Australia was forcibly occupied and colonised by Europeans after the bloody Frontier Wars with the First Nations of Australia. Sovereignty was never ceded.
Indigenous Land & Rights Spokespeople
For comment on First Nations issues in Australia - we recommend contacting First Nations People.
Friends of the Earth acknowledges the ongoing struggle for land and rights of indigenous peoples and encourages its members and supporters to be good allies and accomplices in those struggles.
Friends of the Earth actively seeks to work collaboratively with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities on campaigns, and notes the inseparable nature of environmental considerations from social issues, and this extends to the social, cultural, political and historical context of Australian indigenous people.
We seek to develop alliances with indigenous people to advance their priorities as well as securing good environmental outcomes. Fundamental to this is the commitment not to undermine the decision making structures of indigenous people or ventures simply to gain environmental outcomes.
All Friends of the Earth campaigns and affiliates are encouraged to actively seek working relationships with Traditional Owners
Friends of the Earth Australia acknowledges the sovereignty of indigenous nations throughout Australia and that sovereignty should be reinstated.
Friends of the Earth work collaboratively with Traditional Owners on our environmental campaigns
To help develop a wider appreciation of indigenous people’s land and water management knowledge, and to see that knowledge utilised in care for the natural environment
An environment movement that provides, where requested, political support, information and resources to Indigenous communities across the world
Current collaborations
We are auspicing the work of the Australian Nuclear Free Alliance, which is opposing all aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle in the country.
Friends of the Earth Melbourne are actively supporting the Djab Wurrung Embassy to protect sacred landscapes and the natural environment against road developments.
Historical Collaborations
- Working with the Yorta Yorta community we helped secure the creation of the Barmah National Park in Victoria, which protects around 100,000 hectares of Red Gum and wetland ecosystems in northern Victoria.
- Working with the Mirrar people and other environmental organisations we helped stop the development of the Jabiluka uranium mine in Kakadu in the Northern Territory.
- Working with Kupa Pita Kunga Tjuta, we stopped the development of a radioactive waste dump on indigenous lands in northern South Australia.
