As January 26 approaches, we reflect and mourn the lives lost, the country destroyed and the families torn apart since this continent was brutally colonised. This is also a time to celebrate First Nations resistance, those who have protected country, those who continue to bring people together to practice culture, and those who are forging a new path forward.
This is a time for listening to mob, to show up to your local day of mourning event on January 26 and to pay the rent @grassroots_ptr
Keerray Woorroong and Gunditjmara Whale Dreaming Custodian, Yaraan Couzens Bundle is leading the fight to protect Sea Country off the South-West coast of Victoria. As head of Southern Ocean Protection Embassy Collective, Yaraan helped stop one of the largest ever seismic blasting projects, which is a form of oil and gas exploration that wrecks marine ecosystems.
Seismic blasting is a way of finding deepsea oil and gas reserves by firing unimaginably loud blasts of air from boats at the ocean floor– roughly every 10 seconds, 24 hours a day, for weeks or even months at a time. These blasts can kill shellfish, destroy essential food like zooplankton, and even deafen whales who rely on sound for navigation and communication.
In 2022, US oil and gas giant TGS announced plans for a record 75,000km2 seismic blast off Victoria’s South-West coast. Yaraan spent years campaigning across the state against the project, holding demonstrations and highlighting its threat to Koontapool, the Southern Right Whale. Immense community pressure meant TGS was forced to gradually reduce the size of this destructive project, before abandoning it entirely in 2024.
The Victorian Greens stood with @s.o.p.e.c and local communities by introducing a bill to ban oil and gas exploration and drilling in Victoria’s oceans. While Labor voted down the Greens’ bill in 2023 and is still approving new offshore projects, Yaraan continues to fight on the frontlines. Find out how you can support Yaraan by following @yaraanbundle and @s.o.p.e.c
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