What we know about the 'small fire' that became an 'unprecedented' Geelong refinery blaze The "unprecedented" fire at one of the two remaining oil refineries in Australia took more than 12 hours to extinguish. Here's what we know about how it unfolded.

Some maps 📍 to help put the Geelong refinery fire in context. My colleagues and I matched images of damage to the area of the facility where the fire burned. www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04...

Explainer graphic shows a 3D-modelled x-ray view of a wing in the louvre where jewels were stolen.

An unusual infographic in the shape of a mullet shows the break down of players' hair lengths in the AFL

Very cool job opening at the ABC for designers interested in news graphics, visual storytelling, data, interactives, etc. You too could work on stories ranging from jewel heist explainers to mullet investigations. Happy to answer/field questions!
careers.abc.net.au/en/job/50524...

No time to warn or to prepare: Natimuk met the fire of our future The anatomy of the Natimuk fire offers a glimpse into a new and faster kind of bushfire — and the growing vulnerability of communities as climate change fuels dangerous conditions.

www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...

Satellite view map shows how the fire spread quickly from Grass Flat towards Natimuk, levelling Jo Hick’s home in the process. Beginning at 12:42pm, by 2pm it is bordering town. It was 42.2 degrees Celcius, 13% humidity with 70km/h sustained winds.

Two satellite view maps show how the fire spread before and after a wind change, first southeast then northeast.

Satellite view map shows final burn extent area of Natimuk fire.

In graphics: the grassfire that tore through Natimuk in Victoria's west. I was surprised by the sheer force and role of wind when I mapped the conditions and burn areas over time for the story. Reported by @jessdavis.bsky.social in Natimuk: www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...

Free power as wind farms grind to a halt. What’s happening? Mountains of clean power are regularly "wasted" as Australia's energy system evolves. But a large amount of battery storage is waiting in the wings, ready to soak it up.

Seasonally, spring is when renewable energy records reliably break as warmer temps and longer days reduce demand and increase solar generation. A brief guide to curtailment and the battery storage that's on the way, with lots of charts 📊: www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...

It's launch day for this big electric ship ⛴️ @jessdavis.bsky.social and I go behind the scenes of this milestone shipping industry feat in this article www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02...

Not in great detail. The different social platforms all have their own quirks and demographics. I reckon Bluesky has a higher climate-interested audience.

What might our future power grid look like? This illustrated guide explains Our energy system is evolving at breakneck speed. Here we look at how our power grid works, what more renewables mean for energy prices, how nuclear fits into the picture, and how we might build a gri...

How the energy grid works is a hugely complex topic. It's hard to explain one idea without the context of several others. So here's an illustrated Energy 101 on the rise of renewables and what it means for coal and nuclear in Australia.
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04...

This particular study is based on fires in grasslands specifically but illustrates one of the ways technology is being used to adapt and prepare for evolving fire danger conditions

Gaming software shows what turns a fire into a catastrophic blaze Film industry software is helping researchers study how climate factors influence bushfire behaviour. After another hottest year on record, climate change is heightening the risk of severe bushfires a...

Tasmania's west coast is currently fighting blazes and challenging bushfire conditions. Fire risk and behaviour can vary greatly in different parts of the country, based on a number of factors such as vegetation. One tool researchers are utilising? Video game tech www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01...

There's also data from AEMO which shows max rates of renewable generation in the grid at 70+ per cent at times. aemo.com.au/energy-syste...

Open Electricity: An Open Platform for National Electricity Market Data An Open Platform for National Electricity Market Data

Hi there, I don't have those stats on hand but you can see detailed breakdowns of the energy grid make up on Open Electricity's dashboard here. I'm not immediately sure how the data for the above chart is calculated explore.openelectricity.org.au/energy/au/?r...

The 'big boof' is out. What data reveals about football's hair trends The ABC analyses the headshots and hairstyles of all AFL players in the 2024 season to definitively answer: is the mullet back?

The original story (and still one of the top highlights of my career) featuring mullets galore in the AFL www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05...

Thanks for the shoutout @datawrapper.de! And in the same post as my former pals in The Straits Times graphics team :)

Fossil fuels are being 'eaten alive' by the solar rush Satellite imagery reveals the staggering rise of solar farms around the world in recent years. Can Australia get on board?

Check out the story for more: www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12...

Two spike charts showing massive amounts of solar being built in China between 2017 and 2024

Countries like China and India are rapidly building solar farms the size of cities. The picture in Australia, on the other hand, is much different. It's a world leader in #rooftopsolar. www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12...

It's a good time to be a solar panel, they're taking off all over the world. The ABC's Story Lab and Climate teams looked at how #solar is exceeding all expectations 💯☀️ www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12...

'Silent killer' heatwave in 2009 a deadly wake-up call for Australia Public life ground to a halt, many lost power, and scores of people died behind closed doors. What sounds like the start of a post-apocalyptic movie is in fact Melbourne in January 2009.

Brilliant feature on the ABC this morning by @jolauder.bsky.social, @journalims.bsky.social and colleagues who aren’t on BSky yet.

Climate change is rarely this compelling.

www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12...

An illustrated diagram of how damaged structures and strong winds can rip off roofing that is not securely fastened, causing a domino effect of destruction

Slowly stepping into the world of illustrated news graphics. Here's one from a story about how a construction decision flattened Darwin when Cyclone Tracy struck 50 years ago. www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12...