Bushfires in Australia over the past year have caused the country's worst ever environmental disaster, a parliamentary inquiry heard. The smoke released during the southern summer was equivalent to a year's vehicle emissions, the inquiry heard. "This wasn't just another bushfire. This was the worst environmental disaster in the written history of this nation," said Kate Carnell, of the National Association of Forest Industries. Reviving the 3m hectares (7m acres) affected by the fires would use an eighth of the water in the Murray-Darling basin, Australia's biggest river system