This police report only notes 24 arrests for alleged arson, not which fires were set, how big they got or whether this was unusual. It could well be that this i

This police report only notes 24 arrests for alleged arson, not which fires were set, how big they got or whether this was unusual. It could well be that this is a typical (or small or large) arrest haul and that the fires involved were easily controlled or small. What we can tell with certainty is that NSW is only one state and so this report doesn't say anything at all about fire ignition sources in the other states: WA, NT, Vic, SA, Qld. A reasonable assumption might be that fires in unpopulated areas in central Australia were probably not arson (no people there to set them) and these are the largest fires (no people there to fight them). But rather early for any broad conclusions. All we can say is - there's been some arson but we lack the context or details to really understand the relative importance. Currently arson doesn't seem like a major factor and it is probably over represented in densely populated NSW relative to the rest of the country. I would say there's little evidence to support a hypothesis of an "unusual arson wave".