The donation is also an example of the kind of "big gifts" from businessmen and women that this publication has reported on in recent years.

West Australian iron ore businessman Andrew Forrest and his wife Nicola are donating A$70 million ($48 million) towards relief efforts and improving resilience to bushfires which have devastated much of the country. The donation is one of the larger moves in philanthropy at the start of 2020.

The donation is being made via the Minderoo Foundation, the Forrest’s philanthropic arm.

The A$70 million amount is divided as follows, according to the Minderoo Foundation's website: "$10 million to mobilise specialist volunteers from Western Australia, $10 million in immediate bushfire relief funding and a $50 million investment to support the development of a long-term blueprint for fire resilience."

Forrest also raised the controversial point that while global warming was a factor in the fires, he was quoted as saying that the “biggest part” of the issue was arsonists. The Sydney Morning Herald (9 January) reported that in New South Wales, 24 people have been charged with deliberately lighting bushfires. 

There has also been commentary about whether the sheer volume and duration of Australia’s fires has been aggravated by policies restricting activity such as “controlled burning” of dried vegetation, logging and thinning of trees, and other practices. Similar debates go on in countries such as the US where forestry management has been criticised.

The extent to which arson is a big factor in the fires has been contested. According to the Snopes fact-checking website, “Police in New South Wales released a statement disclosing that since November 8, 2019, 183 people, including 40 juveniles, have been charged with 205 bushfire-related offenses. Of the 183, 24 people have been charged with deliberately setting fires. According to police, of the 183, another “53 people have had legal actions for allegedly failing to comply with a total fire ban,” and an additional “47 people have had legal actions for allegedly discarding a lighted cigarette or match on land.”

Such a donation also highlights a trend of large gifts for various causes in recent years. For example, Australian businessman Stan Perron, who died in November 2018, has left the majority of his $2.8 billion fortune to charity, as this publication reported on 18 December, 2018. Earlier in December of that year, the chairman of a Hong Kong business conglomerate donated RMB200 million ($29 million) to a Chinese university. The money from Lui Che-woo, chairman of K Wah Group and director of Lui Che Woo Charity, will be used for providing better research and teaching facilities, as well as supporting the development of medical, pharmaceutical science and other related disciplines for the university. 

Going forward
In building "resilience" to prevent fires in future, Minderoo said: "Minderoo Foundation’s Fire Fund project will also invest in building long-term resilience by convening leading experts to develop a globally relevant national blueprint for fire and disaster resilience. With the support of leading international non-profit environmental organisation Conservation International, these efforts will draw on existing research and expertise in Australia and overseas and accelerate innovation to develop new approaches to mitigate bushfires."

"Focus areas could include climate change, mental health, science and technology, environmental conservation, water security and land management, among others. It is intended the project will address the factors that contribute to and cause natural disasters and the considerations that govern our response to such crises," it said.