From the Kirrah Mia website: “Larry is a Menang Man, who is passionate about his Boodja (Land) and all things on it. Larry has extensive knowledge of local bushfoods, medicines, fauna, local stories and traditions. Larry has been passing on this knowledge through cross-cultural awareness workshops, Aboriginal tourism, school educational workshops and more.”

This episode was recorded on site at the Yakamia forest with our trusty portable recorder. Being immersed within the bushland allowed for a more immersive conversation to unfold. However, it also happened to be a windy day with quite a bit of ambient sound, affecting the quality of the recording. We did our best to throw all the production tricks to sharpen the recording, and we would like to thank Andrew Skeoch and Crystal Marketing for their additional assistance. As with our previous episode at the NENA conference, there is always a trade off with the intimacy of being 'live' with the unpredictable nature of sound recording, so we acknowledge the ‘rawness’ of this episode.

To find out more about the Yakamia forest, you may be interested in our Season Four episode “A Tribute to Community Groups fighting Big Overdevelopment in WA” where we interview Annabel Paully from the Friends of Yakamia. For more First Nations’ perspective on Degrowth, you may be interested in Dr Mary Graham’s address in the episode, “PGAP live at the NENA conference: Life After Capitalism.” We also interviewed Prof. Anne Poelina in the Season Two episode: “Saving the Martuwarra-Fitzroy river”.

This episode was recorded on traditional Menang Noongar country, on lands that were never ceded and we would like to offer our respect to elders past, present and emerging.

We strongly encourage you to share this very important episode with your friends, family and networks and would love it if you could take the time to rate and review us on Apple Podcast or your favourite podcast platform. Degrowth is about community and we encourage a community approach to the direction of future PGAP episodes! Contact us anytime with your feedback, suggestions and ideas.

PGAP is made possible by the kind support of Sustainable Population Australia. SPA has been active in including many diverse perspectives on the sometimes-contentious issue of population, including those from the Global South, as well as first generation migrant and First Nation's perspectives. More information can be found on SPA's 'diversity and social inclusion' page. If you would like to support SPA in saying 'NO to a big Australia' in 2024, please consider adding your signature to their position statement.

More information about your co-hosts Michael Bayliss and Mark Allen can be viewed here and here.

Special Guest: Larry Blight.

Thirteen years ago, our then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said ‘Sorry’ on behalf of the nation to Australia’s Indigenous people. Since then, you could be forgiven for thinking whether any of this apology has sunk in with the various mining, road construction and other ‘business as usual’ industries that continue to plunder sacred lands that were never ceded. In Western Australia, Rio-Tinto blasted the Juukan Gorge caves – 46 000 years of human cultural significance gone in an instant with the help of some explosives. As I was recording this episode, I learnt that Mining giant BHP have recklessly harmed a Banjima sacred site in the Pilbara region in the same state. And don’t think this is a peculiarly Western Australia phenomena - I’ve just today passed Ararat in Victoria, near the sacred Djap Warrung birthing trees are under relentless threat by the state government to be removed in order to widen a road. This absurdity is straight out of the plot-line of a Douglas Adams novel.

In the eyes of the dominant neo-liberal culture, nothing is sacred from mining, fracking, road-widening, grazing, water theft – general exploitation. How could it be when Growth on a finite planet is the modus operandi and any other way of being or relating to the land is seen as anti-development, anti-progress, radical and dangerous? Hence – the ongoing and relentless displacement of First Nations people, culture and land, whether we are talking Brazil, West Papua, West China or, indeed, Western Australia.

I personally feel that the conversations around Post-Growth, Degrowth and even national population and migration policy are lacking First Nations’ perspectives, both in public discourse and in the literature. However, if you scratch under the surface, I believe there are voices to be heard on these issues. A couple of years ago, I ran a seminar at the Sustainable Living Festival for Sustainable Population Australia with Richie Allen, director of ‘Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation’, titled “Population: Indigenous and Environmental Perspectives”. Richie’s mother Violet ran for the Sustainable Australia Party in the ACT state elections, and it was through SAP connections that Prof. Anne Poelina and I met. It is also interesting that Lowitja O'Donoghue was once a trustee with SPA.

And so, Prof. Poelina and I happen to be united in our position to population and migration policy. I am sure that there is no united ‘First Nation’ perspective on population policy and I could bet that opinions on this topic are as diverse as the 360 language groups that comprised the original custodians of this continent pre-colonization. Yet if we are to ‘de-grow’ and ‘decolonise’, then taking time to listen to Indigenous wisdom, including love, respect and connection to land and water, is absolutely crucial. During the interview, Anne shares with us some insight into Indigenous ‘First Law’ as a way out of the anthropocentric, growthist quagmire we find ourselves in; towards a future of sustainability, stewardship and reconnection with each other, the land, water and life.

Following my interview with Anne, I play an excerpt of the musical tour-de-force which is "Yimardoowarra" from Nyikina Warrwa artist "Kalaji". Yimardoowarra means belonging to Martuwarra, the Fitzroy River - such a perfect soundtrack for this episode! You can listen to the entirety of the track on "Kalaji"s artist page here.

Want to find out more about Prof. Anne Poelina and the Martuwarra-Fitzroy River council? Anne has kindly provided some fantastic links below:

Martuwarra Fitzroy River Website: www.martuwarrafitzroy.org

Dr Anne Poelina “Wake Up The Snake! Collective wisdom brings nature back to balance | TEDxPerth https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZmflOQarnM

RiverOfLife, M., McDuffie, M., & Poelina, A., (2020). Martuwarra Country: A historical perspective (1838-present). Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council; Nulungu Research Institute, The University of Notre Dame Australia. https://www.doi.org/10.32613/nrp/2020.5

RiverOfLife, M., Poelina, A., Alexandra, J., & Samnakay, N. (2020). A Conservation and Management Plan for the National Heritage listed Fitzroy River Catchment Estate (No. 1). Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council, Nulungu Research Institute, The University of Notre Dame Australia. https://www.doi.org/10.32613/nrp/2020.4

Poelina A and McDuffie M (2015) Three Sisters, Women of High Degree. Madjulla Inc., Broome. Available at https://vimeo.com/147866161 - Password: Kimberley.

Poelina A and McDuffie M (2017) Mardoowarra's Right to Life, Madjulla Inc., Broome, WA, Australia available at https://vimeo.com/205996720 access password: Kimberley.

Post-Growth Australia Podcast is made possible with the support from Sustainable Population Australia

Special Guest: Prof. Anne Poelina.