Dirt Radio

Across the country a growing network of concerned citizens are taking on large multinationals and government to defend their right to clean air, water, a safe climate and for social justice. CounterAct provides training in direct action skills, campaigning and community organising across Australia. Their aim - to increase capacity and skills of grassroots activists and encourage a culture of skill sharing, on-training and making activism accessible for everyday folk.This week Dirt Radio hears about an up-coming CounterAct training workshop,  the recently published Legals Handbook and some of the organizing campaign work ConterAct has done around Australia.

Friends of the Earth celebrates its 40th birthday this week. Actually, the 40th was last year, but there was so much campaign work to do, there wasn't time for a celebratory break. But this year, a post 40 knees-up has been scheduled.From the start, the anti-nuclear campaign has been central to FoE's development as an ENGO in Australia, and in this show we hear from Jim Green, long time national FoE anti-nuclear campaign activist. He talks about past campaigns, and the qualities that make FoE stand out in the landscape of environmentla groups.

Tom Civil’s work can be found in many tucked away nooks of the city and the bush. He is interested in how street art and graffiti create community, mark space and act as a human-scaled anarchic form of urban architecture. He's also a street artist who wants to connect his practice to environmentla activism and social justice. This week he talks about his work with Dirt Radio.Then, from street art to street protest. Sam Castro reports from the Canberra Peace Convergence, and efforts on Anzac Day to raise awareness about arms maufacturing, profiteering and the consequences of a state of continuous war.

The fossil fuel extraction industries are ready to roll across regional Australia - searching for and digging for coal seam gas. They say it's imperative to keep the economy rolling. So do the politicans. The consequences of such extraction seem to be peripheral. John Fenton is an American farmer, and one day the fracking industry knocked on his door with a proposition. This week on Dirt Radio we hear about what happened next, and how he became an accidental community activist.John Fenton's circumstances are being echoed here in Australia. Frackman is a recently released documentary about a local accidental hero who decided to stand up to the mining industry.

This week, we hear about the Earthworker Co-operative, an initiative started up in the state of Victoria to involve workers in environmentally sustainable manufacturing. There's also a discussion of the Yes2Renewables' campaign promotong wind energy.

Can an activist be a comedian? Or does it work the other way around. This week we explore these questions with Sean Bedlam, who's had a long time commitment to activist work in and around a variety of political issues and social justice concerns. And he's decided to add comedy to his campaigning repertoire. He tells Dirt Radio why.Sean Bedlam & David Tulk's "Two Bearded Ladies" is on at the 2015 Melbourne Comedy Festival.

Dirt Radio spoke to Anthony Amis from Friends of The Earth in regard to his extensive report on koala populations in the Strezlecki Ranges and South-West Victoria.