As we reach the end of a roller coaster 12 months, we take a look back at the political year that was.
The nation was ablaze, as tens of thousands of firefighters battled the black summer bushfires that burnet 24 million hectares of land destroying more than 3000 homes and killing three billion animals.
And then, reports started to surface about a little-known virus, in a Chinese city called Wuhan and within a few weeks, it started spreading to countries across the globe.
As infections rose and deaths mounted, the world was caught on the back foot.
World governments scrambled to contain the outbreak, declaring states of emergencies and shutting down whole cities.
The pandemic caused the worst global economic crisis forcing leaders around the world to act.
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