Fields of Research

Social geography
Human impacts of climate change and human adaptation
Economic geography
Environmental management
Environmental education curriculum and pedagogy
Urban geography
Land use and environmental planning
Urban and regional planning
Strategic, metropolitan and regional planning
Environmental geography
Human geography
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, society and community
Historical, comparative and typological linguistics
Fire ecology
Natural resource management
Environmental law
Conservation and biodiversity

Research Objectives

Social impacts of climate change and variability
Expanding knowledge in human society
Climate change adaptation measures (excl. ecosystem)
Climatological hazards (e.g. extreme temperatures, drought and wildfires)
Teaching and curriculum
Effects of climate change on Australia (excl. social impacts)
Environmental policy, legislation and standards
Natural hazards
Land policy
Other environmental management
Terrestrial biodiversity
Public services policy advice and analysis
Understanding the impact of natural hazards caused by climate change
Climate change mitigation strategies

Career Best Publications

Disrupting polarized discourses: can we get out of the ruts of environmental conflicts?; Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space
How climate change research undermines trust in everyday life: a review; Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change
Not ‘getting on the bandwagon’: When climate change is a matter of unconcern; Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space
Privatizing climate adaptation: How insurance weakens solidaristic and collective disaster recovery; Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change

Research Publications

'They lost our receipts three times': how getting an insurance payout can be a full-time job
2018 Wiley Award for Best paper in Geographical Research: Highly Commended
A crisis of underinsurance threatens to scar rural Australia permanently
After the flood: Diverse discourses of resilience in the United States and Australia; Climate, Society and Elemental Insurance: Capacities and Limitations
Australia's catastrophic wildfires: The bushfires of 2019-20
Bushfire Preparedness and Risk Reduction in Hobart Pilot Study 2019 Final Report
Children deserve answers to their questions about climate change. Here’s how universities can help
Climate Communications Research Award
Climate friction: How climate change communication produces resistance to concern; Geographical Research
Climate, Society and Elemental Insurance: Capacities and Limitations; Routledge
Communicating with and within fire-adapting communities; Institute of Australian Geographers Conference
Concerning values: what underlies public polarisation about climate change?; Geographical Research
Conclusion: Deconstructing the dualisms of elemental insurance; Climate, Society and Elemental Insurance: Capacities and Limitations
Cultures of Concern and Unconcern: Thinking Differently about Climate Change
Disrupting polarized discourses: can we get out of the ruts of environmental conflicts?; Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space
Earth unbound: Climate change, activism and justice; Educational Philosophy and Theory
From gateway to custodian city: Understanding urban residents' sense of connectedness to Antarctica; Geographical Research
House and contents underinsurance: Insights from bushfire-prone Australia; International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction
How climate change research undermines trust in everyday life: a review; Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change
How well does the new Australian curriculum prepare young people for climate change?
Insurance is unaffordable for some, but it’s middle Australia that is underinsured
Insurance, fire and the peri-urban: perceptions of changing communities in Melbourne’s rural-urban interface; Australian Geographer
Insuring homes against extreme weather events: a systematic review of the research; Climatic Change
Neighbourhood bushfire hazard, community risk perception and preparedness in peri-urban Hobart, Australia; International Journal of Wildland Fire
Not everyone cares about climate change, but reproach won’t change their minds
Not ‘getting on the bandwagon’: When climate change is a matter of unconcern; Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space
Planning to help our natural landscapes adapt to climate change; Planning News (Victoria)
Privatizing climate adaptation: How insurance weakens solidaristic and collective disaster recovery; Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change
Rethinking Tasmania’s regionality from an Antarctic perspective: flipping the map; M/C Journal
Underinsurance is entrenching poverty as the vulnerable are hit hardest by disasters
What insurance tells us about our (in)capacity for climate resilience

Research Projects

Developing a pathway for reducing the peri-urban backyard bushfire hazard in Hobart; Department of Police, Fire and Emergency Management [TAS] (DPFEM)
Enabling cultures of bushfire readiness in Australian communities; Australian Research Council (ARC)
The Social and Biophysical Effects of Alternative Strategies to Reduce Bushfire Danger in Hobart; Department of Police, Fire and Emergency Management [TAS] (DPFEM)
Sparking Conversations, Igniting Action: Greater Hobart Resilience Program

Research Candidate Supervision