Legal personhood or ‘rights of nature’ laws have been around since as early as the 1970s and have attracted lawmakers in jurisdictions all over the world. But what do these legal concepts offer? How do they interact with current environmental laws? And what are their limits?

Producer: Marlene Even
Producer/Presenter: Julia Carr-Catzel

Featured:
Michelle Maloney, co-founder and national convener, Australian Earth Laws Alliance
Dr Virginia Marshall, Wiradjuri Nyemba woman, lawyer and Indigenous postdoctoral fellow at the Australian National University

Music: Epidemic Sound

#140 - The Limits of Rights of Nature Laws

From waste to wealth, and grids to growth, the show digs into the impact of consumption across all areas of life — it tracks the movements, discoveries and technologies making way for a sustainable future.

Society & Culture

Personal Journals

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

Science

Is greed fundamental to human nature? Or can we have a society where it doesn’t pose a threat?

Guest: Dr Nathan Kettlewell, Senior Lecturer in Economics, University of Technology Sydney
Producer and co-host: Lawrence Bull
Co-host: Laura Corrigan
Editorial consultant: Sharon Davis
Sound designer & mix engineer: Martin Peralta

Why we let the rich pay less tax

As a child, Shannon’s dad told her that her great-grandfather was supposed to be among the first to cross the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the opening ceremony, but was robbed of the honour at the last minute by a white man in a suit. 
When she became a professional researcher, she searched for years and years to verify the story, but couldn’t. However, she did uncover some other parts of her family history. And what she found shocked her.
Guest: Shannon Foster, D'harawal Saltwater Knowledge Keeper and artist
Producer & presenter: Lawrence Bull

Genocide in the suburbs

Traditionally, attempts to save animals in the wild have focused on their population numbers and reproductive success. But new research exploring the mental quality of life experienced by wild animals could revolutionise conservation efforts. 
Featuring:
Dr Andrea Harvey, UTS Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Morgan Philpott, WIRES Volunteer Koala Carer
Executive producer & post production: Lawrence Bull
Producer & presenter: Wendy Frew

The inner lives of wild animals: Conservation’s new frontier

When we think of the city, “nature” might be the furthest thing from our minds. But we’ve found a hidden army of people bringing our cities back to life.
Featuring:
Dr Judy Friedlander, Founder and Director of PlantingSeeds Projects and Adjunct Fellow at the Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney
The Mudcrabs and the Mudlarks – Hans Beg, Russel Cail, Jennifer Kent and Jo
Abbie Galvin, NSW Government Architect
Produced by Tom Melville and Laura Corrigan

Rewilding the city

A pharmaceutical company profits from legions of addicted customers; a gambling company knowingly markets to people in debt; a hospital kills its patients.
People who do far less damage are locked up for life, yet corporations act like horror villains and get away with no criminal penalty. 
Why do we let them get away with it? And how do we stop them?

Featuring: Penny Crofts, Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Technology Sydney

Producer and presenter: Lawrence Bull

#140 - The Limits of Rights of Nature Laws

Download our free app to listen on your phone