First Nations Governance, Finance, Land and the Climate Crisis

This webinar explores what climate leadership looks like when it is grounded in First Nations governance, including:

• Co-design and decision-making on Country: why Traditional Owners must be at the table early, listened to, and treated as equal partners.
• What’s missing from mainstream climate conversations: the need to centre Country, cultural authority, community wellbeing, and First Nations rights and interests.
• Risks of “business as usual” consultation: how rushed, transactional engagement can create harm, division, and poor outcomes.
• Equity, ownership and capability-building: why projects should include equitable participation, genuine local jobs and business opportunities, and early engagement.
• Country beyond an economic lens: what is lost when land is valued only for emissions, offsets or dollars, instead of spiritual connection, cultural sites, access, and identity.
• Finance, governance and accountability: how investment can enable or undermine First Nations climate solutions, and why standards, safeguards and accountability mechanisms matter.
• Protecting cultural integrity under climate pressure: the importance of partnership, transparency and ongoing relationships that support cultural responsibility, social connection and long-term wellbeing.

The session closes with a clear call to action: the social enterprise sector and business must help shift systems toward First Nations-led governance, equitable partnerships, and climate solutions that protect cultural integrity and community wellbeing.

Show notes and quotes

Bec Blurton: “I think it keeps coming back to that partnership piece. There's so much opportunity to partner and co-design and reap the benefits of that - long-term, meaningful impact and sustainable benefits.”

“Where are the partnership opportunities? To work together, to co-design programs, to co-design land management, to co-manage land.”

“I think there's a lot to be said for recognising First Nations communities with unique rights and interests rather than just another stakeholder to engage in a wider development process.”

“For me, the conversation has been trying to elevate First Nations rights and interests, and separate our unique connection to Country and one another. Our long histories, our traditions, our culture, our kinship structures, our songlines, all of those things. What are the different mechanisms, or what are the approaches or the protocols required to meet First Nations rights and interests where they're at?” 

Tyson McEwan: “We must challenge ourselves to change that [dominant Western] perspective and that viewing, so that Traditional Owners' perspectives and knowledge is equally important to include…”

“...you have to invest the time in those communities, you have to sit down and understand….how you get that perspective is by investing that time.”

“Just because it hasn't been done before doesn't mean that it can't happen.”

Raylene Bellottie: “Our people have been on Country for thousands of years. They know Country back to front. Why wouldn't you want to be able to work with Traditional Owners? It makes it a lot easier for your major projects.”

“Equity is the only way for our future”

“It's about building that relationship, building that rapport, and that is important to us.”

“It's about ensuring equity of access - that everybody, if they want their voice to be heard, they get that opportunity.”

Explore more

For those who are keen to dive deeper and do differently, here are some links to learnings and resources mentioned by the speakers and/or related to the open learning topic:

• Inquiry into the Opportunities and Challenges of the Engagement of Traditional Owners in the Economic Development of Northern Australia
• Taskforce on Inequality and Social-related Financial Disclosures (TISFD)
• ANTAR - Rio Tinto’s destruction of Juukan Gorge
• Indigenous Procurement Policy (IPP)
• Outcomes report - Global Climate Action Agenda at COP 30
• The Australian Sustainable Finance Taxonomy
• UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
• The Centre for Policy Development - Climate Change and Directors’ Duties
• ILUAs - Indigenous Land Use Agreement
• United Nations Climate Change - COP31
• Firesticks
• Indigenous Desert Alliance