But to me, these fires suggest we urgently need a new dialogue and paradigm for living in a rapidly changing world. Much of northern Australia is owned and managed by Indigenous people, now in many parts by carefully and skilfully organised Indigenous ranger groups. No longer do the seasons of summer, autumn, winter and spring align with the calendar as they did a decade ago, nor do the wet and dry seasons of northern Australia. Not uncontrolled damaging fires, but fires that are understood, planned, patchy and regular – the fires of 1788 are informative. Joe Morrison is the managing director of Six Seasons, has Dagoman and Torres Strait ancestry and has worked in northern Australia with Indigenous people, governments, NGOs and international organisations leading Indigenous management and development of the region.

Source: The Guardian January 11, 2020 18:56 UTC