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Behind the Lines

Hot potato! Hot potato!

2023 was a scorcher. The northern hemisphere summer brought extreme heat and wildfires, and July was officially declared the world's hottest ever month on record.

In the southern hemisphere, we were told to prepare for an El Niño weather pattern, likely to be made more extreme by climate change.

Australia's cartoonists got hot under the collar about climate change remaining a political hot potato, despite the urgent call to action issued in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Synthesis Report, released in March. But there was movement on one environmental front, with decisions made to ban native forest logging on Crown land in Victoria and Western Australia from 2024.

Two panels. First panel, Chris Bowen shows off a cut-out poster of a winter landscape. Second panel, the poster is stuck to the wall of a room where a man melts in the heat.

Untitled

Warren Brown, The Daily Telegraph (Sydney),

Two animals look at a sign in the forest that reads 'Native forest logging to end in Vic'. One says, 'Now we only have climate change to worry about!'

Native Forest

Matt Bissett-Johnson, Melbourne Observer,

A figure in bed holds a pillow over its globe for a head as it hits the snooze button on a bedside alarm, saying 'Five more minutes'. The alarm is called 'Climate change report'.

Snooze Button

Harry Bruce, Rockhampton Morning Bulletin,

Four panels of Tanya Plibersek at her desk. First three, she eats lunch while watching headlines about natural disasters. Final panel, she says 'Oh well, back to it', reaching for papers marked 'Mining approvals'.

Lunch Break

Pat Hudson, Self-published,

From overhead, a group of whales spell out the letters 'SOS' in the water.

Pilot Whales' WA Mass Stranding

Badiucao, The Sydney Morning Herald,

Four contestants sit in a 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'-style competition. Question is: 'What's the best way to limit your personal plastic consumption?' One says 'Actually, Eddie... I think I'd like to call for some legislation?'

Who Wants to Do The Right Thing with Plastic?

Megan Herbert, The Sydney Morning Herald,

A girl in black with a raincloud over her head leaves a room with two kids ankle-deep in water. One says, 'If you think La Nina was bad, just wait 'til you meet her brother'. A flaming boy called 'El Nino' looks in the window.

Kids These Days

Fiona Katauskas, The Echidna,

At the Bureau of Meteorology, two men look up at a sign with a ladder next to it. Sign reads 'Number of days since the hottest day on Earth' with zeros underneath. One says, 'On the bright side, I don't have to get up that ladder so often these days...'

Every Day a Winner

Jon Kudelka, The Saturday Paper,

Three penguins argue about whether climate change is more important than getting Taylor Swift tickets.

Sea Level Taylor Swift

First Dog on the Moon, The Guardian Australia,

A timeline from 1992 to now, shows two stick figures discussing with more and more urgency the need to 'get off coal' as it gets hotter and the water levels rise over time.

Getting off Coal Slowly

Costa A, Self-published,

A description of fire ants, their bites and how to treat them.

Fire Ants! Everything You Need to Know

Andrew Weldon, The Big Issue,

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