3. Conclusion
This chapter stresses the importance of actively consulting and meaningfully listening to First Nations peoples on matters relating to climate change. The cultural imperative for First Nations communities in Australia has always been, and will always be, to care for Country. This chapter argues that there is a need for a variety of mechanisms for asserting the rights of First Nations peoples to Country. The range of mechanisms includes land rights, native title, environmental approval regimes and cultural heritage laws. There is no clear-cut pathway within the settler-colonial legal system which will suffice to advance the interests of First Nations peoples and their relational, custodial obligations to Country; instead, a variety of different mechanisms will need to be activated by First Nations peoples. Where it exists in Australia, human rights legislation can provide another mechanism for asserting the rights of First Nations people to Country.[1] However, human rights are anthropocentric, and part of the problem is that Country is not centred within the coloniser’s legislative and common law frameworks, while humans are. Therefore, the various human rights Acts can only ever be part of the response to First Nations issues, and the system has inherent limitations. In this context, it is interesting to record recent jurisprudence in Aotearoa New Zealand, where the Whanganui River was recognised to have legal standing.[2] Expansion of legal standing to non-human entities could be the first step in a worldwide recognition that environmental concerns and First Nations conceptions of relationality as extending beyond humanity can and must be prioritised.
On-Country knowledge from traditional First Nations custodians must form part of any transformative response to the current climate crisis by climate conscious lawyers. In such contexts, it is essential that climate conscious lawyers possess cultural awareness and humility and do not inadvertently appropriate First Nations cultural knowledge or seek to advocate on behalf of First Nations peoples by taking up the space that should be given over to First Nations voices.
We argue that becoming a climate conscious lawyer is not possible without the purposive inclusion of First Nations knowledges and perspectives, and the movement must be part of the process of decolonising both legal education and the settler-colonial Australian legal system. Students, academics and practitioners must ensure that First Nations knowledges are centred and not appropriated.
This chapter has invited you to consider the impact of Australia’s colonial history on First Nations peoples and Country. Now being more aware of the injustices and the ongoing impacts, you should have greater appreciation for why climate conscious lawyers need to engage with First Nations knowledges in any matter where Country is potentially being impacted. It is essential that local First Nations voices, particularly those with a strong connection to specific Country, are included to strengthen the broader arguments being made about the climate change impacts of proposed developments. This is crystallised in the phrase:
Listen to us! Care for Country!
- For example, Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld), Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic), Human Rights Act 2004 (ACT). ↵
- Miriama Cribb, Elizabeth Macpherson and Axel Borchgrevink, ‘Beyond Legal Personhood for the Whanganui River: Collaboration and Pluralism in Implementing the Te Awa Tupua Act (2024) International Journal of Human Rights 1. ↵
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the first peoples of Australia, meaning they were here for thousands of years prior to colonisation. Current research confirms that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have lived on the Australian continent for upwards of 60,000 years. While estimates vary, this figure represents the most widely accepted timeframe based on available evidence. Australia is made up of many different and distinct Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups, each with their own culture, language, beliefs and practices. Aboriginal people come from the mainland of Australia and its surrounding islands. The Torres Strait region is located between the tip of Cape York and Papua New Guinea and is made up of over two hundred islands. First Nations is a collective term that refers to Indigenous peoples of a nation, region or place. Indigenous peoples refers to the people with historical and ancestral ties to a place that pre-date colonisation, and is the term used by the United Nations in its Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. All these collective terms can be used respectfully. As proper nouns, all should be used with a capital letter.
Country is a word that holds many different meanings for First Nations people, especially given the diversity of First Nations across Australia. There are certain concepts and ideas about Country that many First Nations people share. For instance: Country is alive. Country is timeless. And Country is us. Country refers to the lands, waterways, seas and skies to which First Nations peoples are connected through ancestral ties and family origins. Country also encompasses relationships, such as relationships with plants, relationships with animals and relationships with Ancestors. Country is a proper noun, which is why it should be capitalised.
This is a cultural, legal and philosophical foundation for First Nations people that encompasses the central relationships of life and extends to people and to Country. It embeds the notion of shared responsibility and ongoing obligations.
