The Latest Breaking News from Traditional Owners

Ever since modern environmentalism took off in the 1960s, people have tried to undo the damage humans have caused to nature. Efforts have ranged from reducing threats, to restoring habitats, to reintroducing vanished species – and the results have been mixed.

Boronias, known for their showy flowers and strong scent, are a quintessential part of the Australian bush. They led Traditional Owners to the best water sources and inspired Australian children’s author and illustrator May Gibbs to pen one of her earliest books, Boronia Babies.

Woodside Energy this week announced it would start seismic testing for its Scarborough gas project off Australia’s west coast, before reversing the decision in the face of a legal challenge from Traditional Owners.

Lawyers lodging the appeal on behalf of traditional owners and environment groups say the recent Supreme Court decision is serious, and if left unchallenged "could set a dangerous precedent".

What a difference six months makes. Before the federal election, the Beetaloo Basin in the Northern Territory was to have spearheaded Australia’s “gas-led recovery”. But Origin Energy this week announced it would sell its share of the basin project ahead of a wider exit from new gas ventures.

One of Australia's key industrial areas is set to go under the spotlight, after the government appointed a reporter to look into traditional owners' claims significant Aboriginal sites are being threatened by continued development.

An application from Traditional Owners to block the construction of a fertiliser plant near ancient rock art in the Pilbara was denied by the federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek this week. This decision is deeply concerning, and points to a much larger problem with Indigenous heritage management.

As Australia faces a gas crisis, Indigenous communities fear their millennia-old sacred sites will be collateral damage in the rush for fresh supplies.

Moreland City Council ratepayers will vote from three choices in the Woi-wurrung language, with a new name to be decided on by July.