London: Australian mining magnate Andrew Forrest has repeated his claim that the bushfires are primarily the cause of fuel loads and arson during an international television appearance.

Twiggy, as he is commonly known in Australia wants donors around the world to contribute to his private Fire Fund to which he and his wife Nicola have contributed $50 million to build resilience to natural disasters.

Mr Forrest is aiming to raise half a billion dollars for his foundation and told CNN that it would fund new research into the causes of bushfires," saying the "science has so far to go".

"The science has so far to go, we cannot say there's a single reason [for the bushfires], if someone says 'oh it's climate change,' they're copping out of their responsibilities," he said.

"Arsonists have had a horrible impact, the fuel load has probably had the greatest impact," he told interviewer Christine Amanpour.