An Indigenous Australian participates in a smoking ceremony in front of Sydney Town Hall during a protest against Aboriginal deaths in custody in Sydney, Australia on June 6, 2020. Many thousands have rallied in Sydney CBD to stop Aboriginal deaths in custody after an appeal court's last-minute decision to authorise the public gathering. Photo: AFP

Indigenous Australians are disproportionately affected by bushfires, researchers have found.

According to a study published by researchers from Australian National University (ANU) on Wednesday, Indigenous Australians suffered the worst impacts of the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires.

The report from the ANU Center for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research said Indigenous Australians experienced "culturally unsafe and unwelcoming relief and recovery services."

The Black Summer bushfires were among the worst in Australian history, burning more than 24 million hectares of land and destroying thousands of buildings.

Bhiamie Williamson, lead author of the study, said that the findings highlighted the lack of disaster planning focused on Indigenous Australians.

"There is a huge gap in policy when it comes to supporting Indigenous peoples in disasters, with very little regard as to how disasters impact Indigenous peoples in ways that are different to others," he said in a media release.

"In disaster planning, preparation is everything, and there are no emergency management plans that discuss the unique needs of Aboriginal people," Williamson said.

The landmark Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements, which was called in the wake of the Black Summer fires and handed down its report in October 2020, called for Indigenous Australians to be included in hazard reduction burns.

It recommended that state, territory and local governments engage with Indigenous people "to explore the relationship between Indigenous land and fire management and natural disaster resilience."

Xinhua