Published: 17 Mar 2025

Welcome to 2025 to all our awesome supporters. It’s been a busy few months - from getting out on the ground with various Indigenous Ranger groups from SA to NSW to VIC, to advocacy work alongside our Indigenous partners for the QLD, WA and now Federal Election.

Federal Election Campaign

As I write this report the media is endlessly speculating about when the Prime Minister will call the 2025 Federal Election. As always we are strictly non partisan, but we are urging all parties and candidates to strengthen and secure their support for Indigenous Rangers and Indigenous Protected Areas. 

In uncertain times wouldn’t it be great to see long term commitments beyond 2030, better staffing arrangements in the federal environment department to better support Indigenous Rangers and their host organisations, and more growth in Indigenous Protected Areas. 

You can help directly with this by taking five seconds or so to sign our new 2025 Federal Petition here. 

QLD, WA & federally-funded Indigenous Ranger jobs

Recapping the end of last year – in October 2024 we had a change of government in Queensland at the State Election, with the new LNP Government taking office with clear public commitments to strengthen the QLD Indigenous Ranger Program. This is a direct result of our work with QLD Indigenous partner groups as well as many thousands of everyday Queenslanders signing petitions asking all parties to do more.

Also in October Minister Malarndirri McCarthy announced the first rollout of new federally funded Indigenous Ranger jobs resulting from our push to get Indigenous Ranger jobs doubled by 2030 with equity for women. There is a lot of steady work to do to ensure this rollout is a success and we have already been receiving calls for assistance from new or expanding Ranger teams around Australia. We will also be urging the Federal Government to strengthen its practical support for Indigenous land and sea management to ensure groups are set up to succeed not fail. 

We also reached out to all the main parties in WA in the lead up to the WA Election, and our supporters also contacted their local members. After ramping up our campaign we were pleased to hear from the office of WA Premier Roger Cook that they would announce a further $20M increase to the WA Aboriginal Ranger Grants Program, taking the forward commitment over the next four years to $85m. We were pleased also to hear from the leader of the WA Nationals that they would be backing Ranger funding in WA also and similarly from the Greens, as well as the Liberal Party who indicated general support. Be assured we will be holding the renewed WA Labor Government to account to maintain their funding promise.

Find out where the WA pollies stood here.

In November we delivered a two-day Indigenous land and sea management workshop for NSW groups in our network which focused on the practical needs of each group in the room.  The feeling was really positive despite the many challenges groups are facing. It was a great opportunity for groups to share experiences, solutions and tips with each other, and take advantage of the combination of expertise from CNP staff and contractors in the room. We like these smaller workshops because it allows us to work on specific topics relevant to groups and keeps us grounded in the reality that our partner groups need to operate within. We feel NSW can do a lot more to support and strengthen Indigenous land and sea management so watch this space.

Last month we went out bush with the Burrandies group in SA to discuss their aspirations, we’re also gearing up for more Indigenous Protected Area work in WA, and talking to our SA network about how best to support their new recipients of federal Ranger funding stemming from our successful push to double Indigenous Ranger jobs nationally. 

Don’t underestimate the value of your voice and our people power to get a positive outcome when we work together. Thanks so much for being a supporter of Country Needs People. Country really does need all of us to tackle the pressures we face and we know when we work together we can achieve great things.   All the more important these days I think to keep that positive energy happening. 

Take care,

Paddy O’Leary

CEO, Country Needs People

March, 2025