G'day Peter,
You are doing great work publicising the fairdinkum science about coral bleaching, but your analogies about high-intensity bushfires are counter-productive. They support the junk-science of anti-burners, that is much more destructive than the coral alarmists cos it not only costs more money, but it costs human lives as well.
You wrote "But the data keeps coming in and, yes, sometimes a great deal of coral dies in a spectacular manner, with accompanying media fanfare. It is like a bushfire on land — it looks terrible at first, but it quietly and rapidly grows back, ready for the scientists to peddle their story all over again."
Coral bleaching is a natural phenomenon. Extensive high intensity fires or megafires are not. They are a result of vegetation change and accumulation of three-dimensionally continuous fuels.
To beat all the academics with their snouts in the climate crazy trough, we've gotta get all the facts right.

"But the truth will out eventually".

The truth is already available. It got this brave man the sack.

I recently dived on the Ribbon Reefs on the outer GBR & one of those much-hyped Bommies had less marine life than a main street gutter.
Seeing the changes of the GBR from over 40 years of diving, my conclusion is that coral is bleaching due to pollution not temperature.
Chemicals from WW2 shipwrecks swirling with ocean currents all over the Pacific, chemicals going down the rivers from mining, sunscreen lotion washing off 5000+ tourists/day, commercial shipping oil loss & last but not least in the least is raw run-off from coastal towns.
On a more positive note I noticed quite a lot of small patches of new coral growth. Since trawling has been greatly reduced, the water is getting clearer again too.
Reduce pollution & exploitation (recreational fishing) within the GBR & all will be well again. The healthof the GBR is far more important than some whackos getting satisfaction from throwing half-torn fish back in "Sport Fishing". Outlaw barbed hooks for a start & stop selling them immediately.

certainly refreshing to read of someone who is in the know and rejects the pseudo science of the warmist religion. I am not so confident the truth will win out. When 'scientist' can't call a baby with a penis a male one wonders how putried the swamp has become. Pity such a great asset as the Barrier Reef has become politized by the likes of the getup clowns and other Green degenerates.

Bet Morrison will not now take back the $448 million dollars that the idiot Turnbull gave away.

Cooked coral.
One notes this article is composed of selectively select facts, that would seem to support a climate change denialist's worldview? And from the pen of a former Cook University Academic, Peter Ridd, now seemingly at war with former colleagues?

The article also suspect as mere confirmation bias as it was apparently first published in an extremely right-wing ultra-conservative Journal? Where birds of a feather flock together and parrot one another's opinions?

This comment edited and corrected by Grammarly.
Alan B.