoral, and Mogo, and in March Adelong and Batlow.

The figures around that Black Summer are stark. The Government’s Public Service Commission summarised it thus:

In September 2019, southern Queensland and South Australia were already contending with bushfires, with state and federal aid mobilised. By November 2019, fires burnt across the country.

Before summer’s end, 33 people had lost their lives, more than 3,000 homes had been destroyed, and more than 17 million hectares of land had been burnt, devastating lives and regional economies. Many cities and towns were blanketed in smoke with air quality ranking amongst the worst in the world.^[1]

Subsequent research reported that nearly three billion animals were killed or displaced^[2] with an estimated 800 million killed in NSW.

For Dennis and I, those engagements on the ground, the conversations over a cuppa, the hugs requested and given, the times sitting alongside the hardest of blokes caught in the “thousand-yard stare” – are all experiences seared in our memories.

So, when it comes to our topic tonight “Extreme Wildfires in a Warming World: Insights and Challenges” I am very grateful for the work being done in this space – acutely aware of the human impact that has already occurred – and which will continue to occur in our ever longer bushfire seasons in the years ahead.

In 2021, the CSIRO produced an article with the eye-catching title: Australia’s Black Summer of fire was not normal – and we can prove it.^[3]

The authors were clear:

Forest fires in Australia are burning more land across more of the year than ever before, as climate-linked fire weather worsens.

It was not normal, but is it our new normal? The last few years of fire seasons have been, thankfully, safer. But lest we settle into complacency, I did a quick search of current fires around the globe.

Here are some headlines from the northern hemisphere in recent days:

• More than 100 firefighters battle large wildfire on eastern Greek island of Chios^[4] (last Monday)
• Canadian wildfires are record-breaking and will threaten North American air quality for days (30 May)^[5]
• Alaska – Evacuated areas grow as statewide fire activity increases^[6] (Sunday)
• Dutch officials warn wildfires threaten forest, care homes and parks^[7] (Saturday) and
• Winds fuel fears of new Croatia wildfires (Sunday)^[8]

For this 13^th iteration of Ideas@theHouse I am pleased to welcome Professor Jason Sharples - a mathematical scientist at the University of New South Wales, Professor of Bushfire Dynamics and founding Director of UNSW Bushfire.

Jason, is a Bundjalung man, internationally recognised as an expert in dynamic wildfire behaviour and extreme wildfire development. His research has extensively influenced research, policy, and practice in Australia and internationally.

Professor Jason Sharples …

[1] https://www.apsc.gov.au/state-service/state-service-report-2019-20/chapter-1-commitment-service/black-summer

[2] https://wwf.org.au/news/2020/3-billion-animals-impacted-by-australia-bushfire-crisis/ and https://www.publish.csiro.au/ebook/chapter/9781486316656_15 and regarding invertebrates:  https://theconversation.com/photos-from-the-field-zooming-in-on-australias-hidden-world-of-exquisite-mites-snails-and-beetles-147576

[3] https://www.csiro.au/en/news/all/articles/2021/november/bushfires-linked-climate-change

[4] https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/100-firefighters-battle-large-wildfire-eastern-greek-island-123103183

[5] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/30/canada-wildfires-air-quality

[6] https://www.webcenterfairbanks.com/2025/06/23/live-evacuated-areas-grow-statewide-fire-activity-increases/

[7] https://nltimes.nl/2025/06/21/dutch-officials-warn-wildfires-threaten-forest-care-homes-parks

[8] https://www.newagebd.net/post/europe/267988/winds-fuel-fears-of-new-croatia-wildfires