An ambitious plan to better prepare Australia for bushfires and “fire proof” the country have been unveiled by Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest’s Minderoo Foundation.

The project, called the Fire Shield Mission, hopes to bring together the latest technology and modelling in Australia’s fire fighting efforts, using technology such as ground sensors and computer vision.

The aim is to detect a bushfire starting within minutes.

The foundation’s Fire and Flood Resilience Initiative CEO Adrian Turner told Ben Fordham it was a bold plan.

“This is a game changer for the country, it’s an audacious goal but we are able to do it by bringing together industry, government, philanthropy, not for profits,” he said.

“We’ve broken the problem down into four pieces and if you focus on each of those four pieces we think we can make progress.”

He said that included detection using satellite technology and drones, monitoring the spread of a bushfire, making sure the information gets to the right people at the right time and rapid response.

Press PLAY to hear more

Image: Getty