Waddamuli friends,
Since I last updated you, I travelled to Muloobinba/Newcastle for the Rising Tide gathering, where we premiered our new short film, Nagana Yarrbayn: The Water Protectors. My son Gurridyulla and I presented it to the gathering. The film received a standing ovation—from people who know this fight matters.
That recognition means something because our supporters understand that we do this to fulfil the responsibility passed down directly through countless generations. It comes from First Law, from the Ancestors, from Country itself.
The sacred Doongmabulla Springs are entrusted to us by our old people—it’s our obligation to protect them. That’s why we remain unwavering in our resolve as the Water Protectors.
That obligation doesn’t change with politics and election cycles. But governments do. We remember that within days of taking office last year, the LNP shut down treaty making. They shut down truth-telling. They closed the door on Aboriginal recognition and rights, and on help to our young people. And this year, the Queensland Attorney General intervened in our environment and human rights case, trying to shut it down before it can set a precedent they are afraid of, even before the case to protect the Springs could be heard.
While they retreat from human rights and the rights of nature, we push on. We’re using the law to demand that our rights be recognised—not as a gift from the government, but as an obligation they cannot escape—and as a defence of human rights and Country for all of us.
For us, everything comes back to the Springs. Our locus of creation.
Under First Law, we carry sacred responsibilities to protect the Doongmabulla Springs—the source of our Ancestor dreaming, Mundangarra – the Rainbow Serpent, and the creation stories that bind us to our Yumba, our homelands. That connection goes back tens of thousands of years. If the Springs are destroyed, that connection is severed forever. That is cultural erasure. That is forced assimilation.
The threat is existential and immediate. The Carmichael mine is already affecting the Springs, and the mine expansion announced a few months ago by Adani in partnership with the LNP will accelerate the destruction, draining and polluting an irreplaceable sacred site and lifeline for Country. This is what we are fighting to prevent.
Every court case, every submission, every challenge to those who would destroy our sacred sites and our birthright – it all comes back to honouring the responsibility given to us by our Ancestors.
Next year will bring important decisions in the courts—and we will be taking our story to communities around the country so people know just what’s at stake.
The Court of Appeal will rule. What the judges decide could open the door for the exercise of Aboriginal cultural rights—or close it to the next generation.
And we’ll be taking Nagana Yarrbayn: The Water Protectors on tour—Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Canberra, Hobart. Sharing our story, educating, building support, and making sure more people understand why Doongmabulla Springs must be protected.
Thank you for walking with us through another year.
We know many of you are carrying a lot as this year ends. We hope the break ahead brings you rest, peace, and time with people you love. Look after yourselves.
Protect sacred water.
Protect human rights.
Protect Country… and protect each other.
Adrian Burragubba
Senior Cultural Custodian
Wangan and Jagalingou Nagana Yarrbayn
P.S. Want to show your support and give a gift? Our Save Doongmabulla Springs T-shirts are still available.
And if you’re able to contribute to our legal and campaign fund for our work in 2026, donations are always appreciated.
