2024 Goldman Prize Winner Murrawah Johnson: First Nations Must Be at the Forefront of Creating Change
April 29, 2024 | Source: Mongabay | by Mike DiGirolamo
In late 2022, the Land Court of Queensland recommended the rejection of a mining lease for one of Australia’s biggest proposed coal mining and export projects, owned by billionaire Clive Palmer’s Waratah Coal Ltd. The project would have emitted 1.58 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere over its lifespan and destroyed the 8,000-hectare (20,000-acre) Bimblebox Nature Refuge in the Galilee Basin of central Queensland state.
As co-director of the organization Youth Verdict, Murrawah Maroochy Johnson guided the group’s opposition to that historic court victory that resulted in multiple precedents making the link between climate change impacts and cultural and human rights. In recognition of her leadership, Johnson has been awarded the 2024 Goldman Environmental Prize.
On this episode of the Mongabay Newscast, she speaks about the significance of the successful case for First Nations rights in Australia, the potential legal implications it could have for future court challenges, and how she plans to continue using the legal system to fight for Indigenous rights and a healthy environment for all.