Dry paddocks, drought, and shifting high-pressure systems are combining to heighten the threat of fast-moving bushfires.

Victoria has opened up tens of thousands of square kilometres of ocean to new gas exploration, sparking warnings from conservationists about seismic blasting, drilling impacts and more climate pollution along the state’s south-west coast.

Victoria’s Western Highway has seen 174 crashes and at least 16 people killed in the last decade, but why?