Living with Birrarung 2: Life and Law
Hey Humans! In our second episode of Living with Birrarung, we’re zooming in on the people and powers that led to the creation of the Yarra River Protection (Wilip-gin Birrarung muron) Act 2017 that recognised Birrarung as one, living and integrated entity.
This episode examines the relationship between settler-colonial and Traditional Owner law and how Burndap Birrarung burndap umarkoo (the Yarra Strategic Plan 2022-2032) and the Birrarung Council that emerged from the 2017 Act are trying to find new ways to articulate and progress that relationship.
In this episode, we heard from:
Andrew Kelly, former Yarra Riverkeeper and convenor of The Waterway Network.
Claire Dunn, the Burndap Birrarung burndap umarkoo (Yarra Strategic Plan) Implementation Manager at Melbourne Water.
Dr Erin O’Donnell, from the Melbourne Law School and member of the Birrarung Council.
Uncle Andrew Gardiner, Wurundjeri Elder and now chair of the Birrarung Council.
Several documents and links are mentioned in this episode:
The Yarra Riverkeeper Association has a handy list of policies and legislation governing the river on their website: https://yarrariver.org.au/policies-and-legislation/
You can find out more about the Yarra River Protection (Wilip-gin Birrarung murron) Act 2017, including access to a recording of the full address by Wurundjeri Elders to the Legislative Assembly of Victoria here.
Read about Burndap Birrarung burndap umarkoo (Yarra Strategic Plan) 2022-2032, including links to the most recent annual reports and community engagement plan produced by Melbourne Water here.
You can find out more about the Birrarung Council, including links to their most recent annual report (2025) at https://www.birrarungcouncil.vic.gov.au/
Read more about the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung vision for Birrarung, community and Country in Nhanbu narrun ba ngargunin twarn (Ancient Spirit and Lore of the Yarra).
Read more about the 50-year community visions for Birrarung, and watch the videos, here.
You can find out more about the Victorian Government’s Water is Life reforms here.
We also opened this episode with a story about the original Yarra Falls crossing on Birrarung, at the location of the current Queens Bridge. This story and many others are beautifully captures on the City of Melbourne’s Mapping Aboriginal Melbourne interactive website.
For even more, head to morethanhumanpod.net and click "Dive Deeper".
More Than Human is an independent podcast series produced by Tim McIntosh-Hannah and Mark Spencer (Here Media). You can contact us at morethanhumanpod.net/contact.