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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
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Geoff Goldrick

Australia will need more volunteers to fight the climate onslaught

Wisemans Ferry fire station
NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) volunteer Kim Brownlie (R), and firefighter Mitchell Brennan at their station in Wisemans Ferry, Sydney. ‘A key part of building that resilience will be rekindling the ethos of volunteering.’ Photograph: Izhar Khan/AFP/Getty Images

I had the honour of being one of the volunteer Australian firefighters who returned the favour to Canada this year for helping us out during the black summer of 2019-20 when we were stretched to our limit.

The similarities between Australia in 2019 and Canada in 2023 were stark and disturbing. Like Australia, Canada was in the grip of drought. Like Australia “unprecedented” was the word of the moment.

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