Gudanji For Country
$40,000 | September 2022
What do Gudanji For Country do?
Gudanji For Country is elevating the voices of the Clan group, the Kurrunjini Rrumburriya (part of the Gudanji Nation), in speaking for and caring for our Country. As a grass roots First Nations organisation, they are fighting to protect Country from the damaging effects of overgrazing, mining and now fracking. In fighting to protect their Country, they are also aiming to elevate the voices of other First Nations and their own struggles. In doing so, they hope to better inform the wider public about our goals to protect Country, how they can join us in this fight and how we will all benefit from working together to protect our environment.
Why is this work important?
Despite being recognised Traditional Owners for our Country, the Kurrunjini Rrumburriya people have been side-lined by government and industry in matters affecting their Country. Despite actively seeking conversations with politicians at all levels of government, including attending and presenting to Senate inquiries, their voices are not being listened to. As a result, Country has suffered the ravages of overgrazing and mining and now is under imminent threat from fracking by companies such as Empire and Santos.
“Whilst we appreciate the need for wider community support to help us to fight against the destruction of our country, we understand that this is, first and foremost, our fight to fight. Our clan has always fought for our Country and will continue to do so. This is not only our Home, but also the home of our ancestors for over 60,000 years. It is our cultural duty to protect our Country, our kin and our sacred sites.”
How is Groundswell supporting this work?
Gudanji for Country’s immediate concern is preventing the irreversible and catastrophic destruction of their Country that will result from the imminent fracking that is proposed. With Groundswell’s support they plan to:
We will continue to lobby politicians to ensure that our loudly voiced concerns are heard at all levels of government.
We will also push for the Senate inquiry into fracking on the Beetaloo, in which we participated via written and verbal testimony, to be re-opened and urgently deliver its findings.
We have also made a submission to the Senate inquiry into the application of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and hope to speak to the inquiry panel when the inquiry formally commences.
Our intention is to attend COP27 (in Egypt) to again draw national and international attention to the climate concerns which we are facing and the solutions which are available to all of us. We also plan to attend the related conference in Bonn next year, where we hope to be involved in higher level political discussions relating to climate change.
Whilst our concerns are primarily related to our Home, we understand the need to hold the federal government to account and will continue to explore international avenues to do this – with a focus on the United Nations and their related mechanisms.
To learn more about Gudanji For Country’s impact, read our interview with founder Rikki Dank.