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Behind the Lines

All over the place

After Australia's hottest and driest year on record in 2019, the summer's bushfires were unprecedented – everyone said so, ad nauseum.

Some days it seemed the whole country was ablaze. During the crisis, our parliamentarians seemed to be all over the place too – one emergency services minister went to Europe and the prime minister jetted off on a Hawaiian holiday. Questions of leadership and preparation were thrashed out in the media. The role of climate change came to the fore as debate raged over the cause of the fires.

Two panels. Left panel a fireman in a scorched forest lies on the ground covered in soot. Right panel Scott Morrison relaxes on a beach.

Flat Out

Glen Le Lievre, Patreon,

Scott Morrison faces bushfires holding two buckets, 'Thoughts' and 'Prayers'.

Thoughts and Prayers

David Rowe, The Australian Financial Review,

Anthony Albanese wheels a barrow of coal away from a 'Welcome to Queensland' sign. A shadowy figure is in the background amidst black smoke and yellow flames.

Mea Coalpa

David Rowe, The Australian Financial Review,

Angus Taylor, Michael McCormack, Matt Canavan, Barnaby Joyce and Scott Morrison sidestep questions about having a plan and the cost.

Our Plan

Matt Golding, Nine Papers,

A toaster with the dial all the way to the left.

Toast

Glen Le Lievre, Patreon,

Scott Morrison in a Hawaiian shirt and flanked by security guards approaches two Rural Fire Service men in a bushfire-ravaged forest. The men say, 'Don't look now but here comes that grief counsellor we never requested'.

Fuel for the Firestorm

Sean Leahy, The Courier-Mail,

Australian Coat of Arms. The kangaroo and emu are fleeing from a wild fire engulfing the left side of the Coat of the Arms.

A Sunburnt Country

Greg 'Smithy' Smith, The Sunday Times (Perth),

'Four people sit in a 'newspaper conference room'. On the wall is 'Climate awareness today' styled as the fire danger ratings. Arrow points to the highest danger rating called 'Make it about arson'.

Climate Awareness

Mark David, Independent Australia,

In the style of the 'Life. Be in it' ad which featured a man called 'Norm'. 'The New Norm' is sitting on an armchair with a mask on, text reads: 'Life. Be inside.'

The New Norm

Matt Golding, Nine Papers,

Four panels showing alternate ways firefighters can use bushfire inquiry reports: a headrest, wheel chocks for a fire engine, to stand on to rescue koalas, for backburning.

Uses for Another Bushfire Enquiry

Greg 'Smithy' Smith, The Sunday Times (Perth),

Six panels outline the devastation of the bushfires, as well as some of the positives that have come from it. Text at the bottom reads, 'Hope is unfortunately other people, and we are all we have'.

Saving the Animals

First Dog on the Moon, The Guardian Australia,

Underneath the Earth, where fires are blazing in Australia and other areas, text reads, 'So much for new year's resolutions to quit smoking'.

So Much for New Year's Resolution to Quit Smoking

Bill Bramhall, New York Daily News,

Two people face away from a large black wave called 'Climate change'. They look at a graph and say, 'Oh good. We're flattening the curve!'

Flattening, Flattening

Peter Broelman, The Canberra Times,

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