Comment: From the ashes, can we get real on climate change? ausfires
. Community-owned energy, water and decision-making might be a good place to start. The City of Sydney, and increasingly other metropolitan councils, have resilience plans that recognise and prepare communities for threats. A broad range of legitimate emergency responses and resilience plans are needed. And in the short term, we'll need a plan to deal with the epic fallout from unrecognised insurance claims that will undoubtedly emerge once this week's ashen skies begin to clear.
Cancelling 12 minutes of fireworks achieves none of that. Remember the "social contract"? It's an implicit agreement among the members of a society to sacrifice individual freedoms for state protection. Right now, the single greatest threat we have faced is the changing climate and this social contract has been tragically cancelled.Jess Miller is an independent councillor and deputy chair of the environment committee at the City of Sydney.
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