Bendigo Airport’s new terminal and business park has opened in recent days.

The terminal is approximately four times larger than the previous building.

It includes new check-in facilities and departure lounge, upgraded restrooms, provision for future security screening, and an indoor arrival area and baggage collection point.

The project also features a 183-space carpark and an expanded apron that can fit two 70-seat aircraft, allowing the airport to include new airlines and future flights to new destinations.

Women on Women is the latest exhibition at Central Goldfields Art Gallery in Maryborough.

Three artists from Central Victoria and three artists from Melbourne are brought together in this exhibition that encompasses painting, drawing, photography, printmaking, and textiles. The unifying theme is the celebration of the diversity of women’s experiences.

Central Victorian artists are First Nations artist Tashara Roberts, Tenar Dwyer from Bealiba and Fiona Somerville from Talbot, alongside Melbourne inner-city artists Ruth O’Leary, Starlie Geikie and Lyndal Walker.

The exhibition itself is the result of a partnership between Central Goldfields Art Gallery and the Melbourne based not-for-profit organisation, Satellite Projects, that supports visual artists through an innovative program of exhibitions, networking and professional development.

The exhibition is on display until June 16.

Words: Donna Kelly | Images: Contributed

In October last year The Local received a leaked document, via a USB drive, regarding the report by the Local Government Inspectorate into Hepburn Shire Council and dealings with The Rex. And a few other things.

The document arrived a week after The Local had emailed the Inspectorate to ask why the report had not been released and received an email back saying the Inspectorate was unable to share any information at that time.

The Local also contacted Hepburn Shire Council at the time with CEO Bradley Thomas saying the council had been in regular contact with the Local Government Inspectorate regarding the release of the report and “we have been calling for the release for some time – we can’t speculate on the reasons for the delay, but encourage you to contact the LGI directly”.

After a column by Donna Kelly on the receipt of the leaked document, The Local was asked to deliver the drive and any associated paperwork to the Inspectorate.

Last Wednesday, May 1, after receiving a media release … stating the state government has introduced new legislation to improve council governance and integrity standards, The Local wrote again to the Local Government Inspectorate asking when the report would be released.

It also wrote the same day to the media advisor of Local Government Department Minister Melissa Horne, who sent out the release, asking how the new legislation would help the people of Hepburn Shire uncover what had happened with their ratepayer dollars.

No reply was received from either department before press time.

The Local Government Inspectorate’s charter is “Encouraging higher standards of integrity, accountability and transparency in local government”.

And the state government continues to release media releases about legislation which will “elevate governance and integrity standards in Victoria’s 79 councils” and that “since the last council elections in 2020, 56 councillors have resigned and 11 councils have had municipal monitors appointed as a result of governance issues”.

That is all fine and dandy for those councils, but every Hepburn Shire ratepayer has the right to know what happened to their rates – and how long it will impact the delivery of services to the region. Until then, where is the integrity? And most of all, where did our rates go?

Words: Donna Kelly

Your thoughts? Email news@tlnews.com.au

The state government has introduced new legislation to improve council governance and integrity standards, so Victorians can have confidence in the local governments that serve them.

The reform of the Local Government Act 2020 introduced into Parliament last week is intended to elevate governance and integrity standards in Victoria’s 79 councils, to be in place for the new council term following the local government elections this October.

Since the last council elections in 2020, 56 councillors have resigned and 11 councils have had municipal monitors appointed, with one council suspended and one dismissed as a result of governance issues.

Following extensive consultation with the sector, councils will have a uniform councillor code of conduct to create consistent standards of behaviour and increase accountability.

A program of mandatory training will also be introduced for councillors and mayors, including annual professional development.

The bill will introduce stronger sanctions for councillor misconduct and improved processes to resolve conduct matters earlier.

The Minister for Local Government will also have strengthened powers to deal with councillors who are putting health and safety at risk or are preventing their council from performing its functions.

The reforms have been developed in response to reports and recommendations of IBAC, the Chief Municipal Inspector and other interventions which highlighted the need for stronger processes and powers to resolve conduct issues, and better training so councillors can perform their roles effectively.

Minister for Local Government Melissa Horne (pictured above) said Victorians deserve councils that represent them and meet their needs.

“Our reforms will enhance governance and accountability across all our councils. Our reforms will create a uniform code of conduct across all councillors and introduce mandatory training, supporting councils to best represent the communities they serve.”

Victoria Police is embarking on a major effort to hear what Victorians want from police.

The Victoria Police Community Sentiment Survey – now in its third year – launched this month and is open until midnight on 31 May.

More than 1600 people completed the survey on its first day.

It’s aimed at ensuring the force remains agile, responsive and visible in addressing local needs.

People of all backgrounds who live, work or socialise in Victoria can take part.

Respondents are asked about their local community safety concerns, recent interactions and engagement preferences with police and what more the force can do to improve community safety.

Results are used as part of Victoria Police’s back-to-basics Neighbourhood Policing initiative to help police develop local responses to key community safety issues.

When issues are more complex police work with local councils, community groups and government agencies.

Police are sharing updates on their progress through local Eyewatch pages.

Around 11,000 people completed last year’s survey which showed safety in public spaces ranked as the top safety concern for a second successive year.

Safety of people’s property and possessions, road safety and drugs and alcohol also rated strongly in the results.

The Victoria Police Community Sentiment Survey is quick, anonymous and can be completed on the Engage Victoria website with accessible survey formats available this year.

A summary of results will be published on the Engage Victoria website with local summaries to be available on local Eyewatch pages.

Go to https://engage.vic.gov.au/vicpol-2024

Assistant Commissioner Mick Frewen, Service Delivery Transformation Command: “The survey lies at the heart of Victoria Police’s Neighbourhood Policing initiative, which is about listening to and understanding community needs before working with our partners to develop local solutions.

“It provides Victorians with an opportunity to be part of our local decision-making processes, targeting the drivers of crime and key community safety concerns.

“We want to hear from Victorians of all backgrounds.

“The more people who take part, the clearer picture we will have.”

The Hepburn Shire Council has endorsed the release of draft Township Structure Plans (for Clunes, Creswick, Daylesford and Hepburn Springs, Glenlyon and Trentham) and Rural Hepburn: Agricultural Land & Rural Settlement Strategy to be open for feedback throughout a six-week community and stakeholder engagement period.

Mayor, Cr Brian Hood, said that the Future Hepburn project was the most important project the council would deliver for many years.

“Future Hepburn is a major, once-in-a- generation project. We’ve already heard from the community that they want council to protect and enhance the character of our townships and rural settlements.

The strategic planning controls proposed in these key documents will help us appropriately manage future growth and development,” he said.

“We have already undertaken extensive community consultation to reach this phase of the project, but it’s important that we hear from the community now that we have draft documents.

The draft Township Structure Plans and Rural Hepburn strategy have come about after feedback from community and stakeholder groups throughout 2023, along with specialist technical advice from consultants and council officers with expertise in planning, ecology, infrastructure, transport, recreation and economic development.

“Input from the community will help inform the final drafts of the five Township Structure Plans and Rural Strategy to be considered for adoption in the coming months.”

Community information sessions will be held at:

Creswick: Friday, May 17, from 5pm to 8pm at the Creswick RSL. The introduction presentation will start at 7pm.

Trentham: Friday, May 24, from 5pm to 8pm at the Trentham Neighbourhood Centre. The introduction presentation will start at 7pm.

Hepburn Springs: Saturday, May 25, from 9am to 12pm at the Bendigo Community Bank building, Hepburn Springs. The introduction presentation will start at 11am.

Glenlyon: Saturday, May 25 from 2pm to 5pm at the Glenlyon Shire Hall. The introduction presentation will start at 4pm.

Clunes: Saturday, June 1, from 9am to 12pm at the Clunes Town Hall. The introduction presentation will start at 11am.

Daylesford: Saturday, June 1, from 2pm to 5pm at the Daylesford Town Hall. The introduction presentation will start at 4pm.

The council’s Community Panels will also come together again to review the drafts and provide feedback. “Our community panels played an important role in providing direction and focus on the vision and objectives which, in turn, guided the development of the strategies and actions,” Cr Hood said.

“We look forward to working with these passionate community members again during this important phase of the project.”

The Local last week received an anonymous email regarding Future Hepburn.

“Please please investigate this. It has not been done with community consultation. What has been drafted is not a reflection of those ‘community engagement panels’ and it is not appropriate that council is using that process as a rationale for its outcome that’s been drafted. Please follow this through.”

Link: www.participate.hepburn.vic.gov.au/future-hepburn

What are your thoughts? Email news@tlnews.com.au

Words: Donna Kelly

Members from the VIPER Taskforce have charged a man and seized five firearms, drugs and knives as part of an investigation into the possession of a firearm with alleged links to an outlaw motorcycle gang.

A warrant was executed last Friday (May 3) at a residential address in Bendigo where the firearm was being stored and a 33-year-old Bendigo man was arrested.

During a search of his property, police located a Lithgow .223 calibre bolt action rifle with the serial number removed, a 12-gauge shotgun, a .22 calibre rimfire rifle, a .308 centrefire rifle, a .177 air rifle, a dagger, two double edged knives, small quantities of what appear to be cannabis and Diazepam and a large quantity of mixed ammunition.

The man was interviewed and subsequently charged with possess unregistered firearm, two counts of possess drug of dependence and three counts of possess prohibited weapon without approval.

His firearms licence was also suspended and he has been bailed to appear at Bendigo Magistrates’ Court on 29 July.

Anyone with information about illicit firearms was urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or make a confidential report via the Crime Stoppers website.

The Bullarto Hall recently became the temporary home of what may just be one of the world’s biggest jigsaw puzzles.

Measuring 5.5 x 2 metres and weighing 19.05kg, the puzzle was too large for Bullarto residents Eddy and June Pleban to set up under their roof so they brought it to the hall to assemble across trestle tables.

“Eddy bought the puzzle for me 10 years ago as a joke. It came with a hand truck,” June said.

“I started and finished one panel, which was 4000 pieces but then put it aside. The whole thing has 32,256 precision-cut pieces and consists of just six colours plus black and white which adds to the already incredible challenge.”

It wasn’t until the pandemic lockdowns that June pulled out the puzzle and had another go. Seven panels and one year later, the retrospective work featuring 32 individual, brightly-coloured images by famed (deceased) American artist Keith Haring was finished.

With only half able to fit on a wall at home, the couple thought of ‘Make it Monday’ – a local end-of-the-month gathering where locals chat while creating something – and decided this offered the perfect opportunity to bring the big puzzle out of storage and set it up at the Bullarto Hall.

Police are appealing to the public for information or recorded footage in the wake of a fatal collision that happend at Kangaroo Flat, Bendigo, on Sunday (May 5).

It’s believed a ute and a motorcycle collided on High Street just after 4.30pm, causing the motorcycle to burst into flames.

The rider of the motorcycle died at the scene. The driver of the ute sustained non-life-threatening injuries and had been taken to hospital under police guard.

The exact circumstances surrounding the incident had yet to be determined and anyone who witnessed the collision, with CCTV/dashcam footage or information was urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via the Crime Stoppers website.

World-wide, some truly remarkable things have come out of the global Covid pandemic and one of them is the meteoric rise to international success of a new part game developed by a Hepburn Springs couple during lockdown.

One aspect that makes the success of That Sound Game so remarkable is that the two women behind it, Nat Delaney-John and Cam Jasson have backgrounds that could hardly be any further from the games scene.

Cam is a construction sector project management consultant whose professional dedication saw her awarded the Property Council of Australia’s Future Leader of the Year Award ’23, while Nat, who dreamt up That Sound Game, is a taxidermist.

The two had been living in a Melbourne apartment getting on with their work. But when the pandemic struck, Nat’s life and livelihood was badly impacted and she was left struggling to find a reason to get out of bed in the morning.

“I was so used to feeling like my world was large,” Nat recalls the impact of the pandemic on her personal existence. “Because of taxidermy I was used to working with palaeontologists and digging up dinosaurs.”

“When Covid happened it really, really hurt my company. I felt the walls closing in.”

But as Victorians – and millions of others world-wide – cocooned in their houses and turned to things like food, wine and board games during enforced lockdown, Nat had an interesting realisation.

“I needed to feel like you could still have dreams. And the more I thought about it, the more I realised someone should have done this before us,” Nat says.

“It is so rare to see a big gap in an already established market.”

Locked-down Nat had noticed that while the world had no shortage of charades-based games, word games galore, and myriad vision-based evergreen board game favs, there seemed very little, if anything, based around the medium of sound.

A dream was borne with Nat and Cam pouring their time, energy and money into developing
an entertaining fun-filled, family-friendly game to fill that gap. The result is That Sound Game.

That Sound Game is a fast-paced, interactive and very noisy party game, with the goal to get your team to guess as many answers on the category card as they can in a minute. Players can use any combination of sounds and movements, but their hands must be behind their back.

On its release in February 2023, That Sound Game became a social media sensation, “going viral” on TikTok.

“Nat came up with the idea in 2021 at the start of the second lockdown,” Cam says.

“We worked on the game for the whole of the lockdown and it’s been in production for about two years.

“We launched the game at the start of February ‘23 and when we launched it went viral on TikTok. We sold out in the US in four hours and we sold out world-wide in four days.

“Within our first year of launching we sold 100,000 units.”

Nat says social media has been a big part of their success.

“Our total reach on social media now is 190 million views. That’s how many eyeballs have seen us,” she says.

That Sound Game has since gained distribution in the US and the UK with major international retailers like Barnes & Noble, Walmart Canada, and Waterstones and John Lewis in the UK stocking it, while their own website and a partnership with Amazon enables them to fulfil supply obligations for online sales globally.

“We can fulfil (online sales orders) pretty much anywhere in the world,” Nat says.

But getting to that stage was far from easy.

“I was working three jobs and Cam was working two jobs to make it happen,” says Nat who took on additional work at Reptile Encounters, teaching young adults with autism to become zoo keepers in order to raise an extra $50,000-$60,000 needed to get them over the line.

“Thank goodness it paid off,” she says.

It not only paid off but enabled them to purchase their own home in Hepburn Springs in December after an initial shift to Daylesford mid-2023 as the game was taking off.

“I think both of us have been motivated by the fact that we are supporting our families as well,” says Cam who is financially assisting family in South Africa.

As for Nat, she is providing support for her mother who is contending with terminal illness.

To cater for market demand, they have further developed That Sound Game by creating some add-on x-tension packs including a ribald adults only pack, and another one aimed at more junior players in development, while the main game itself (that retails for $49) is family– friendly and suited for players young and mature alike.

The game has now been translated into Italian, French, Portuguese, Spanish and German, and as The Local caught up with Nat and Cam at their home in Hepburn Springs in very recent days, pre-sales were poised to go live in each of those countries.

As if that weren’t sufficient success, That Sound Game has just taken out Game of The Year at the Australian Toy Association Awards, and is also a finalist in the running to win Gift of The Year in the UK with Nat flying to London to attend a gala awards event and find out if they’ve scooped it.

Ellen DeGenre’s (online subscription) Game Night got in touch last year and as a result, That Sound Game is set to feature on that platform mid-year in what represents a fairly invaluable promotional opportunity.

It’s a heady take-off from November 2022 when, Nat laughs recalling, “we started selling to family and friends as sheer harassment to buy the thing we’d been working on.”

Nat and Cam now represent one of the very few entirely female-owned board game enterprises in the world.

“It’s amazing. Life-changing,” Nat says when asked what the journey has been like so far.

“We thought we had a million dollar idea, but to actually become a million dollar idea… These things don’t happen by chance. We were working up to 20 hours a day and now it’s probably down to 16 hours a day.”

Asked whether there’s any advice she could give aspiring entrepreneurs, Cam draws on her sporting background and says: “I was always taught to be the hardest worker in the room. I feel lucky it’s paid off. You have to visualise that the thing has happened or is going to happen. You have to win that battle in your head first.”

And then she adds: “I’d say invest in yourself as well. Take a gamble on yourself.”

Words: Eve Lamb

A man has been charged following the assault of an elderly man in Ballarat North last Thursday afternoon (May 2).

The 90-year-old victim spotted a man in his neighbour’s backyard on Walker Street and confronted him about 4.15pm.

The alleged thief then attacked the man, pushed him to the ground, stole his phone and fled the scene.

The Ballarat North man sustained serious injuries because of the fall and was taken to hospital for treatment.

The alleged offender was arrested a short time later on Walker Street by police without incident.

A 33-year-old man, of no fixed place of abode, has been charged with robbery and assault.

He had been remanded to appear at Ballarat Magistrates’ Court last Friday May 3.

Victoria Police is reminding motorists to prioritise safety and remain vigilant as National Road Safety Week continues through to Sunday.

The annual initiative highlights the devastating impacts of road trauma and the importance of driving safely so that others survive.

Each year about 1200 people are killed and another 40,000 seriously injured on Australia’s roads.

In 2023 there were 295 lives lost on Victorian roads – the highest number of deaths in 15 years.

Police identified basic driving errors contributed to more than half of last year’s fatalities and are urging people not to make the same mistakes behind the wheel.

Behaviours such as low-range speeding, low-level drink driving, failing to obey road signs and distraction, like using a mobile phone while driving were major contributing factors to fatal collisions.

So far this year 96 lives have been lost statewide.

While this is slightly down on the 107 lives lost at the same time last year, police are urging road users not to be complacent.

Pedestrian fatalities have doubled in 2024 with 12 pedestrians killed compared with six at the same time last year.

Almost a quarter of this year’s lives lost have been motorcyclists with 22 fatalities recorded, up from 17 at the same time last year.

With reduced visibility and inclement weather over the coming months, vulnerable road users will remain significantly at risk.

Motorists are being urged to take extra care and prioritise the safety of their passengers and other road users, particularly those who are most vulnerable.

Police enforcement continues to be a priority, with a number of operations planned during high-risk periods in addition to an ‘anywhere, anytime’ deterrent approach.

National Road Safety Week, which runs until 12 May, was created by Peter Frazer of the Safer Australian Roads and Highways group after his 23-year-old daughter was in February 2012 tragically killed in a car crash.

Victoria Police encourages all road users to show their support for the initiative, which calls on motorists to “pledge to drive so others survive”.

For more information about National Road Safety Week go to roadsafetyweek.com.au.

Assistant Commissioner Road Policing, Glenn Weir: “We’ve seen a devastating loss of life on the roads, not only in Victoria but across the nation.

“Road trauma doesn’t discriminate.

“From the lives lost to their family members, partners, friends, work colleagues and emergency services who attend the scene – thousands of lives are impacted.”

The RACV and CFA have announced a Smoke Alarm Installation program for rural and regional Victoria, providing hundreds of at-risk residents, such as renters and elderly Victorians, with free smoke alarms.

The program also aims to increase the understanding and awareness of home fire hazards and reduce the number of preventable fire fatalities.

Smoke alarms play a critical role in early fire detection and evacuation, yet statistics indicate many homes either do not have enough smoke alarms or have them installed in the wrong areas.

According to CFA, several fatal house fires start in bedrooms and sleeping areas, underlining the importance of comprehensive smoke alarm coverage within homes.

Daylesford CFA Captain, Glen Webster: “Working smoke alarms are more important than ever because the furnishings in houses now are mostly plastic and man-made fabrics which assist in rapid fire spread and emit large volumes of highly toxic smoke.”

CFA Chief Officer Jason Heffernan says it’s vital everyone has a working smoke alarm in their homes to prevent house fire fatalities.

“We’ve seen the devastating results of house fires where there wasn’t a working smoke alarm, so this is an important program to ensure we’re helping our communities, especially those more vulnerable such as renters and elderly Victorians,” Mr Heffernan said.

To further enhance accessibility, CFA resources are available in multiple languages. Support programs will be available for those in need, ensuring that cost is not a barrier to safety.

RACV Head of Policy James Williams said the Smoke Alarm Installation program aims to educate Victorians on what they can do to prevent fire risks.

“Through our work with CFA, we aim to address the gaps we know exist in smoke alarm coverage throughout Victorian homes,” said Mr Williams. “We believe that every Victorian deserves to feel safe and secure in their own home.”

According to a recent RACV poll, 58 per cent of Victorian respondents test their smoke alarms monthly and replace them yearly, while just 24 per cent have upgraded to an interconnected smoke alarm system and 18 per cent don’t understand how their smoke alarms work.

“If you’re unsure how your smoke alarm works, or unable to install or change an alarm yourself, seeking a qualified professional to do the job is the best thing you can do,” Mr Williams said.

Warning signs of fault and age with your smoke alarm include:

• The smoke alarm unit turning a yellow colour.
• A continuous ‘chirp’ sound.
• Your smoke alarm activating for no reason.

CFA recommends all smoke alarms in the home be powered by a 10-year lithium battery, be interconnected and installed in every bedroom, living area and hallway on your property.

For more information on the Smoke Alarm Installation Program, visit the CFA website.

Expect indie-gypsy folk plus fiery horn improv when Szara Fox and Andrew Darling take to the stage at The Palais, Hepburn on Friday evening May 17.

Szara Fox is an exotic Dutch songstress whose unique songwriting style is infused with Flamenco and Balkan Gypsy music.

With a powerful, compelling voice and driving guitar style, Szara weaves an elemental sensuality through uptempo tales of travel, love, freedom and the mystical present in the everyday.

Fox has honed her craft over a 14-year period, performing throughout Australia, New Zealand and Europe, captivating audiences with her mix of original compositions and traditional Gypsy folk songs.

Accompanying her is her musical soulmate, trumpet player Andrew Darling, whose impassioned, evocative playing weaves rich melodic lines and fiery improvisations throughout the music.

Andrew is a seasoned musician of 35 years’ experience, having performed with Australian music icons such as Dan Kelly, Greg Arnold and Gareth Liddiard.

The duo have become festival favourites, having performed at festivals throughout Australia and Europe over the last few years. They recently opened for Things of Stone and Wood at Melbourne’s illustrious Bird’s Basement.

After relentless regional touring and performances through Europe last winter, the unmissable Szara Fox & Andrew Darling perform their gorgeous and intimate show at Palais-Hepburn, Hepburn Springs on Friday May 17, from 6.30pm.

The severity, complexity and changing nature of Australia’s bushfire seasons and the research that informs planning and response are showcased in a new podcast series.

The Debunks series of podcasts, produced by Cosmos and 9Podcasts, speaks with Natural Hazards Research Australia’s (NHRA) CEO Andrew Gissing, as well as NHRA researcher Dr Hamish Clark (University of Melbourne) and previous Cooperative Research Centre postgraduate alumnus Dr Steve Sutton, to get to grips with issues such as the Australian Fire Danger Rating System, community and individual preparedness, fireproofing property, Australia’s fire history and the influence of climate change.

In the episode ‘Do I really have to leave when the rating is catastrophic?,’ Andrew discusses individual fire preparedness rates, as well as the psychological obstacles to people leaving at-risk areas early.

“Generally, people aren’t well prepared for natural hazards across the country. Most people are also unprepared to leave on the basis of a weather report,” Andrew said.

Following the 2009 fires in Victoria, where conditions were outside the bounds of the McArthur Fire Danger Rating system, research informed the establishment of a more flexible index that ensured continuity of messaging and actions across states and territories.

Andrew states the importance of being prepared, but also individuals’ responsibility to actively monitor emergency information.

“It’s really good to have numerous ways to get warnings, so it’s not just about the [emergency] app and it’s not just about the text messages you might be getting. It’s about having a battery-powered radio so you can listen to the ABC and other emergency broadcasters to get current, local information.”

Adjunct Professor Jim McLennan (La Trobe University and Black Saturday social research lead for the Bushfire CRC) raises the ongoing challenge facing emergency broadcasters and responders to leave early when conditions are dangerous, especially when residents haven’t faced a fire threat before.

“The challenge for community safety units in the rural fire agencies is a bit like that of painting the Sydney Harbour Bridge – you never finish. You get to one end, and you start again at the other,” Jim said.

In the episode ‘Do hazard reduction burns really work?’ Dr Hamish Clark outlines how prescribed burning works and why local details matter the most, such as fire regimes for any given area, the vegetation type and amount, as well as the terrain.

“A really important message is that the local landscape matters,” Hamish said.

He also explains the risks associated with prescribed burning and why the weather is one of the most important influencing factors of whether a prescribed burn can take place.

As fire seasons become longer due to the influence of climate change, the weather windows when prescribed burning can take place safely also are changing – too wet and the vegetation won’t burn, but too dry and prescribed burns can escape and become a bushfire. Hamish also outlines the amount of planning and strategy required for every prescribed burn.

“You’ve got a kind of Goldilocks situation where you need the right weather conditions,” Hamish said.

“That is the minimum bar to jump. You don’t want to be doing it under the wrong conditions. But within that there is a very big planning system that goes into it. You’re thinking about risk in the landscape and areas that you want to target. You’re thinking about where communities are and where resources are.”

Jim McLennan is featured extensively. He led the then Bushfire CRC’s post fire social research after the 2009 fires in Victoria, where more than 600 residents were interviewed about their responses to warnings, behaviour during the bushfires and decision-making.

Jim spoke at length about the findings from this research, which included post-fire interviews with residents after fires at Lake Clifton (2011) and Perth Hills (2014) in Western Australia, Tasmania (2013) and Yass, Shoalhaven, Coonabarabran, the Blue Mountains, Southern Highlands and Port Stephens (2013) in NSW.

There are a further five episodes in the series on a range of topics. You can listen to the podcast on the Cosmos website or on your preferred podcast platform including Spotify.