Earth Matters

Exploring Extreme Heat: Part One Hot histories - can heatwaves of the past teach us how to adapt to extreme heat? Earth Matters is embarking on a multi-episode series exploring what intense heat events mean for Australians. We’ll be hearing from settler Australians, migrant communities and First Nations people living in different parts of so-called Australia to understand how heat affects us, and whether current adaptation practices are sufficient to equip us for a hotter future. In Part One we delve into the near past to discover how Australians of European background lived through heatwaves in the 19th and 20thcenturies, and what their experiences mean for Australians today. We hear from settler Australian environmental historians Rochelle Schoff and Mandy Paul who spoke at a History Council of Victoria Making Publc Histories event last year. The event was convened by Margaret Anderson, manager of the Old Treasury Building in Naarm/Melbourne. Rochelle Schoff is a La Trobe University PhD Candidate and member of the Parched research project team. Mandy Paul is a public historian researching the history of heatwaves in Tarntanya/Adelaide and Head of Collections at the History Trust of South Australia. Historian Rebecca Jones was the third speaker at this event. Her research will be shared in a later episode. Thanks to the History Council of Victoria for providing access to the recording of Making Public Histories—Thinking about the weather: Heatwaves and history in twentieth century Australia event held on 27 November 2025. You can watch the full event here. Note: Statements made by Anangu community members shared by Rochelle Schoff were sourced from the following research paper, Bardsley, D. K., & Wiseman, N. D. (2016). Socio-ecological lessons for the Anthropocene: Learning from the remote Indigenous communities of Central Australia. Anthropocene, 14, 58–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ancene.2016.04.001 Image Credit: State Library of South Australia, B 7798/298.

In this edition of Earth Matters, host Keiran Stewart-Assheton interviews Matt from the pirate nursery Basalt Buddies, discussing the Victorian Grassland Plains, local conservation efforts, the limitations and unseen issues within government conservation policies, and how people can get involved in conservation efforts in their local area.

As with all other areas of Direct Activism for social and environmental justice, some of the most staunch, courageous and passionate forest defenders are women. At the Lutruwita Forest Resistance Tour last month Hannah and Rosie were fortunate to meet and work alongside many of them, who ranged from teenagers to 80 year-olds. They spoke to two of these incredible women - Jenny Weber (Bob Brown Foundation Campaign Manager), and Colette Harmsen (scientist and veterinarian), and look forward to introducing them to listeners on Earth Matters' International Women's day program.Join the March for Forests on Sunday 22 March.

Mia speaks with two poets about their recent books, both of which chronicle relationship-building with the more-than-human world. Eungedup is a work of poetry and narrative non-fiction recounting Giles Watson's relationship with a freshwater wetland during a long, dry summer. Vampire Squid is a close and personal account of the deep sea and the people who study it, written throughout Dr Prema Arasu's time working at the UWA Deep-Sea Research Centre.Giles Watson is a writer and teacher of English and Drama who lives in Albany/Kinjarling, WA. Eungedup: A Wetland Summer Diary chronicles his quest to gain a sense of belonging in his new home. Prema Arasu is a writer and academic at the Deep-Sea Research Centre at the University of Western Australia. Their research utilises transdisciplinary and creative methods to investigate the aesthetics of the deep sea. Vampire Squid examines the relationship between humans and the deep sea as the poet places their colleagues under the microscope, drawing attention not only to the teeming suboceanic life, but the distinctive ways that oceanographer, geoscientist, taxonomist, marine biologist and geneticist each interpret the same world through different eyes. https://fremantlepress.com.au/books/eungedup/https://fremantlepress.com.au/books/vampire-squid/ https://www.armatusoceanic.com/podcast Earth Matters #1545 was produced by Mia Audrey on Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country.

A jubilant Adrian Burraguba makes the first announcement of a landmark decision handed down in the Queensland Court of Appeal, restoring the case to protect the sacred Doongmabulla springs from Adani’s Carmichael coal mine.Then an introduction to The South Coast Action Network: a new grassroots community collective whose purpose is to empower individuals and communities to take direct, creative action against oppressive systems that fail people and the environment. PROTECT SACRED WATER | Chuffed | Non-profit charity and social enterprise fundraisingDonations will be used for legal fees and related expenses incurred by Wangan and Jagalingou Nagana Yarrbayn Cultural Custodians. (19) Facebook Wangan and Jagalingou - Standing Our Ground

Helena Norberg-Hodge is a pioneer of the new economy movement, a filmmaker, author and founding director of Local Futures, which is committed to the revitalisation of cultural and biological diversity and the strengthening of local communities and economies worldwide. Helena has just turned 80 years old. Helena argues for a radical shift from destructive global capitalism and unchecked technological advancement, including AI and urbanisation, towards a model of 'localisation' that emphasises reconnecting humans with nature and community, fostering happiness, self-reliance, and ecological healing.Website Building Economics of Happiness | Helena Norberg-Hodge Event link Panel Talk: Ancient Futures & The Religion of Economics — Marrickville Golf, Sporting & Community Club.Thankyou to Regen Sydney, Cooks River Alliance and Local Futures. Earth Matters # 1543 was produced by Bec Horridge

Mia chats with the folks behind A Climate for Art and Creative Climate, initiatives driving climate conversations and action in the arts and cultural sector. Eliki Reade is an Interdependent Producer and artist of kailoma-Fijian (Fijian/European) heritage. They are a co-instigator of A Climate for Art (ACFA), a collective of artists, arts workers and organisations intent on mobilising their sector for climate action. Lana Nguyen is an independent curator, cultural organiser and producer on projects that stem from the politics of place. She is a co-instigator of A Climate for Art (ACFA). Angharad Wynne-Jones is Cymry (Welsh) Australian and lives on the unceded lands of the Kulin Nation in Narrm (Melbourne). She is currently leading Creative Climate - funded by Creative Australia, is the new national peak body for arts and climate providing leadership, connections, advocacy and access to high-quality resources that support artists, arts workers and arts and cultural organisations and their funders to transition from a carbon economy and adapt to the impacts of climate change. https://www.aclimateforart.com.au/https://www.creativeclimate.org.au/ Earth Matters #1542 was produced by Mia Audrey on Wurundjeri Woiwurrung Country.

Earth Matters brings you Voices from "Rising Tide" protest blocking coal ships in Moolobinba/Newcastle, highlighting youth climate anxiety, calls for government accountability, and the interconnectedness of environmental, social, and Indigenous justice issues in Australia.We will hear from:Grace Goldman from Youth Rising expressed deep fear for her future and her hometown, Newcastle, due to government inaction on climate change. -Interviewed by Vivian LangfordDaisy Nutty emphasises the interconnected systems; the fossil fuel industry is intertwined with the military-industrial complex, capitalism, the housing crisis, and weapons trafficking, all driven by a "bunch of billionaires." Member; “Older, Bolder and Stopping CoalEarth Matters #1541was made in Muloobinba on Awabakal country by Bec Horridge and Vivian Langford

This Invasion Day, Earth Matters confronts the truth behind January 26 — not as a celebration, but as the beginning of invasion and ecological destruction.From colonisation as an environmental catastrophe to the climate crisis as a colonial crisis, this special episode centres First Nations sovereignty, Land Back, and the reality that there is no environmental justice without decolonisation. Because the future is either decolonial — or unliveable.

‘Aboriginal people in Western Australia experience the highest rates of death from mesothelioma globally. That’s because of Wittenoom. And there isn’t a Banjima family who isn’t touched by this. This is really a huge human rights issue.’‘We went pretty deep into where the main tailings dumps are. We have this drone shot that goes for five minutes…It shows the tailings dumps going for like hundreds of metres and that is not a perspective many people will ever see, unless they’re flying over that site in a chopper.’Yurlu | Country director, Yaara Bou Melhem Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Warning: This episode of Earth Matters contains the name of a person who has died.The recently released documentary Yurlu | Country shines new light on the Wittenoom asbestos mine catastrophe. Centring the experience of former Karijini Park ranger Banjima elder Maitland Parker, it shows the impacts of asbestos include not only lost lives and environmental damage but the cultural loss traditional owners have suffered as a result of diminished access to their Country.Guest: Yurlu | Country writer/director/producer Yaara Bou MelhemDocumentary website: https://yurlucountry.comDetails on how to watch and share Yurlu |Country PLUS the Clean Up Wittenoom campaign: https://yurlucountry.com/take-action/For information on asbestos-related disease: https://asbestosdiseases.org.au/information/wittenoom-overview/https://www.asbestos.com/blog/2019/03/19/asbestos-problem-australian-aboriginals/Episode #1539: Producer/presenter: Claudia Craig | Interviewer: Annie McLoughlin This interview was first aired on 3CR’s Showreel on November 6th 2025. Listen to the full interview here. A huge thanks to Annie McLoughlin for sharing this interview with us.Photo credit: Illuminate Films

The climate crisis is a crisis of imagination; we are stuck in a web of stories about what’s possible. But voices outside the web are picking at the knots, opening other ways of being through different, older stories. This is the work of artists. And while you may not know it from how your tax dollars are spent, artists are a lifeline for our world in crisis. Enter A Climate for Art (ACFA): a collective of artists, arts workers and organisations intent on mobilising their sector for climate action. This show features two recordings from a Symposium hosted by ACFA—in partnership with Next Wave, City of Melbourne, George Paton Gallery and Climate Action Network Australia—which together give a glimpse of how our biggest imaginations are responding to the climate crisis.Zena Cumpston is a Barkandji woman with Afghan, Irish and English heritage. Zena works as an artist, writer, researcher, curator and consultant and currently resides in Narrm/melbourne. Dr. Jacina Leong 梁玉明 is an artist-curator, educator and researcher whose practice engages with the intersections of community engagement, care ethics and curatorial inquiry. Currently living in Narrm/Melbourne, and working across cultural and educational spaces since 2008, her work considers how creative practices and organisations can respond to the converging crises of our time. https://www.aclimateforart.com.au/https://leifjustham.com/ Earth Matters #1538 was produced by Mia Audrey on Yuin Nation country.

Benny Zable and Tarneen Onus Browne have filed a legal challenge in the Federal Court against Victoria Police's decision to declare Melbourne's CBD and surrounding suburbs a "designated area" for six months, enabling officers to conduct warrantless pat-down searches across the entire CBD, and making it an offence to refuse a search.Links:Benny Zable webpageProtester statue proposed for Byron Bay. The statue is of Benny Zable in costume, and you can contribute by buying a mini statue.The Benny Zable ProfileLegal challenge to CBD-wide warrantless searchesMatthew Jeffrey: First Nations Organiser and Climate Justice AdvocateAs a Wadi Wadi man and the First Nations Organiser Coordinator for Rising Tide, Matthew Jeffrey's role is to create a welcoming and empowering space for First Nations people at climate protests like the Newcastle event. This includes facilitating advocacy and increasing their participation in climate justice discussions.LinksRising Tide

In this episode, host Keiran Stewart-Assheton looks at the propaganda we are sold around ethical consumption, particularly in the form of "green" energy, electric cars and carbon offsets.He asks Who really pays for this? Are we sacrificing lives for lifestyle? Can individual lifestyle choices truly make an impact?

John Seed explains how modern economics functions as a powerful, unrecognised religion, driving environmental destruction and social inequality, and that unmasking it is crucial for planetary survival.John is the co-founder of the Rainforest Information Centre and, for over forty years, has facilitated hundreds of transformative experiential Deep Ecology, also known as the work that reconnects. Find his upcoming workshop schedule at the Rainforest Information website.Also, a poem by John, celebrating the universe, Earth's creation, and the interconnectedness of all life, reinforcing the call to: "Celebrate life, celebrate Earth, celebrate the cosmos." In 2026 John Seed and friends are holding a series of Deep Ecology workshops at Narara Ecovillage in NSW. FEBRUARY 6-8 DEEP ECOLOGY with John Seed, Erika Aligno & friends, Narara Ecovillage, Central CoastMARCH 7“BUDDHA TOUCHED THE EARTH”, Susie Brown and John Seed, Narara EcovillageAPRIL 10-12 DEEP ECOLOGY with John Seed, Magpie Sally & friends, Narara Ecovillage, Central CoastThere will be workshops at NARARA in June, Aug, Oct & Dec - stay tuned for detailsThankyou to Regen Sydney and the Cooks River Alliance for recording John Seeds' talkThere is a video of John Seeds' talk here. He speaks alongside Helen Norberg Hodge.https://youtu.be/1NeVUUkgrbY?si=3LSjg0ZHM08SgcdQEarth Matter #1524 was made in Gadigal/ Sydney on Wangal Country, the lands of the People of the Eora Nations by Bec Horridge.

Six weeks ago, billionaire businessman Clive Palmer lost a $300 billion case against the Australian government when the High Court determined that he is not, in fact, a Singaporean investor.It may sound absurd, but Palmer’s case had potential – and he has three more similar cases in the works. Across the globe, fossil fuel companies are taking up a secret weapon against climate action: it’s baked into many trade agreements, and allows corporations to bypass court systems and sabotage climate policies.‘Investor-state dispute settlement’, or ISDS, has the potential to crush what little progress states are making on climate action. To fill us in on this toxic global loophole, I called on the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network, AFTINET. Audio for this episode comes from their recent webinar on ISDS, and features expert voices on the problem and its solutions. Dr Pat Ranald is an honorary research assistant at the University of Sydney and convenor of the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network. Kyla Tienhaara is Canada Research Chair in Economy and Environment and Associate Professor in the School of Environmental Studies and Department of Global Development Studies at Queen’s University, Kingston. Maria Poulos Conklin is a diplomat, policy maker, founder of the Save the Bay Coalition and the former Parliamentary and Political Relations Manager at the Australian Conservation Foundation. Earth Matters #1533 was produced by Mia Audrey on Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country.Image courtesy of AFTINET.

What would you guess is the largest environmental threat to our iconic deserts? Feral animals? Contaminated or depleted water tables? Desertification? Actually, it’s a grass. Since its introduction in the 1960s and 70s, and particularly in the last couple of decades, buffel grass has spread like wildfire through central so-called Australia. It’s wreaking havoc on fragile arid ecosystems, and ranks higher than any other environmental threat in terms of its social and cultural impacts for Aboriginal people. How is one little grass doing so much damage? To find out, I spoke to Alex Vaughan and Kat Herbert from ALEC, the Arid Lands Environment Centre, in Mparntwe (Alice Springs). ALEC’s ‘Beat Back Buffel’ campaign is a world-leading effort to manage the spread of Buffel Grass through the continent’s arid ecosystems. Sign the petition to declare buffel a Weed of National Significance: https://www.alec.org.au/wons_25 Earth Matters #1532 was produced by Mia Audrey on Wurundjeri Woiwurrung country.

Angelica Manticas from Market Forces details the environmental, social, and financial risks associated with APA Group's proposed pipelines in Australia's Northern Territory, which would enable extensive gas fracking in the Beetaloo Basin.Angelica explains Market Forces' strategies to oppose APAs' plans.Angelica is a first-generation Greek-Australian hailing from the island of Chios, Greece. She is a dedicated youth nature and climate justice advocate with a deep-rooted understanding of nature, cultivated through her heritage and a string of impressive achievements at a young age.

In this episode of Earth Matters, host Keiran talks about the rocket testing being undertaken by Southern Launch, discussing its impacts on the local environment, Aboriginal community and Aboriginal culture; the dangers it is posing to people undertaking cultural duties within the testing range; as well as the campaigns against this testing being undertaken by senior Kokatha Elder and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aunty Sue Haseldine and her supporters.Link to fundraiser mentioned in show: West Mallee Protection Fund | Chuffed | Non-profit charity and social enterprise fundraising

This show is the second of two parts on the tricky and crucial work of speaking with young people about the climate: conversations with two educators on opposite sides of the world. Jonathan Noble is the Director of the School of Nature and Climate at CERES Community Environment Park, Narrm (melbourne), which every year delivers climate education programs to thousands of learners. His previous work includes engagement and learning program design for Conservation Volunteers Australia, Zoos South Australia, and the SA Department of Education. Sandra Goldstein Lehnert is the Cultural Director at Camp Kinderland in Massachusetts, USA, which has operated since 1923 delivering a leftist political education program in a summer camp context. They are a community organiser, PhD candidate, and adjunct lecturer and graduate teaching fellow in the Department of English at Queens College, New York. You’ll hear about the importance of spaces outside the traditional classroom, for giving kids the space and tools to love our living world; as well as insights for your own engagement with young people, at home, work or in your community. Earth Matters #1529 was produced by Mia Audrey on Wurundjeri Woiwurrung country.

Talking about climate change is hard. And for those of us who work, live or spend time with young people, it can be especially difficult to work out how to balance the harsh realities of present and future impacts; communicate accurately about what can be done; and respond to the feelings that come up for us and for the kids we care about. On this show, Mia brings you interviews with two climate advocates who are using their talents to help kids and their carers grapple with the climate crisis:Tim Winton is a West Australian author, four-time Miles Franklin award winner, and named a Living Treasure by the National Trust of Australia. His new picture book, ‘Ningaloo: Australia’s Wild Wonder’, captures his love for the Ningaloo reef region; he has campaigned for its protection for over 20 years. Dr Linden Ashcroft is a senior lecture in climate science and science communication at the University of Melbourne. She co-created ‘Climate Kids’, a series of Youtube videos answering kids’ questions about climate change. Climate Superpowers quiz - https://climatesuperpowers.org/ Earth Matters #1528 was produced by Mia Audrey on Wurundjeri Woiwurrung country.