Peta Thornton is a stone fruit grower in Woorinen, near Swan Hill. She’s also a mother, a conservationist, and one of the founding members of local groups Sustainable Living in the Mallee and Friends of Nyah Vinifera Park. Ahead of the second River Peoples’ Forum in Swan Hill on 26 July, she shared some thoughts on why standing up for First Nations justice is so important to her.
I love this river country. It’s where I grew up and my children grew up. It’s the water we use to grow fruit on our farm, and its home to an intricate network of riverine creeks and forests, lakes and wetlands, loved and shared by our community.
For me, loving this river country means understanding its ancient history and listening to the leadership of the First Nations who have cared for these waters for tens of thousands of years. It also means acknowledging what’s wrong with our politics and water market. Water is life, but today, First Nations own and control just a tiny fraction.
Friends of Nyah Vinifera Park and Sustainable Living in the Mallee have a proud history of walking together with First Nations on river country. Way back in 1997, Friends of Nyah Vinifera Park created a Joint Statement of Management with Traditional Owners. Last year, members of Sustainable Living in the Mallee were part of a positive, grassroots YES campaign leading up to the Voice referendum.
But, as this years’ Reconciliation Week theme announced, “Now More Than Ever” we need to work hard to see First Nations Recognition, Respect and Rights be achieved.
That’s why I’m proud to have our groups co-hosting a special local event on Friday 26 July. It’s the second River Peoples’ Forum we’ve hosted in Swan Hill and this year’s focus is water justice for First Nations. We’ve got an amazing line-up of speakers joining us, and it’s going to be a great day for First Nations and allies to come together to learn and share.
For more information and to RSVP head to: bit.ly/water-justice. Artwork: Millu Thangura (Our Murray River Country), by Brendan Kennedy
Looking after river country is something that brings our community together. But it’s an issue that’s become so deeply politicised and complicated.
So many people I talk to are disillusioned and have stopped engaging altogether. At the same time, there’s huge inequalities in how our rivers are managed and shared. In my community, I’ve seen how those who own water have wealth and opportunities, but First Nations are largely locked out of this. Through colonisation, water and land was stolen and this injustice continues today.
This is part of the reason why our groups wanted to start the River Peoples’ Forum back in 2022. We wanted to create space for honest, in-depth, community conversation.
Pictures from the last River Peoples' Forum. From left: Vincent Kirby; community discussions; Aunty Marilyne Nicholls. Credit: John Childs
So often, discussion on the Murray-Darling is reduced to sound bites or focused on scoring political points. But caring for the river is about people on the ground getting to talk through things together – working through the hard stuff, building relationships and creating the fabric we need for real long-term change (that lasts beyond a single election cycle!)
In 2022, we had more than 100 people pack out the Lower Murray Inn to talk about the river. It showed that even in this highly politicised area, we can find common ground together. We want to build on this momentum for the second River Peoples’ Forum later this month, with support from Environment Victoria and Murray Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations (MLDRIN).
We can’t rewrite history, but by coming together, we have an opportunity to make the future better.
Peta with the Nicholls family and Megan Williams - talking and working together on river country. Credit Megan Williams
Header image: Peta and members of Friends of Nyah Vinifera Park, sitting by the Murray