Welcome to Axis ProRata, where we take just 10 minutes to get you smarter on the conclusion of tech, business, and politics.

I'm Dan Per Mac. On today's show, SoftBank shaft startups and Trump's Twitter threats. But first, Australia on fire.

So sometimes you hear Democrats say that America is the only country where climate change

is a debate rather than an accepted fact.

But that's not entirely true.

It's also been a hotly contested issue in Australia, where current Prime Minister Scott Morrison

won election last year with a coal-positive

climate change skepticism message that sounded a lot like President Trump, with whom he has something

of an international bromance. But Morrison may soon have no choice but to change course,

as his country is in flames after its hottest and driest year on record. Nearly 15 million acres

have burned so far. 24 people are dead. 1,300 homes have been lost with countless more

threatened and local ecologists estimate that half a billion animals are dead. And speaking

of animals, listen to this.

So that's not an actual siren.

That's an Australian magpie, a type of bird that mimics sound.

And right now, it's not hearing much else to mimic.

Obviously, what's happening in Australia is a human and environmental catastrophe and comes on the heels of the 2018 wildfires in California and last year's massive burns of the Brazilian rainforest.

All three cases involved countries where leaders tend to treat climate change as a punchline, but the question now for Australia is if the flames have finally reached the political tipping point.

In 15 seconds, we'll go deeper with the Washington Post, Andrew Friedman.

But first, this.

Axios chief technology correspondent, Enah Freed, shares breaking news and analysis

on the most consequential companies and players in tech, from the Valley to D.C.

...