Caring for Country: 12 new Indigenous protected areas revealed

Across Australia, the government has established 12 new Indigenous Protected Areas to be managed by First Nations groups.

Transcript

00:00This is an amazing thing for my past generations, for my ancestors.

00:06The Australian Government has announced 12 new Indigenous Protected Areas

00:12that will be managed by First Nations groups.

00:15The total area is 7.5 million hectares of land and 450,000 hectares of sea.

00:24That's an area the size of Tasmania.

00:27We're here at the beautiful Bellinger River today and this is one Indigenous Protected Area.

00:33We're talking about the Pilbara, Coorbarpiti, Cape York, East Arnhem Land,

00:38right across this country in a whole range of different landscape types.

00:45First Nations Rangers are employed to care for Country and protect threatened species.

00:52For my ancestors, they weren't allowed to look after this land,

00:56so they've passed down through generations the responsibility to look after that land.

01:01So for me now, to be able to stand up and be given the right to look after our lands

01:07and turn them tables back to where the traditional custodians' practices are the keys to the future,

01:13there isn't words in the language that I know to really express how important that is to us as people.