‘Bina: First Nations Languages, Old and New’ ,Felicity Meakins, Gari Tudor-Smith with Paul Williams (La Trobe University Press, 2024)

First Nations language celebration, with David Marr, ABC RN, Late Night Live, 12 August 2024

Ancient First Nations languages are being re-learnt and adapted for current times. A new book captures some of the variety, and significance, of the varied language landscape of the Australian continent.

Guests:
Felicity Meakins, Professor of Linguistics at the University of QLD and Gari Tudor-Smith, Barada, Yimin, Gangulu [pron GUNG-a-loo] and Gureng Gureng linguist. Research associate at the UoM.

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The Dream of the Earth
Relating The Dream of the Earth (Thomas Berry) principles to Munibung Hill.

THE STORY following European settlement, has been that the preservation and subsequent restoration of the Munibung Hill landscape is to be dependent on the financial contribution of commercial developers. This adopts a position consistent with a patriarchal worldview, whereby Munibung Hill is priced according to and within a human monetary framework.

However, Munibung Hill needs to be embraced as a sacred site, beyond human economic calculations that, by definition, reduces her worth to modern human valuation tables.

Rather, we need to recognise her as a gift to all species, plant and animal (humans being in the animal realm) and therefore transcending our human-centric valuation system.

We are but custodians of this site of Aboriginal significance, with our role being to act in a stewardship capacity.

Is appears to be the view of LMCC that developer contributions are to be the source of funding for the care and maintenance of Munibung Hill.

It is worth noting that:
Any progress of the human at the expense of the larger life community must ultimately lead to a diminishment of human life itself. A degraded habitat will produce a degraded human.  The Dream of the Earth. p 165

… From MMM Issue #46 Oct-Nov. 2024