2013 - a busy start

The New Year has only just begun and we already have hit full pace at the Bushfire CRC. It has been an active time for fires right across the country. As the northern and central Australia fires settled down after many months of activity, the southern part of the continent took its turn.

At the request of our local partner agencies, the Bushfire CRC has sent research teams in the aftermath of the fires to Tasmania, and will soon send teams to fire-affected areas in New South Wales and Victoria. This is a vital service that the Bushfire CRC fulfils for all its partners. The planning and implementation of these research task forces is no small task in itself for the Bushfire CRC management, and it requires a big extra commitment from our researchers, but it provides an excellent opportunity to gather information and share the knowledge from major fires across Australia.

The active fire season has also given us the opportunity to talk more widely to the public through the media about our research. As the article in this newsletter says, many Bushfire CRC people have been regulars in the media, providing analysis in their area of expertise.

Meanwhile, late last week the Governing Board of the Bushfire CRC met to discuss a range of issues, including progress on securing funding for our future research program. I remain hopeful that the funding situation will soon be resolved. I will keep you up to date with developments in this area as they occur.