Failed Scientific Advocacy, Misappropriation and Erosion of Public Trust: Generalisations About Burning From Tall Wet Eucalypt Forests

Implications for Managers Avoid generalising data and processes to non‐analogue environments, particularly idiosyncratic forest types such as tall wet eucalypt forests. Recognise that fire suppression, not cultural burning, drives instability through woody thickening and loss of habitat diversity. Shift power from scientific gatekeepers to local Indigenous authority. Support Indigenous‐led cultural burning as a lawful practice that builds ecological resilience and public trust under the guidance of a place‐based governance system. Rebuild management frameworks to incorporate Indigenous authority as decision‐making, not consultation, ensuring policy and practice reflect diverse fire histories and ecologies.