New Matilda, 25 July 2016: A funeral procession of more than a million people, organisers said, accompanied the coffin of slain activist Kem Ley through Phnom Penh on Sunday as his body made the journey from the pagoda where it had lain in state for two weeks back to his home town in the provinces. … Continue reading
In the early 1990s the plight of the Penan people of Sarawak became an international cause celebre, with Swiss adventurer Bruno Manser touring the world with a small Penan delegation, and the likes of Prince Charles, Al Gore, David Suzuki and the Greatful Dead speaking out about the rapid destruction of the forest in Sarawak. … Continue reading
The government of Sarawak, one of two Malaysian states in Borneo, plans to build a string of hydroelectric dams and industrialise with the power. But the next of the planned dams, on the Baram River, threatens the land and homes of 20,000 indigenous people. A group of local activists have been blockading the proposed dam … Continue reading
Crikey, 16 November 2015: When they first set up camp it was under plastic tarps strung from the trees and propped up with sticks. That night the rain came — a drenching tropical downpour that left the group of 100 or so protesters wet, cold and awake through the dark Borneo night. But after years of petitions … Continue reading
If global warming can be slowed from its current trajectory, there is a chance that corals will be able to adapt, according to a marine biologist whose research is focused on the organism’s resilience to climate change. Dr Anya Salih, a bioimaging specialist who studies the fluorescence of corals, told a Melbourne audience last month … Continue reading
Environment groups in Victoria are calling for the introduction of a ‘climate charter’ in the state which would set CO2 emission reduction targets and enable citizens to take legal action against the government if the targets aren’t met. The proposed charter, an overarching legal framework modelled on Victoria’s Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities, … Continue reading
A monument to commemorate the victims of genocide and genocidal acts will be erected in a Preston park after a motion to install it passed unopposed at a Darebin council meeting on Monday. A large delegation from the munipality’s diverse ethnic communities was in the gallery of the Preston Town Hall to witness the vote … Continue reading
Jakarta Globe, 14 June 2015: Villagers in remote Central Kalimantan have lodged a claim for legal title to 1,000 hectares of land within BHP Billiton’s vast IndoMet coal project area under a new land rights scheme in the province. The residents of Maruwei, one of the closest villages to IndoMet’s “first stage” Haju mine, have … Continue reading
Jakarta Globe, 14 June 2015 Residents of the village of Maruwei in Central Kalimantan claim they were tricked and intimidated in relation to BHP Billiton’s acquisition of an area of their land for the first stage of the IndoMet coal project a decade ago. According to Maruwei village secretary Timor Banafi, villagers started clearing small … Continue reading
A sad but hopeful look at the language situation in the Roper River region, in the Northern Territory, made by Ngukurr local, Ngandi man and Language Centre worker Grant Thompson and me, with and for Ngukurr Language Centre. Screened on ICTV (Indigenous Community Television) in early 2015.