Master of Development Practice Annual Lecture - Re-imagining the Future Now!

About the lecture

Dr Poelina champions the need to strengthen Indigenous peoples’ capacity to uphold their human, cultural and economic rights from anthropogenic (human-caused) climate change. The National and Aboriginal Heritage Listed Mardoowarra/ Fitzroy River is at a crossroad, with diverse and conflicting visions for its future. Colonialism continues, mining, fossil fuel extraction, unconventional gas, and large-scale irrigated agriculture are invasive development proposals that threaten land, water, food security and the life ways for all Kimberley citizens.

This presentation includes a short film; bridging culture and shared understandings integral to transforming climate change spiralling into climate chaos, continued species extinction, human and environmental injustice. Bringing these threads together, a picture of the Mardoowarra/Fitzroy River emerges as a national treasure for new economies. Economies grounded in collective wisdom; traditional ecological knowledge, customary law with transdisciplinary knowledges; ecological, archaeological, heritage, arts and cultural values. This aligned with the rights of nature as the solutions for planetary health and wellbeing through an earth-centred regional governance provides the hope necessary to re-imagine the future now!

About the speaker

Dr Anne Poelina is Managing Director of Madjulla Inc., Chair of the Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council, is a Nyikina Warrwa Traditional Owner and guardian of the Mardoowarra, Lower Fitzroy River in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.

Dr Poelina's career in Indigenous, human and environmental advocacy spans four decades. Achievements include: Master Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Master Education, Master Arts (Indigenous Social Policy), Doctor of Philosophy and Doctor of Health Science Scholar.