Good morning, Canberra. It's finally cooled down with a top of 23 degrees and a medium chance of rain forecast. Here’s what’s making news in the capital.

Twelve months on, the question remains: Could the Namadgi inferno have been avoided?

Subscriber: A year after the Orroral Valley fire was sparked by a helicopter landing light, the details remain the subject of intrigue and contention.

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Featured

Australia's Order of the day needs a shake-up

Opinion: A national system of honours can't thrive unless it has broad public support. Frank Bongiorno has the answer.

Wallabies coach's voice ringing in Valetini's ears

Subscriber: The ACT Brumbies back-rower enters his fourth Super Rugby campaign ready to fulfil his prodigious potential.

No hang-ups over stormy phone calls

Explainer: Should you take a call during a storm? The dos and don'ts of using a phone amid the crashes and flashes.

No pluralism means game, set, match for free speech

Opinion: The bias against Margaret Court is hardly equality or even tolerance in a pluralistic country, writes Father Brendan Lee.

Times Past

The full devastating losses from the Woden flood had not been realised despite the dramatic headlines on the front page on this day in 1971. Seven young people died in the flash flood that hit on January 26, but in the next day's paper it was only known that one person had died and four were missing. Despite the patchy information available at that stage, stories of great courage were already being told. READ MORE