How a grassroots legal effort defeated a giant Australian coal mine

In recognition of her leadership and advocacy, Indigenous Wirdi woman Murrawah Maroochy Johnson has been awarded the 2024 Goldman Environmental Prize. 

She joins the Mongabay Newscast to discuss a landmark victory for First Nations rights in Australia, led by her organization Youth Verdict against Waratah Coal, which resulted in the Land Court of Queensland recommending a rejection of a mining lease in the Galilee Basin that would have added 1.58 billion tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere over its lifespan.

The court case set multiple precedents in Australia, including being the first successful case to link the impacts of climate change with human rights, and the first to include on-Country evidence from First Nations witnesses. 

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Image credit: 2024 Goldman Prize winner Murrawah Maroochy Johnson. Photo courtesy of Goldman Environmental Prize.

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Timecodes 

(00:00) Introduction

(02:51) An unprecedented victory

(05:33) Including on-Country evidence

(16:17) Future legal implications

(20:34) Challenges of navigating the legal system

(26:14) Looking to the future

(28:16) Credits