Clinton Walker is a descendant of the Ngarluma and Yindjibarndi people, Traditional Custodians of the West Pilbara region, encompassing places like Karratha and the incredible Murujuga National Park. Murujuga (or Burrup Peninsula), on the north-west coast of Australia, houses the largest rock art collection in the world – around one million petroglyphs, some dating back about 40,000 years. The World Heritage nomination for this place is a shoe-in, unless jeopardised by current industry expansion plans – most notoriously, the Scarborough Gas Field proposal, currently being challenged in court and elsewhere, with the stakes running far beyond this incredible ancient place. 

But there are better ways to go here. And Clinton is uniquely placed to talk to them. He was a highly paid technician with a mining company there, but he ultimately couldn't bear the harm it was causing his Country. He now runs an extremely successful tour operation called Ngurrangga Tours, and is living the message that sustainable industries such as Indigenous cultural tourism are enormously beneficial - economically, for Country, and for bringing our cultures together. So join us, as Clinton sits us down on a very special part of his Country for a yarn.

If you’d like to hear more from Clinton, and more conversations like this with First Nations, farmers, pastoralists, conservationists, economists, entrepreneurs and others across WA, and the world, join host Anthony James over on The RegenNarration podcast, wherever podcasts are found, or at https://www.regennarration.com. 

This conversation was recorded on 13 December 2021 on Country at Murujuga.

Music:
Eden is Lost, by Selfless Orchestra.

Get more:
Clinton’s tour company, Ngurrangga Tours - https://www.ngurrangga.com.au/ 

For more on First Nations opportunities in cultural tourism and beyond, tune into episode 5 of the Clean State podcast, Our Huge Untapped Resource: Expanding Aboriginal tourism in a post-COVID world, with much-loved native food specialist, educator, and passionate Aboriginal tourism advocate, Dale Tilbrook - https://www.cleanstate.org.au/podcast 

For more on the plan to support and expand Aboriginal tourism and business development that Clean State is advocating for - https://www.cleanstate.org.au/expand_aboriginal_tourism 

And check out the rest of the Clean State WA website, where you’ll see more on the Jobs Plan and how you can get involved - https://www.cleanstate.org.au/jobs-plan

Clean State is an independent initiative advocating for action on climate change and jobs in Western Australia. We represent thousands of individuals and hundreds of businesses and other organisations who are dedicated to climate action across the state. We promote solutions that create thousands of jobs supporting businesses, families and communities and make our state a regenerative, fair and prosperous place to live and work. More than ever before, we have an opportunity to invest in a sustainable future for WA. 

The Clean State office acknowledges that it resides on the land of the Nyoongar people. We pay respect to their Elders, past and present, and acknowledge the important role all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to play in advancing a Clean State of WA. 

If you’d like to get in touch with ideas, questions or thoughts generated by the plan or this podcast, you can email Clean State at info@cleanstate.org.au or simply join our mailing list https://www.cleanstate.org.au/join

And thanks for listening!