by Meagan Patroni
Aunty Alison Buchanan may be small in stature, but the instant she speaks, her presence fills the room. A Gumbaynggirr, Birripi, and Bundjalung Senior Lore Woman and Medicine Woman, her profound, lifelong bond with Country and sacred Lore commands absolute reverence. After living in the forests for most of her life she has come to us to fight for the survival of her sacred forests.
Refusing to Commercialise the Sacred
In our recent conversation for the Koala Clancy Foundation, Aunty Alison spoke with unfiltered passion against government and corporate pushes to reduce Gumbaynggirr lands to carbon credit schemes.
“I have never heard such stupidness,” Aunty Alison says directly. “We are the forest. Reducing that relationship to a market transaction, monetary tokens, and standard carbon balance sheets turns a sacred duty into a commercial trading product.”
For Aunty Alison, putting a price tag on ancient forests treats a living relative like a stock market commodity. She stresses that traditional Lore does not view Country as real estate or a financial asset, but as an irreplaceable, living relation to be cherished and protected unconditionally.
Read more about the status of the carbon credit scam affecting the Great Koala National Park.
Stripping the Spirit out of The Land
“The forest on Gumbaynggirr Country isn’t just a bucket that holds carbon,” she says. “It is filled with our history, our ceremonies, and our old people. Reducing our sacred sites to carbon units strips the spirit right out of our land.”
Aunty Alison emphasizes that state governments have a basic obligation to fund ranger programs and land management without forcing First Nations communities to trade away their sacred rights for survival.
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Protecting Dunggirr (The Koala)
Aunty Alison’s bond with Dunggirr (koala) is deeply tender and personal. She was married at the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital with the koalas behind her, and later poured her heart into volunteering at the Port Stephens facility.
She reminds us that Dunggirr, alongside every native animal and plant, are cherished totems holding the fragile balance of Mother Earth together. A koala may take ten years to navigate its way back to the exact tree it was born in; when those ancient trees are cleared, their world is shattered. Caring for Country means protecting the entire, vibrant web of life, from the tallest gum trees down to the smallest wildflowers and saltbushes, rather than reducing Country to numbers on a spreadsheet.
“Keep Gumbaynggirr Country free from market trading,” Aunty Alison urges. “We can find a better way to support our mob without compromising our spirit.”
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Grass-roots environment groups, Traditional Owners, and scientists were overwhelmingly opposed to carbon offsets being applied to the standing forests of the Great Koala National Park. They lobbied hard in the weeks leading up to the 10 September Senate vote that ultimately passed the Improved Native Forest Management (INFM) method. Read about the background to that campaign here.
We are not giving up, and will continue to share the voices of the Great Koala National Park over the next few weeks and months. We all need to keep advocating for this critical Park to be created, as promised.
