Nagana Yarrbayn: The Water Protectors

Documentary screening, community dinner and panel discussion

Join us for a special screening of Nagana Yarrbayn: The Water Protectors, followed by a panel discussion exploring water protection, First Nations resistance, climate justice and collective action. The documentary follows Senior Cultural Custodian Adrian Burragubba and the Wangan and Jagalingou Cultural Custodians in their ongoing fight to protect their ancestral waters and the sacred Doongmabulla Springs from Adani’s Carmichael coal mine.

The evening will bring people together to share food, watch the documentary and reflect on what water protection asks of us across communities, movements and institutions.

All are welcome.

Date: Tuesday 18 August 2026
Time: 6:00-8:30 pm
Location: EA Building G.18, Parramatta South Campus, Western Sydney University (and online option available via Zoom - link to be provided one day before the event)

Getting here: The campus is easily accessible by light rail. Hop off at Yallamundi Station, and the venue is a short walk onto campus. Paid parking is also available on campus.

Program

6:00-7:00 pm: Community dinner provided by Karma Kitchen, with vegan options available. We also have a weaving Circle with Heidi Duncan, a proud Baramadagal woman and Cultural Inclusion and Belonging Specialist for the mental health and wellbeing team at Western Sydney University.
7:00-7:10pm: Welcome to Country - Linda Sainsbury is a Baramadagal woman of the Darug Nation and Founder & Director of Berri Werri Consultancy Service. Linda is an Accredited Social Worker providing healing on Country and over many Countries within Australia and facilitates training whilst continuing to advocate for social justice and decolonisation.
7.10-7.40pm: Screening of Nagana Yarrbayn: The Water Protectors
7:40-8:30 pm: Panel discussion and audience conversation

Speaker panel

Our event MC, Alicia Johnson (AJ) is a PhD candidate and Senior Policy Officer whose research explores Indigenous water rights, water sovereignty and the ongoing impacts of colonialism. She is a proud Buri Gubba, Wakka Wakka, Barkindji and Latji Latji woman.
Jayne Christian is a Baramadagal woman of the Dharug-speaking peoples, through the Reid/Goldspink family. A lawyer and strong social justice advocate, she works across law reform, racial justice, First Nations sovereignty and Treaty, drawing on extensive experience working with Aboriginal communities across NSW. Jayne is the Founder of Barabirang Projects which launched a River Rangers pilot this year focusing on the reunification of original Darug family groups working together in sharing cultural responsibility in the care of the Parramatta River.
Adrian Burragubba is the Senior Cultural Custodian of the Nagana Yarrbayn Wangan and Jagalingou Cultural Custodians, Traditional Owners of Country in the Galilee Basin in Central Queensland. He has led the fight to protect Country and assert First Law rights for more than twelve years, including the protection of Doongmabulla Springs, a sacred water system central to Wangan and Jagalingou songlines, ceremonies and cultural obligations.
Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts is a proud Bundjalung Widubul-Wiabul woman, human rights lawyer, author, Fulbright Scholar and survivor advocate. Her work advances the rights of First Nations children and families to safety, self-determination and connection to family, culture, community and Country.

This is a free community event is co-organised by Rising Tide Sydney, Festival of Action, Environment Collective, and Western Sydney University Library, and supported by the Institute for Culture and Society. There is a ticket option to 'Pay what you can' for those who can contribute financially, with all funds raised going to the Wangan & Jagalingou Nagana Yarrbayn Cultural Custodians Standing our Ground campaign.

This event is part of the curriculum for the university subject HUMN1060 Introduction to Indigenous Australia: Places, People and Philosophies. Students enrolled in HUMN1060 who plan to attend the screening should also register so that we can track attendance numbers and cater accordingly.

For event info, please contact us festivalofaction@westernsydney.edu.au

More information about Nagana Yarrbayn and the Standing our Ground campaign here: https://standing-our-ground.org/water-protectors/

Acknowledgement of Country

We are gathering for this event on the unceded lands of the Burramadagal people. We pay our respects to Traditional Owners and recognise that their sovereignty was never ceded. This always was and always will be Aboriginal land. Climate justice is First Nations justice.

Contact the host of Nagana Yarrbayn Documentary Screening, Community Dinner & Panel Discussion