Extracting Justice: Mining, Accountability and Community Power in the Pacific
Description
Extracting Justice: Mining, Accountability and Community Power in the Pacific is a landmark two-day conference focused on mining, corporate power and justice in the Pacific region. Hosted by Jubilee Australia, the Human Rights Law Centre and the University of Sydney’s Sydney Environment Institute, the conference brings together Pacific community leaders and environmental defenders, civil society organisations, academics, legal and policy advocates, students, media and allies from across the region and Australia.
Centred on the voices and lived experiences of those most affected, the conference will examine the social, environmental and cultural impacts of mining in the Pacific, including harm to rivers, oceans, land, food systems, livelihoods and community sovereignty. Through first-hand community storytelling, case studies and policy analysis, the program will highlight how extractive projects can have interconnected impacts on human rights and operate with impunity, and how corporate accountability gaps are reinforced by power imbalances and weak regulation.
The conference will explore major mining justice struggles across the Pacific, including impacts on rivers and marine ecosystems, failures to respect Indigenous rights, and the experiences of communities resisting, or seeking justice for, harmful projects. It will also examine Australia’s role as a home state for mining companies operating in the Pacific, and the legal, regulatory and reform pathways available to strengthen corporate accountability and access to justice.
Across two days of panels and case studies, participants will build cross-regional solidarity and share knowledge and experiences on pathways for community empowerment, reform and collective action.
Days 1 and 2 are open to the public. Registration is essential, but attendance is free.
Sydney Film Festival Presents: Sukundimi Walks Before Me - The program aligns with the Australian premiere screening of the feature film Sukundimi Walks Before Me at the Sydney Film Festival on the 11th and 13th of June, which centres the mighty Sepik River — the lifeblood of its people — and documents Sepik communities’ resistance to the proposed gold-copper mine located near the river’s waters. To celebrate the screening, the conference in collaboration with Project Sepik will host a panel discussion to explore the film's themes.
Tickets for the Sepik film screening are going fast and are limited so book yours now: https://www.sff.org.au/program/event/sukundimi-walks-before-me/
Still image from the film Sukundimi Walks Before Me provided by Brown Sugar Apple Grunt Productions and Walking Fish Productions.
Lineup
Theonila Roka Matbob
Our Keynote speaker Theonila is an Indigenous community leader and environmental advocate from Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. A traditional landowner from Makosi, downstream of the Panguna mine, she has been at the forefront of the fight for justice for communities impacted by decades of environmental devastation caused by mining. Theonila is the lead complainant representing 156 Bougainville residents in a landmark human rights complaint against Rio Tinto, filed with the Australian Government in 2020. Her advocacy has been instrumental in securing a historic commitment from the company to address the mine’s legacy impacts and establish pathways for remediation. In recognition of her leadership and tireless community advocacy, Theonila was awarded the 2026 Goldman Environmental Prize, often referred to as the “Green Nobel.” Her work amplifies the voices of affected communities and highlights the urgent need for accountability, environmental restoration, and justice across the Pacific.
Emmanuel Peni
Emmanuel Peni, Founder and Executive Director of Project Sepik Inc., is a prominent Papua New Guinean human rights defender and environmental activist. His advocacy centers on a calculated campaign for Logging and mining accountability, fiercely challenging destructive projects like the Frieda River Mine by demanding transparency within PNG Government processes and governance structures. Rooted in the profound theology of Indigenous Guardianship and stewardship, Peni champions the ancient wisdom of local communities as the premier defense against climate change. He passionately believes that deep decolonization is essential to righting the exploitative, fragmented laws and systemic frameworks inherited from PNG’s colonizers. Through global platforms like TED, Peni empowers grassroots mobilization, striving to restore indigenous sovereignty, protect ancestral lifelines, and redefine sustainable development across Melanesia.
William Kadi
William Kadi is a Solomon Islands lawyer specialising in environmental, mining and natural resources law, with a focus on corporate accountability and community justice. He holds law degrees from the University of the South Pacific and a Master of Laws (LLM) in Energy Law from the University of Aberdeen. William practices with Primo Afeau Legal Services and has extensive experience across environmental and commercial law, including work on major resource-related cases. He served as local counsel in the landmark Waghena mining case and is currently involved in the Rennell oil spill litigation, supporting affected communities in their pursuit of justice. A co-author of Environmental Law and Governance in the Pacific (Routledge, 2020) and Vice President of the Solomon Islands Environmental Law Society, William brings both legal expertise and community-grounded insight into the impacts of extractive industries across the Pacific.
Tevita Evo
Tevita Evo is based in Lautoka, Fiji, and works with the Fiji Council of Social Services (FCOSS), where he leads advocacy on black sand mining. His work focuses on supporting affected communities through awareness-raising, community engagement, and policy advocacy, strengthening local voices in efforts for environmental protection and accountability. Tevita serves as a CSO Humanitarian and Disaster Coordination Officer, contributing to coordinated emergency and disaster response efforts across Fiji. His experience bridges community advocacy and frontline response, bringing grounded insight into the social and environmental impacts of extractive industries in the Pacific.
Sipiriano Nariva
Sipi is a community based Human Rights Defender and activist. His work has been the protection and promotion of the voices of the local indigenous communities of the Namosi Province in the highlands of Fiji since 2009. He was a member of the Taukei Namosi Landowners Committee (TNLC) before he co-founded LAMA and has co-led the group since 2022. He organized LAMA members to stop the renewal of the SPL1420 mining exploration license that led to the eventual withdrawal from Fiji of the Namosi Joint Venture. Sipi is a passionate community advocate speaking plainly and truthfully to power be it Government, Vanua or Church. He is the proud father of 11 children and has just celebrated his 26 years of marriage to Ilisipeci Nariva.
Sam Szoke-Burke
Sam Szoke-Burke is a Senior Lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre, where he represents communities in Bougainville living with large-scale environmental pollution from Rio Tinto’s former Panguna mine. Prior to joining HRLC, Sam led federal nature campaigns at the Wilderness Society, working with local communities, the environment movement and others to strengthen nature protections and enshrine the rights of affected communities to have a say in environmental decisions. Sam also previously worked at the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, where he partnered with civil society organisations in sub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asia on research and policy advocacy around the rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities affected by mines, oil-palm plantations and other large-scale projects.
Keren Adams
Keren Adams is Legal Director (Principal) at the Human Rights Law Centre and leads the Centre’s work on corporate accountability and climate justice. Keren has over 20 years’ experience as a human rights litigator and advocate in Australia and internationally. She was previously a partner at UK firm Leigh Day where she litigated a range of landmark human rights cases against companies for human rights and environmental abuses in their overseas operations. Keren currently represents communities in Bougainville living with large-scale environmental pollution from Rio Tinto’s former Panguna mine. Keren is a founding member of the Australian Corporate Accountability Network and the author of a number of reports on how Australia can better prevent and address corporate human rights and environmental violations. She has previously advised the Australian Government on the implementation of its obligations under the UN Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights and served on the Board of the Australian OECD National Contact Point for Responsible Business Conduct.
Kirsty Ruddock
Kirsty has extensive experience both in climate law, environmental litigation, administrative law and consumer and competition law. Before joining Slater & Gordon, Kirsty led the corporate work at a public interest environmental law centre, the Environmental Defenders Office, focussing on corporate accountability and greenwashing. Most recently she was involved in two important greenwashing cases in the Federal Court challenging net zero claims, ACCR v Santos Ltd, and Greenpeace v Woodside Energy Ltd. She has also been involved in a significant number of public interest climate and environmental cases throughout her career. In 2023, she acted for the plaintiffs in Denman Aberdeen Muswellbrook Scone Healthy Environment Group v Mach Energy in the NSW Land and Environment Court, challenging a coal mining approval decision that failed to consider the impacts of the scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions on the local environment.
Susan Park
Susan Park is Professor of Global Governance in International Relations at the University of Sydney. She focuses on how international organisations and global governance can become greener and more accountable, particularly in the transition to renewable energy. She has been a visiting scholar at the London School of Economics, Oxford University, the Technical University of Munich, American University, and the Centennial Centre in Washington DC. Her work has been funded by the Australian, Canadian, British and German governments.
John Gordon
John Gordon is a barrister with experience litigating and seeking remedy for the negative impacts of mining operations on workers and Indigenous land owners. Prior to becoming a barrister, John was a solicitor at Slater & Gordon where he acted for the asbestos disease victims of Australia's Wittenoom blue asbestos mine and acted for landowners in Papua New Guinea in the Ok Tedi environmental litigation against mining giant BHP. John has also been the National President of the Australian Lawyers Alliance, a peak national lawyers’ group in litigation, civil justice and human rights areas, and has advised interest and advocacy groups.
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