Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council

$40,000 | April 2022

What do Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council do?

The Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council is an alliance of Elders and emerging leaders from six independent nations of the Fitzroy River Catchment in the Kimberley, Western Australia. They are an entirely Indigenous led organisation, on the front line in the battle against climate change. They believe that through sharing Traditional Knowledge we can create a climate chance for all Australians. Their mission is to ensure Martuwarra (Fitzroy River), a living ancestor and a global treasure, retains a right to flow, while developing environmentally sustainable economies for Indigenous People that re-establishes the value of our cultures.

Why is this work important?

This Federal election period brings heightened public engagement on national policy issues, as well as greater engagement from MPs and candidates with the concerns of their local constituents. This creates a powerful opportunity for community organising, storytelling, and strategic campaigning to increase pressure on all parties and shift the politics on climate change.

15% of Australians aged 18-24 are not enrolled to vote and a Foundations for Tomorrow survey shows that the majority of young people don’t think the Federal Government is doing enough on climate, with almost 75% indicating they would vote for parties taking bold climate action.

This election presents a significant opportunity to mobilise young people as a voting constituency, and send a powerful message about the need for strong action on climate. AYCC will drive a national community movement to increase pressure on all parties, and secure meaningful commitments to climate and energy policy.

Following the Federal election, we will likely face either a fourth term Liberal government, or a first term ALP government, in power for the first time in nearly a decade. This is a vital time to be building or consolidating relationships with MPs and demonstrating mass support for climate action for local communities.

How is Groundswell supporting this work?

With Groundswell’s support, Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council’s campaign strategy involves producing exceptional short films, to host community and online events. Recording cultural content, registering sacred sites, petitioning and lobbying state and federal governments is also part of our action plan. This project continues to strengthen relationships between Traditional Custodians and key parliamentarians.

Deliverables include:

• Production and release of 4 short films about fracking, industrial agriculture and open-pit mining, as well as a celebration of the unspoiled beauty of Martuwarra.

• 4 community screenings in the Division of Durack (held by Hon. Melissa Price). This creates an opportunity for dialogue between members of parliament, traditional custodians, and local communities. We did this successfully in 2021, targeting State Government. Community screenings have a powerful impact, especially when done in conjunction with a calculated media campaign. We have built connections with major national and international outlets, including ABC, SBS and The Guardian.

• 2 online screenings will provide our global audience an opportunity to hear traditional custodians speak about the River and impending threats. Previously we have presented for TEDx, AIATSIS, Climate Reality Project and more. Our films have also been invited to showcase at the 2022 Biennale of Sydney. We are currently in discussions with Patagonia about production and distribution.

• 1 petition to the Federal Government with 50,000 + signatures, calling to enshrine Martuwarra’s right to live and flow. This aims to ensure no new mining, destructive agriculture or fossil fuel extraction in northern WA. Our previous submission to the WA Government (in collaboration with other local environmental NGO’s) reached 46,000 signatures.

• Double our social following and increase our email subscriber list (both exploded in 2021). This grows our reach, impact and global support networks.

• Continue meeting with State Government to establish the Fitzroy Advisory Group. These meetings resulted from our ‘Submission in response to: Managing Water in the Fitzroy River Catchment: Discussion Paper for Stakeholder Consultation’. This paper was written in collaboration with the Environmental Defenders Office and the Australian National University Water Justice Hub.

• Complete appliction to UNESCO for world heritage listing.

Grant update

At the time of receiving funding the organisation had one employee and no funds. With the Groundswell funding we were able to employ our Communications Strategist for another 6 months and pay Nation Builder for a new website. By putting the $40,000 of core funding into this investment, we were able to raise our following and funding. 

The Council has been able to meet multiple times a year. Our young leaders have developed a Youth Council, and many are now receiving mentoring from the Elders.