Living with COVID-19 / March 2020

The first indication that we were getting involved with this situation in our area was the run on specific goods at the local supermarkets.
Their managements tried to reduce the impact by limiting the number of items purchased and introducing seniors’ shopping hours.
All too late.
Shortages are still ongoing. And suddenly there is another new item on ‘the list’. Fresh meat is now one. Paracetamol and Ventolin inhalers were others.
Then there are the unconfirmed stories spreading through rural communities. Busloads of city people (Asian of course, to add a bit of racism spice) are raiding country supermarkets and stripping the shelves bare. This has been proven to be untrue. Even so, some supermarkets in our region are only letting locals in and IDing customers at the door.
The incidence of virus infection has taken off in Australia over the last couple of weeks.

The government has basically shut down the borders to all but citizens and permanent residents and even some states,eg. Tasmania, have restricted access to residents only.
Of course there are SNAFUs. A cruise ship, Ruby Princess, with four virus cases on board docked in Sydney and 2700 passengers were let disembark without testing.
The government is insisting on 14 day self isolation for people coming in from overseas and for those who have had contact with carriers, limited group gathering numbers eg. no sport spectators, and social distancing.
The latter has not been adhered to in a major way at famous Bondi Beach in Sydney. The picture below is from last Friday.

However threats were made to lockdown areas where the rules were being thwarted and the result is seen at the same beach yesterday.

We are practising self isolation. Easy enough on our rural property. We have enough food for a couple of weeks, enough wine for a month but very limited TP. Any top up shopping and hopefully medications, can be sourced in our small beachside shopping centre.
It is rumoured 10 people from a local club were passengers on the ship mentioned above and have returned home. Whether they are abiding by the 14 day self isolation rule, who knows. So that’s even more incentive to stay away from town.
The area’s major centre, Nowra, an hour’s drive to the north already has confirmed cases.
It’s creeping up on us!
Time to deep clean the house and get all those long postponed DIY projects done.
The honeydo list is quite long.

Update: 23rd March
Things have moved fast in the last 24 hours.
Non essential services will now be shut down.
Additional states, Queensland and Western Australia, have closed their borders

Here is what is closed from 12pm Monday (today):

Pubs, registered and licenced clubs (excluding bottle shops attached to these venues), hotels (excluding accommodation).

Gyms and indoor sporting venues.

Cinemas, entertainment venues, casinos and nightclubs.

Restaurants and cafes will be restricted to takeaway and/or home delivery.

Religious gatherings, places of worship, funerals (in enclosed spaces and other than very small groups and where the 1 person per 4 square metre rule applies).

Retail stores remain open. Shopping centres remain open. As do hairdressers, dentists, doctor surgeries, post offices.

The indoor gathering rules apply to those services and stores still open. No more than one person per 4 sqm and a maximum of 100 people. Keep your distance – at least 1.5m away from people.

National Broadband Network

The National Broadband Network (NBN) is a (supposedly) high speed broadband network rolled out by an Australian Government owned corporation.

This fast broadband initiative was announced in the run-up to the 2007 federal election by the Labor opposition with an estimated cost of A$15 billion including a government contribution of A$4.7 billion

The Labor Party Rudd government was elected on 24 November 2007 and initial NBN planning commenced.

It was originally to deliver its wholesale service through fibre to the node (FTTN) and reach approximately 98% of premises in Australia by June 2021. A new satellite network was to be built to reach the rest of the country.

Like so many good intended government plans, this one encountered many hurdles on the way, not the least being a change of government in 2013. 

Now in power, the conservative Liberal Coalition commenced a cost cutting ‘dumbing down’ of the project.

The result has been a mishmash of technologies with connection speeds much lower than first predicted and well below world average making ours the fourth slowest country for broadband in the OECD.

The current NBN broadband technologies include:

* Fibre to the premises or FTTP

* Fibre to the building or FTTB

* Fibre to the node or FTTN

* HybridFibre Coax (HFC) or more commonly known as Pay TV cable

* Fixed wireless

* Satellite

After the recent bushfires severely damaged the local underground cable network, our ADSL2 connection stopped working and, despite many visits from technicians over three months, could not be fixed. The only solution was to move over to the NBN.

Being rural, our only choice was Fixed Wireless.

Fixed Wireless is where NBN constructs radio base stations like the ones used for mobile phones and then installs an antenna and a fixed modem (NTD - Network Termination Device) in the premises. This NTD is for broadband and telephony services, but the consumer can decide if their telephone stays on the existing copper network. 

Our new connection to the world

We decided to keep our phone on the copper after the recent bushfire situation exposed the limitations of the more modern technology ie. no electricity = no internet or phone; damaged towers = no mobile (cell) service.

With this system installed we have increased our connection speed x10 compared to the old one so no complaints from us.

Trip to New Zealand Cancelled 🙁 / COVID / March 2020

We had booked an end March/April trip to New Zealand for a few days R&R.

Getting away from ‘the burn’ and the kerfuffle surrounding the C-virus for a few days seemed like a good idea.

Three hours across the Tasman with Air New Zealand, a night in an Auckland airport hotel and then a short puddle jumper flight the next morning to Kerikeri near the Bay of Islands.

There we were to pick up a rental and head an hour north to a small village on Doubtless Bay with really nice accommodation (well it looked nice on the web) right on the beach.

There were a few restaurants, some cafes and, most importantly a wine shop, in the vicinity. It would have been good to get stuck into a few Central Otago Pinots at local prices. The $NZ is on a par with ours, not like other places eg. USA where our $ nearly halves in value.

No road trips or serious sightseeing were planned, just a relaxing time walking the beach and sitting on the balcony in the sun.

Then the hammer dropped!
Last night the New Zealand government decided, as a measure to stop the spread of COVID-19, all international arrivals from 15th to 30th March would have to self isolate for 14 days. A decision whether to extend that two week period further is pending.
We unfortunately fell into that category. It wouldn’t have been a very relaxing trip. Better to self isolate at home.
So now it’s a matter of cancelling a whole lot of travel plans and trying to get refunds.
Very disappointing.

30 Seconds Window Wonder / Product Endorsement

Following the bush fires, everything around was covered in a thick film of sticky ash.
Substantial rain since had washed most of that away but under the protective eaves of the house, our windows and screens were still covered.
It was going to to be a laborious task cleaning them all the normal way ie. brush, spray bottle and cloth/newspaper.
The co driver had seen an ad on TV for Full Crystal where you simply connect a bottle of the product to a hose, spray on the liquid and then rinse off.
Voila! Sparkly clean windows and screens!
I was cynical.

This product is sold with the 'order one now and receive one free' incentive so common with these TV promotions. It seems to have replaced the free set of steak knives.
And it isn't cheap.
Reviews of the product were mixed.
But we went to our local hardware store, Bunnings, and got a bottle of a similar product called 30seconds Window Wonder
And what do you know? Worked like a treat. Almost 100% effective against the ash build up on the windows and particularly on the screens.
Don't think the latter have ever been so clean.
I think we will be using this product from now on.
$25 well spent!

People are Strange / COVID

COVID-19 sure has turned the world on its end.
Health resources are being stretched to the limit and stock markets are tanking. Economies are most likely heading into recession.
Governments have been slow to react, some with leaders even denying the seriousness of the situation or down right lying about it.
Looking at you, USA!
Here at home, our government reluctantly lurched into action as cases started to appear. They procrastinated about bringing our citizens home from China and from the cruise ship in Japan. Now they have closed our border to visitors from specific countries eg. Italy.
An economic stimulus package is in the wings.

At a local ALDI checkout

But this is not what this post is about. It’s how our population reacted to to situation.
Hoarders moved into the supermarkets stripping shelves of what they considered ‘essentials’.
Toilet paper is for some reason one of those.
There is hardly a roll to be had anywhere unless you are willing to pay gouge prices on line. There have been fights in the supermarket aisles over them. Assault charges are pending.
We have local production of TP in Australia made from locally produced paper pulp sourced from locally grown sustainable forest plantations. It would never run out. Manufacturers are now running 24/7 to keep up with demand.
Nobody has been able to explain exactly why this item is on ‘the list’.

One supermarket had now has nominated products that cannot be returned for credit once all this madness subsides.
TP is #1.
Others are sure to follow.
So while these people in the very near future contemplate their decimated superannuation accounts (401Ks), they can be happy in the knowledge they will have many years’ supply of their favourite toilet tissue.

The Saltwood Cafe / Kioloa, NSW

Kioloa and it’s neighbours, Merry and Pretty Beaches are sleepy holiday towns just down the coast road from us. That’s about as far as this road goes in this part of the world. It disappears there into the Murramarrang National Park as multiple fire trails.
Kioloa is home to a marine rescue station situated on a headland at the southern end of a long sweeping beach, a RFS fire station, sporting grounds and a community centre.
It also has a huge camp ground which usually overflows with people during holiday periods. But not this Christmas.

For years the area was serviced by a general store which eventually closed down after a small shopping centre was established near Bawley Point a few kilometres away.
This fibro shack of a building lay abandoned and for sale for many years.
Early last year we noticed that the building had been demolished and the rumour was a new cafe/bar was to be its replacement.

And indeed a quite spectacular structure took shape and the Saltwood was ready to open at the beginning of November; right at the beginning of the bushfire emergency in the area that was to last nearly three months. Kioloa was one of the many villages under serious fire threat and forced evacuation.

After that tough beginning and still suffering now a little from the dearth of tourists, we notice increasing numbers of customers every time we go there. Of course the locals are fully supportive and try to get there as often as possible. There is only one other eating out place in Merry Beach which is not all that good. At one time it was when taken over by a well known Adelaide chef and was quite spectacular but he moved on to bigger and better things in Ulladulla/Mollymook.

Saltwood is built in the Balinese style (which has caused some local controversy) with indoor and outdoor seating and open kitchen. It also incorporates a gift shop.
The coffee and cakes are great and meal menu is expanding as they are now open for not only lunch but also dinner. Not a bad wine list either.
So if you are in the area please support this burgeoning business. You won’t be disappointed.

The Holden is No More

In 1948 the Holden, Australia's first fully locally manufactured car was launched onto the market by General Motors Holden.
It became an iconic brand.
Despite ever increasing competition from other manufacturers entering the market place eg. Ford, Nissan, Toyota, British Leyland et al, they held their own for decades.
Granted the governments of the day supported the local industry with subsidies and by imposing huge tariffs on imported cars.

In the mid 60's my parents bought me an FB model which I had to pay off when I eventually found a job post a year's failed university course.
The colour (see below) caused much amusement among my friends who called it 'monkey bum pink'. Amazing how far a weekly salary of $21.25 stretched in those days having to pay off a 'car loan', pay board and income tax as well as having something left to live on.

Enriched by my employment after a few years I had enough saved to buy a brand new HR station wagon model of my own colour choosing. Fitted with board racks and a mattress in the back it became my mobile home away from home for my surfing days in Queensland.

When my employment took me interstate, I had to sell it as company cars were included in my package. I had a mixture of Holden and Ford from then on.
As time progressed, tariffs on imported cars were reduced and governments were reluctant to keep propping up local manufacture. Competition from imports, mainly from Japan and Korea, began to bite into the local market. One by one manufacturers closed down.
In late December 2013, General Motors announced that Holden would cease engine and vehicle manufacturing operations in Australia by the end of 2017.

Beyond then, Holden's Australian presence would consist of a national sales company, a parts distribution centre and a global design studio. They began to import their cars from Opel in Germany and GM plants in Canada, USA, Thailand, and South Korea.
Then on 17th February 2020, General Motors announced that the Holden brand would be retired by 2021.
The end of an era.

Bushfire Aftermath

After the rain, the bush around us leapt into life.
Ground cover began to emerge from the ash covered ground and burnt trees produced numerous new shoots.
The region is slowly turning from a desert of tall burnt sticks into a patchwork of green and black although in parts, where the fires were particularly intense, there is so far little change.
Stirls and I continued our fence repairs and got the critical highway boundary section done with new strainers and posts plus an extra fourth (barbed) wire. It was good to finally remove the protective electric fence that we had put in place as a backup to our initial temporary fix.

Our insurance claim has been paid in full and we await demolition and removal of our fire damaged structures. The government has agreed to foot the bill for this process and appointed a contractor. Destroyed businesses and houses are getting priority so we don’t except any action until the middle of the year.
We have a builder who had agreed to replace our farm shed when the site is clear. With so much damage in the area, securing a builder is not such an easy task. Luckily ours is a neighbour.

Recovery from this disaster will be slow. Community rebuilding will take time as government red tape is already raising its ugly head. Businesses are still under pressure from the lack of tourism. Personal trauma is turning out to be a large problem with counselling services stretched to the limit.
Unfortunately reports from the weather scientists seem to indicate a hotter and bushfire prone Australia in the future seems to be the new normal.

The Big Wet

An intense East Coast Low worked its way down the coast over the weekend, dumping hundreds of millimeters of rain on fire grounds on the coast and on parched drought stricken country inland.
In many areas there was flash flooding and strong winds brought down trees and power lines. Huge surf caused damaging beach erosion.

Thankfully for us the rain wasn't too torrential and the fire ravaged ground was able to soak up the 200mm+ with minimal erosion.
Our creek, after 9 months being dry, began to flow again, dams and tanks filled and brown pasture and lawns seem to turn green overnight.

Now a tropical cyclone (hurricane) is gathering strength in the Coral Sea is moving towards Australia.
Cyclone Uesi is currently a category 3 storm located just to the north of New Caledonia.
It could enter Australian waters as early as tomorrow.
But cyclones usually don’t drift as far south as New South Wales as their fuel is warm water and  the further south they go the cooler the water gets, reducing the storm’s strength.

However, the path of cyclones is notoriously hard to predict. They tend to have a mind of their own.
The most likely scenario, according to the experts, is the system will stay just far enough offshore so heavy rain and gales remain off the coast.
But if the system was to be just a little closer it could bring further flooding as the coastal land is now pretty much saturated.
Update:13th February.
The category 2 tropical storm is heading for beautiful Lord Howe Island which is around 500km off the coast of NSW.
The are bunkering down for winds of 95-135km/hr.

But the island is well used to foul weather and is fully prepared.
This island is a tourist mecca which limits the number of visitors to 400, the same number as the permanent population. It is serviced by QANTAS with small aircraft eg.Dash 8 as the runway is a very short 886m. Getting to and leaving the island is always fraught with potential weather delays.

The Currowan Fire / Final Update

As of yesterday, after causing havoc for 74 days and burning through half a million hectares, the Currowan fire is officially out and has been removed from the Fires Near Me app.
This is thanks to an intense East Coast Low weather system that has dumped hundreds of millimeters of rain over the fire ground in the last few days.
Hopefully the fires that it spawned to its south and west will meet a similar fate.

The fire took a number of lives, destroyed 312 and damaged 173 homes and destroyed innumerable out buildings and infrastructure.
On the upside 1,889 homes, including ours, were saved by the tireless work of the Rural Fire Service volunteers.
And we shouldn't forget those who came from overseas to help fight the fires, the state's Fire and Rescue, Police, Ambulance, SES, state and federal government emergency workers at the evacuation centers who all did their part. Also a special shout out to the local communities and businesses who rose to the occasion with numerous acts of kindness and charity.

Now as our creek, previously dry for 9 months, breaks its banks and floods across our lower paddock filling our dams after 200mm of rain in 48 hours, we look forward to putting the trauma behind us, getting the fire damage cleaned up and our farm shed rebuilt, receiving the insurance payout and completing the repair of the final length of fencing.

Australian Vintage 2020 / Smoke Taint

The major wine producing areas of Australia lie on the south eastern part of the continent.

Many vineyards in these regions have been affected by the recent bush fires directly and indirectly.

Although a winery may have suffered no fire damage, the blanket of smoke that was its legacy has caused nightmares for many in the wine industry, thanks to what is known as “smoke taint”.

Vignerons watched the smoke linger over their ripening fruit for many days and even weeks.

The entire 2020 crop has been lost in some parts of Hunter Valley and Adelaide Hills wine regions, while many growers are picking only a fraction of their fruit.
Bush fire smoke can taint wine as a result of the chemicals released into the atmosphere when woody material like trees burn. These chemicals that can damage wine grapes are known as volatile phenols. They are released in a gaseous form and travel with the smoke.
These volatile phenols can be absorbed by the grape berries.
When fresh, heavy smoke lands on the outside of the grape, the phenol compounds get into the skin but not the flesh.
However it’s a one-season thing. Next season the vines are fine.

Samples of wine grapes as well as the resultant wine (bench ferment) made from them can be tested for taint.
The berries are put through a 12-stage process during testing. Early on they are blended to be "homogenised" before they are subject to complex scientific testing.
The taint compounds are extracted out of the samples and subjected the two separate chemical analyses.
One analysis measures volatile phenols and the other measures sugar-bound compounds in the samples. All up, 13 compounds are quantified, some of which occur naturally in grapes, and these measurements are then compared to normal background levels of the compounds in grapes.
The results of these tests provide a guide to the grower and the winery whether to harvest or not.
What with the drought and the bush fire in our area this season it appears that I made a good decision to cease my wine growing activities.

Tributes Wanted

Australian Community Media & Printing (ACM) is a trading name of Rural Press Limited, a media company in Australia responsible for over 160 regional publications. Its mastheads include The Canberra Times, The Newcastle Herald, The Examiner, The Border Mail, The Courier and the Illawarra Mercury along with more than one hundred community-based websites across Australia and numerous agricultural publications including The Land and Queensland Country Life.
They published the story below which says it all about the recent tragic events in Australia better than I ever could.
It has been a summer lost forever. 
A summer in which the traditions we cherish, of beach holidays, of camping trips, of watching fireworks on a grassy hill, have been stolen by the terrifying forces of nature.
Drought, hail, floods and, worst of all, fire have ravaged all parts of the nation. 
Homes have been razed, lives lost, millions of hectares of bushland burnt and unimaginable numbers of wildlife have perished. Businesses have shut down starved of their summer trade. Smoke has choked cities. Waves of dust have enveloped whole towns. 

It has been the summer that has tested us in ways that have defied experience, if not prediction.
The world has looked on with grave concern and responded with generosity. Tears have been shed on our behalf by people who have never been on our shores.
We have seen the best of our human qualities on display. In every village, town and city, every day. But through this extraordinary and this terrible time, it has been our strong community bonds that have helped us into the aftermath.

Volunteerism, that spirit of giving that is a pride of Australian life, has rarely looked more 
magnificent than in the brigades of firefighters putting themselves between life and property and the monstrous approaching fire fronts. Their bravery and dedication has moved us all. 
In the aftermath of the summer's fast-hitting disasters, or through the enduring grip of drought, we have seen the best of our human qualities on display. In every village, town and city, every day. 
Neighbours opening their homes to a displaced neighbour. Community groups of all types setting up kitchens to feed evacuees. People rushing to help rebuild burnt fences. Vets with the unspeakably sad task of euthanizing injured stock and wildlife. 
Fridges stocked with cold drinks for passing emergency crews. Wildlife carers converting their homes to animal sanctuaries. Truck drivers bringing load after load of stock feed or urgent supplies to drought-stricken or smouldering villages and farms.
Some people owe their lives to a stranger, whether that stranger was wearing a uniform or the summer dress of a holidaymaker. Selfless action in moments of utter terror.
For all of these kinds of stories that have already been told, there are countless more that deserve to be heard. And so at Australian Community Media we want to give voice to them and give thanks to the heroes of the home front.

Stories of efforts that have helped your community in its darkest times. Of the smallest acts of kindness and generosity that have reminded you how good people really are. 
Acts motivated by love for community and care for one another.
Please join us in sharing your stories of gratitude. It doesn't matter how, it doesn't matter where. 
We will publish as many responses as we can online and in special print editions in coming weeks.
We were treated with empathy and kindness by friends, neighbours, acquaintances, government workers and complete strangers during our week of evacuation and those that followed. The entire community came together during a time of crises which somewhat restored our faith in human nature which had started to wane over the last decade or so.
I look forward to reading the results of this ACM request.
When they do start rolling in I will put a link on this page.

Tribute1: click here

Australia Day 2020

January 26th marks the anniversary of the First Fleet's arrival in Port Jackson, New South Wales in 1788 and the first European settlement on the continent.
In previous times, this day was celebrated quietly by family get togethers, bbqs, council sausage sizzle breakfasts in parks, a concert of Australian music here and there, or a day at the beach and fireworks in the evening.
Then, gradually the day became a conduit for the ‘love it or leave it’ bogan (redneck) crowd to promote a nationalism that bordered on jingoism which became quite disappointing.
Also a ground swell of indigenous Australian protest of the day they saw as the beginning of colonial oppression also surfaced. For them it was Invasion Day.

Invasion Day is not only understood by growing numbers of non indigenous Australians, it  is now the dominant narrative on 26th January.
This year, tens of thousands of people gathered for Invasion Day rallies in the nation's capital cities and regional centres.
Personally I have thought for quite a while it’s time to ‘change the date’ to celebrate our nation to one that is totally inclusive. But the traditionalists in power are holding firm as conservatives tend to do.
However it’s like the ongoing Republic debate........it will happen one day.
On a more positive note, 454 citizenship ceremonies were performed across the country yesterday conferring citizenship on a record 27,419 new Australians.

A Currowan Fire Update / 24th January 2020

It’s been about seven weeks now since fire activity began in our area.
After a short few days respite, yesterday conditions worsened with a 40°C day and strong dry winds.
The fire fronts across the region sprang into action and there was more property loss and injury.
Sadly the USA crew of a contracted Coulson C-130 large air tanker was killed when the plane crashed while dumping fire retardant on a major blaze in the high country.

We were enveloped in a dust storm for most of the day and then late afternoon were warned that a fire just to the north of us in the National Park had reignited. We had been confident that there was nothing left to burn around us but in the horrific conditions of the day this was not the case. Once again our RFS was on the job and had the fire under control. Thankfully the winds dropped a few hours later and a cool southerly changed arrived just before midnight.

The Currowan Fire and those that it spawned now covers an area of half a million ha.
It has now joined up with a major fire to the south so in total the fire ground on the south coast of New South Wales is 850 million ha (2100 million acres), stretching 220km (140 miles) from Bega to Nowra along the coast and west into and over the Great Dividing Range.

As said before, this environmental, wildlife and human disaster will not be over until we get at least 200mm of rain.
That does not look likely in the near future.
To say we have all had enough of this is an understatement.

A Currowan Fire Update / 12th January 2020

Fire conditions have eased across the fire grounds in our area over the last few days.
There was even a very small amount of rain.
This has given the RFS crews a chance to mop up active fire areas, back burn protective breaks and clear roads of fallen trees.
We are still warned to stay alert in case conditions turn again.
The Currowan Fire has spawned four adjacent fires which now total an area of just under half a million hectares ie. 1.2 million acres.
A time line of the fire’s life has been documented here with the accompanying map below.

Meanwhile at home we have assessed the fencing damage in detail and started to bring in repair materials.
Work will commence next week when Stirls comes down for a few days. Our boundary fences are a first priority.
We are still waiting for word from our insurance company on structural replacements.
A continuing supply of hay for the cows has been established as the remaining pasture is limited.
Water is still a concern. Our dams are looking very sad and we are on very strict restrictions in the house in case we need to start to use our tank water for the cows. Granted we still have 30,000L in storage but our cattle could consume up to 200L /day.

It can be a bit depressing living in the burnt landscape but today, on a boundary walk, I noticed that some of the eucalyptus trees have sprung into renewal mode.
Epicormic buds on the tree’s branches and trunk sprout when triggered by stress, such as wildfire, which can severely damage the crown. These buds, in the outer sapwood, are protected from fire damage by the tree’s bark. They quickly sprout if a eucalypt looses its crown. The new shoots, epicormic shoots, produce green foliage which enables the tree to survive.

Many other native Australian plants use fire to initiate seeds which have fallen onto the nutrient rich ash bed. We can expect a brand new under storey to also appear with time.
Even small shoots of grass are now beginning to grow through the ash.
When/if the rain comes, we can expect a real burst of life.

The Numbers Are In / Australia’s Hottest Driest Year on Record

2019 was Australia's driest year, exceeding 1902, Australian Bureau of Meteorology data shows.

Rainfall

Last year was also Australia's hottest for maximum and mean temperatures, eclipsing previous highs set in 2013 by large margins. 

Temperature 

Daytime temperatures were 2.09 degrees above the bureau's 1961-90 benchmark, topping the 2013 record by half a degree.
More details in BoM’s Annual Climate Statement 2019.

Australian Bushfire Situation / 7th January 2020

State by state update:

NEW SOUTH WALES
20 people dead, two missing.
130 bush fires burning on the South Coast, Snowy Mountains, Blue Mountains, Central Coast and Mid North Coast.
Almost 5 million hectares burnt which is equal to the metro areas of the five mainland state capitals.
1,588 homes confirmed destroyed but number expected to rise.

ACT
One small bush fire burning in Namadgi National Park.

NORTHERN TERRITORY
No bush fires burning.
Five homes confirmed destroyed

QUEENSLAND
30 bush fires burning in the far north, central, southeast and Central Highlands.
2.5 million hectares burnt.
48 homes confirmed destroyed.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA
32 bush fires burning, in the Goldfield-Esperance region, Wheatbelt, Pilbara, Perth region and southeast.
1.7 million hectares burnt.
Three home confirmed destroyed.

TASMANIA
14 bush fires burning across the state’s north, east and south.
More than 32,000 hectares burnt.
Two homes confirmed destroyed.

VICTORIA
Two people dead.
14 bush fires burning in Gippsland, northeast and alpine regions.
More than 1.2million hectares burnt.
More than 200 homes confirmed destroyed but number expected to rise.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Three people dead.
Five bush fires burning (four on the mainland, one on Kangaroo Island).
About 270,000 hectares burnt.
161 homes confirmed destroyed.