Yurlu | Country: Healing Poison Country Q&A recording

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are respectfully advised that this page contains images and names of deceased people. 

Documentary Australia presents a special online Q&A discussion on urgent new documentary Yurlu | Country, as part of the Environmental Accelerator program.

Hear from the filmmakers, family and advocates behind this vital new film, which follows Banjima Elder Maitland Parker in his final year striving to heal his Yurlu (homelands), scarred by millions of tonnes of deadly asbestos mine waste and home to the largest contamination in the Southern Hemisphere. As Maitland battles mesothelioma from asbestos exposure, his resolve to fight for Country and culture is a testament to Banjima resilience and a blueprint for the campaign to come.

Tune in to learn about this largely unknown environmental, health and human rights crisis, and how we can all walk with Banjima to call for justice and remediation of ‘Poison Country’.

Yurlu | Country is in cinemas 13 November, with special Q&A screenings from 6 November. 

Get tickets now.

This event is presented as part of Documentary Australia’s Environmental Accelerator program, with support from Intrepid Travel.

About the film 
Yurlu | Country is a vivid ode to Country and an intimate portrait of an Aboriginal elder’s final year as he strives to preserve his culture and heal his homeland, scarred by the largest contaminated site in the Southern Hemisphere.

Banjima Elder, Maitland Parker, calls his Yurlu (homelands) 'Poison Country' – a haunting, toxic truth etched into his body as he lives with terminal mesothelioma. Set against the breathtaking yet contaminated landscapes of Western Australia’s Pilbara region, Yurlu | Country lays bare the devastating impact of the Wittenoom asbestos mines, where millions of tonnes of waste laced with deadly asbestos fibres have poisoned both land and people.

Through striking cinematography and deeply personal storytelling, this powerful film follows Maitland as he confronts government inaction and corporate greed so his people can reconnect with and heal their ancestral lands. 

Watch trailer  |  Get tickets |  Support the impact campaign

Walk with Banjima to clean up Wittenoom
It’s Australia’s largely unknown Chernobyl. The Ngambigunha | Wittenoom area on Banjima’s Native Title lands in Western Australia’s Pilbara region is the largest contaminated site in the Southern Hemisphere, eight times the size of Sydney Harbour. The deadly contamination from Wittenoom’s asbestos mines is spreading beyond the exclusion zone and will do so ‘for hundreds of years’ if left unchecked, and has already caused sickness, cultural loss, and environmental devastation.

Banjima people have long been urging the Western Australian government to remediate their lands and respect their human rights. It’s now our time to walk with Banjima.  

Join Banjima's call for the remediation of asbestos waste at Wittenoom

Donate to Banjima Native Title Aboriginal Corporation's legal fund

About the speakers
Yaara Bou Melhem is an Australian writer, director and producer who makes social justice films that often tackle the most pressing issues of our time. A former investigative journalist, Yaara’s films have earned multiple accolades including two UN Media Peace Awards and five Walkley Awards.

Johnnell Parker is a Director of Banjima Native Title Aboriginal Corporation, a business owner, and a proud and active member of her community. She shares her culture through events like the Karijini Experience, where she works alongside her Banjima Elders and families to celebrate culture on-country through storytelling and the teachings of Banjima traditions. A passionate advocate for culture, Country and community, Johnnell works tirelessly to ensure Banjima People have a voice and benefit from mining activities on Country.

Scott Ludlam is a writer, designer and former Australian Senator, specialising in areas of telecommunications and digital rights, energy and climate, and urban policy. His work since leaving formal politics has included research and advocacy on the crisis of state capture, and more recently on the global network of think tanks and influence organisations that have built the foundations of neoliberalism since the 1940s.

Moderator Amy Remeikis is a respected journalist, author, commentator and Australia's best known political blogger. She appears often across a variety of Australian media, is the chief political analyst at The Australia Institute and contributing editor at The New Daily.