THE COMMENTARIAT How royal commissions can both help and hinder — Scott Prasser (Australian Financial Review): “Drawing on the experiences and lessons of past royal commissions, there are some things the Morrison government should do to avoid undermining the process from the start. This means the terms of reference of any royal commission must not avoid the underlying and growing public concern about the relationship between climate change and bushfires. Otherwise it will be doomed to failure, and add to the Morrison government’s present woes.” Russia and Iran are eroding our democratic freedoms ($) — Stefan Romaniw (The Australian): “Democracy enshrines the rights of people no matter who or where they are. It is a basic right to buy an airline ticket, board a plane, take off and land safely at your destination. For 298 people — including 38 Australians — on Malaysia Airlines’ Flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014, and 178 poor souls on Flight PS752 last Wednesday, those rights were nonchalantly ignored. What binds them are political forces exerting unlawful power, having no respect for international conventions and absolutely no fear of consequences.” The sweet relief of rain after bushfires threatens disaster for our rivers — Paul McInerney, Gavin Rees and Klaus Joehnk (The Conversation): “When heavy rainfall eventually extinguishes the flames ravaging south-east Australia, another ecological threat will arise. Sediment, ash and debris washing into our waterways, particularly in the Murray-Darling Basin, may decimate aquatic life. We’ve seen this before. Following 2003 bushfires in Victoria’s alpine region, water filled with sediment and debris (known as sediment slugs) flowed into rivers and lakes, heavily reducing fish populations. We’ll likely see it again after this season’s bushfire emergency.” | 