Meet the 10 Australians
The people bringing this case come from communities across Australia already living with the consequences of climate harm — in their homes, their bodies and on First Nations Country.
Rikki Dank Barkly Tablelands
Anne Poelina The Kimberley
Mel Fisher Adelaide
Pam + Latisha
Francis Adelaide
Jack Egan NSW South Coast
Cat South
Australia
Rikki Dank Barkly Tablelands
Anne Poelina The Kimberley
Barry
Traill Sunshine
Coast
Hinterland
Mel Fisher Adelaide
Pam + Latisha
Francis Adelaide
Jack Egan NSW South Coast
Cat South
Australia
Brendon
Donohue Brisbane
Sama
Youhana Brisbane
Anne Poelina
“When the River is healthy, our people are healthy. When the River suffers, our people suffer.”
Professor Anne Poelina is a Nyikina Warrwa and Warlungurru woman from the Kimberley region of Western Australia and a globally recognised Indigenous leader, scientist and advocate for living waters.
She belongs to the Mardoowarra — the Fitzroy River — which she describes as the “River of Life”.
After witnessing devastating floods, biodiversity loss and worsening climate impacts across her River Country, Anne is speaking out about the urgent need to protect Country, Culture and future generations from climate harm.
Barry Traill
“Our job was to protect the general store, the school, and the fire station — not any people still in their homes. There simply weren’t enough resources to protect everything else.”
Dr Barry Traill AM is a wildlife ecologist, conservationist and volunteer firefighter who has spent more than four decades working on Australian landscapes, wildlife and fire ecology.
Growing up in the forests of Gippsland and now living on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, Barry has witnessed bushfires become more severe, deadly and unpredictable over his lifetime. During the Black Summer fires, he fought fires in Queensland and then on the NSW South Coast, alongside exhausted local crews and communities under immense pressure.
Through his scientific work and lived experience, Barry is speaking out about the escalating human, ecological and emotional toll of climate change and the urgent need for governments to stop expanding fossil fuels.
Brendon Donohue
“Not knowing whether I could get out of the building was terrifying.”
Brendon Donohue is a legally blind disability and climate advocate from Brisbane.
During the 2022 Brisbane floods, Brendon was trapped alone in his apartment for 10 days after floodwaters shut down his building’s lifts, intercom and front entrance. He received evacuation alerts in the middle of the night but had no idea how to safely get out of the building if he needed to.
That experience made him realise how unprepared our systems are to protect people with disabilities during climate disasters.
Cat
“My fire plan is to hold onto the horses and hope.”
Cat lives off-grid in rural South Australia, where worsening heat and bushfire conditions are increasingly shaping daily life.
Living with chronic illnesses that make extreme heat especially dangerous, Cat says summers now push her body into “survival mode” while growing bushfire risk leaves her uncertain she could safely evacuate if fire threatened her home.
Jack Egan
“The future has crashed right through into the present.”
Jack Egan is a partner, father, grandad and part-time high school teacher. He lives where the forest meets the sea on the NSW south coast on Yuin country near Batemans Bay.
On New Year’s Eve 2019, a fast-moving bushfire tore through Jack’s community. He and his partner Cath were forced to activate their fire plan as the fire approached, before becoming separated as conditions escalated. Jack stayed behind to defend their home before being forced to flee.
Their house, along with many others in their neighbourhood, was destroyed.
Latisha Francis
“I had to distance myself from the water, which felt like distancing myself from a part of me.”
Narungga, Ngarrindjeri and Kaurna woman Latisha Francis is studying marine biology while witnessing toxic algal blooms devastate the Sea Country where Culture and knowledge are passed between generations.
She says environmental damage is changing the way families gather, learn and connect to water.
Mel Fisher
“I genuinely thought I might die from the heat.”
Mel Fisher lives in Adelaide, South Australia, where worsening heatwaves are making life with chronic illness increasingly dangerous and unaffordable.
Living in poorly insulated public housing, while managing serious health conditions, Mel says extreme heat can leave her trapped inside her home without safe ways to cool down.
Alongside managing her health, she advocates on disability rights, poverty and energy affordability.
Pam Francis
“It felt like we were watching it die in front of our eyes.”
Narungga, Ngarrindjeri and Kaurna woman Pam Francis lives on South Australia’s coast, where toxic algal blooms are affecting Sea Country her family has cared for and gathered on for millennia.
A teacher working with young Aboriginal children, Pam is fighting to protect cultural knowledge, language and connection to Country while witnessing major environmental change along the coastline.
Rikki Dank
“Too hot to live inside, too hot to live outside, too hot to live on Country.”
Rikki Dank is a Gudanji and Wakaya Traditional Owner from the Barkly Tablelands in the Northern Territory.
She is witnessing extreme heat, changing seasons and environmental disruption affect cultural knowledge, food systems and life on Country.
Rikki says climate change is making her Country increasingly difficult and dangerous to live on and disrupting practices and knowledge passed down through generations.
Sama Youhana
“The fear never really leaves you.”
Sama Youhana is a 21-year-old student living in Brisbane, right by the Brisbane River.
She was born in Auckland to Iraqi-Chaldean parents and moved to Australia when she was nine. In her final year of high school, the 2022 Brisbane floods slowly inundated her family’s home. At night, she set an alarm clock every 30 minutes to check water levels, fearing for her family’s safety.
Since then, Sama has experienced repeated extreme weather events, including severe heat, storms and Cyclone Alfred in 2025. These events have compounded her anxiety and uncertainty about living in Brisbane long term.
Photos by Rebecca Parker
Photo of Rikki Dank courtesy of Rikki.