Earth Matters

Nurrdalinji Aboriginal Corporation Members and Directors outside a flaring exploration well on Tanumbrini Cattle Station. Photo courtesy of Thomas Houlie kindly provided by Original Power and the Nurrdalinji Aboriginal Corporation Emissions impossibleThe Northern Territory's decision to green-light fracking in the Beetaloo Basin relied on a CSIRO/GISERA report entitled 'Mitigation and Offsets of A...

Professor Katerina Teaiwa and Itinterunga Rae Banteiti join Priya to discuss the colonial history of phosphate mining on Banaba and the fight by Banabans for reparations and an end to extraction. This conversation, recorded in September 2023, occurs in the context of a recent push by Australian mining company Centrex, which has sought to conduct phosphate prospecting activities on the island under...

Professor Katerina Teaiwa and Itinterunga Rae Banteiti join Priya to discuss the colonial history of phosphate mining on Banaba and the fight by Banabans for reparations and an end to extraction. This conversation, recorded in September 2023, occurs in the context of a recent push by Australian mining company Centrex, which has sought to conduct phosphate prospecting activities on the island under...

Fire threat to purple-crowned fairy-wren Wildfire threatens the survival of the endangered purple-crowned fairy-wren, a tiny bird that lives in riparian zones, along the rivers and creeks of Australia’s northern tropical savanna.  Anne Peters and Niki Teunissen have been studying the purple-crowned fairy-wren at the Mornington Marion Downs Wildlife Sanctuary for almost twenty years. During this ti...

Dr. Colette Harmsen, in lutruwita (Tasmania) was released on Friday 13/10/23 from her three months sentence in prison, for having stood up for the protection of our precious native forests. She spoke to Sean O'Shannessy on the day of her release about her reasons for taking the actions that got her locked up, her experience of prison and her intentions for future actions for our environment.  Susi...

At a time when the world has moved from global warming to 'global boiling' according to the UN Secretary General, all eyes are on COP 28 (UAE, Dec 2023) for the world to take the actions needed to dramatically reduce carbon emissions. In this Women's Climate Conversation online event WCC founder Janet Salisbury was joined by three women who are bringing ambitious agendas to COP28 to secure the cli...

Waorani leader  Alicia Cahuiya standing next to a tree near her community marked to be cut down by Petroecuador, the company now banned from drilling in Yasuní National Park. Ecuador votes to keep oil in the soilOn August 20th fifty-eight per cent of Ecuadorians voted to stop all current and future drilling in three oil fields inside the Yasuni National Park and sixty-eight per cent voted to block...

At a time when the world has moved from global warming to 'global boiling' according to the UN Secretary General, all eyes are on COP 28 (UAE, Dec 2023) for the world to take the actions needed to dramatically reduce carbon emissions. In this Women's Climate Conversation online event WCC founder Janet Salisbury was joined by three women who are bringing ambitious agendas to COP28 to secure the cli...

Sean O Shannessy talks with Felicity Wade from the Labor Environment Action Network about outcomes for our native forests at the recent ALP National Conference in Meanjin. Bob Browns with trumpets and his epic speech at the massive rally outside the conference. The North Coast Environment Council alerts us that logging in all of the Great Koala National Park must stop. Xavier Rudd singing at the R...

With the effects of climate change being felt around the globe, a small grassroots civil resistance movement is reforming, and they are called Rising Tide. We spoke with Shaun Murray and 19 year old Alexa Stuart from Rising Tide, about what this is all about and how you can get involved with the People's Blockade of the world's largest coal port on November 24th. Visit risingtide.org.au for more i...

Uncle Bunja Smith says he wants "to see a permanent voice to parliament so we may be able to close the gap”. Uncle Bunja is asking people to find out about The Voice referendum coming up on October 14th, dodge the misinformation flying about, and join the Yes campaign. 43 climate organisations and groups representing a movement of over two million Australians  signed a public letter supporting YES...

"Save the bees" has become an environmental catch cry – but with honeybees colonies on the rise, what bee species are in need of saving and how should we go about saving them? This episode we chat with Dr Kit Prendergast about invasive bee colonies and their impact on Australia’s ecosystem. We also dive into Dr Prendergast’s research into bee hotels and their efficacy in helping support native bee...

Saving Westernport Bay: A community takes on AGL On October 17th 2017 AGL announced it would install a Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) in Westernport Bay on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria. We re-visit the story of the Save Westernport Campaign, broadcast on 3CR in June 2021, to look at what citizens are up against when they take on large corporations to protect the environmen...

A 2021 national inventory found Australia’s low and intermediate waste has a combined volume greater than seven Olympic swimming pools. This episode looks at the Barngarla Determination Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC v Minister for Resources [2023] court case heard earlier this month, in which traditional owner group Barngarla Determination Aboriginal Corporation, successfully overturned a proposal...

Environmental Dimensions of the 'war on drugs' We investigate the environmental dimensions of the war on drugs and the international drug prohibition regime.  Liliana Davalos, an evolutionary biologist from Stony Brook University in New York, tells us how growing coca crops in Colombia for the international drug market began and the impact it’s had. https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-06...

Australia is preparing for war, but is there an alternative? Margaret Reynolds from the Women's International League of Peace and Freedom joins the show to discuss what AUKUS means for Australian society and environment, from a feminist perspective. What are the alternatives? How did this all come about, and what can we do to stop it. All this and more on Earth Matters. Please support the work of...

Hear Rod Taylor co-author of a new book The Path to a Sustainable Civilization with Mark Diesendorf.with Ecopella environment choir singing  “Let's Pretend” and “My Kyoto”. “Break the bonds of corporate state capture. “The way out of our black hole is to build social movements to pressure the government and big business, to weaken the power of vested interests and strengthen democratic decision-ma...

As Victoria and Tasmania become the last two states in Australia to implement a cash for container deposit scheme Earth Matters reflects on the community effort to get the policy. We speak with Jeff Angel, director at community environment group Boomerang Alliance, exploring the corporate influence of Big Beverage, state politics and necessary next steps for recycling infrastructure in Australia....

 Community says NO but seismic blasting in the Otway Basin one step closer as TGS/SLB Environment Plan released for public comment  On Thursday, July 13th, TGS/SLB advised stakeholders that the national regulator, NOPSEMA, has accepted as complete their Environment Plan for the Otway Basin 3D Multi-client Marine Seismic Survey. The Environment Plan has just been made available to the public and co...

Small Island Developing States and the climate crisis In our final episode of the 'Loss, Damage, and Denial' miniseries, Jacob speaks with Tristan Ward, a social and behaviour change officer at UNICEF from Barbados, about the climate losses and damages facing the Caribbean and the need for climate finance. We also hear from Netta Maiava, a young Samoan Pacific Climate Warrior, about the need to ce...

Valuing the world's disappearing kelp forestsKelp forests are disappearing around the world and in Australia due to warming oceans, pollution and other human impacts. In this episode of Earth Matters we speak with Aaron Egar, marine scientist at the University of New South Wales about his research on the value of kelp forests, the Kelp Forest Alliance and Kelp Forest Challengehttps://theconversati...

The Knitting Nannas were outside Forestry NSW demanding an end to the destruction of our forests that provide ecosystem services and species.  They also offer some caring advice and hope to young people.  In Canberra, outside the Japanese Embassy more Nannas, climate and forest defence groups ask the Japanese government to reconsider its green transition strategy as it means burning more of our  f...

According to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water Australians used 3.4 million tonnes of plastics in 2018-2019.This week Earth Matters looks at two tools in the fight against plastic waste, revisiting the benefits of cash for containers policy and learning about potential uses for plastic eating micro fungi. Guests include Robert, from community group Cash for Contai...

Last month Victoria announce the end of native forest logging in the state would be brought forward to Jan 1 2024. And just this week, a whale is entangled in a shark net in Queensland. This week on Earth Matters we have Isaac Carne– Campaigner for Goongerah Environment CentreLeroy Johnson – Barkindji Malaygangapaa MusicianLauren Sandeman – threatened species campaigner for Sea Shepherd Australia....

Home to exquisite landscapes, rich culture, and the world’s tallest peaks, the mountainous communities that inhabit the Himalayas face an existential threat. Described as the ‘water tower of Asia’, the glaciers that feed ten of Asia’s major rivers are melting faster, amid a warming climate and increasingly unpredictable rain and drought. It’s posing a threat to lives and livelihoods, and contribut...