3CR would like to acknowledge the Kulin Nation – true owners, caretakers and custodians of the land from which we broadcast. 3CR pays respect to Elders, past and present of the Kulin Nation. We recognise their unceded sovereignty.//
News Headlines//
Oriela Williams (they/them), co-organiser with the Protect Our NDIS Alliance National and Magan-djin team, caught up with Priya earlier this week to discuss the ongoing fight-back against massive cuts to the NDIS announced in this May's federal budget. Changes to the scheme have been brought to Parliament by the Albanese Labor government under the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026, which is currently subject to an inquiry by the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee. Oriela is a proudly Disabled Lebanese Non-Binary Dyke based in Magan-djin/Meanjin/Brisbane. Oriela has lived experience as an NDIS participant themselves, with high physical disability and psychosocial support needs; being a full time power wheelchair user, requiring daily caregivers and living in Specialist Disability Accommodation / Supported Independent Living (SDA/SIL) environment. As well as being a dedicated community organiser and activist; Oriela is a passionate disability justice advocate, lived/living experience peer worker and trained Alt2su facilitator with a focus on anti-carceral, peer-lead and trauma-informed responses to distress.//
Content note: This interview mentions gambling harm. If you, or anyone you know needs support, you can call Gamblers Helpline 1800 85 858 or go to gamblershelp.com.au. Kate Seselja is the Co-Chair of Gambling Harm Lived Experience Experts, Founder of The Hope Project Australia, a gambling reform advocate, and recovery coach. She has also been appointed to the Ministerial Advisory Committee to implement gambling reforms within the ACT. Today, Kate joined us to talk about her experience with gambling harm, where reforms on poker machines are up to in the ACT, the Canberra Labor Club, and solutions preferred by the Gambling Harm Lived Experience Experts to manage gambling harm.//
Louise Byrne of the West Papua Women's Office joined us to discuss the connections between Sugar Research Australia, the Indonesian sugar industry, and alleged rights abuses and illegal deforestation in Merauke, West Papua. In December 2025, Greenpeace published the report 'Sweet Promises, Bitter Reality: Inside the Merauke Sugarcane Project' detailing serious concerns about the role of the Indonesian state and agribusiness in land theft and mass deforestation in Merauke. More recently, Royce Kurmelovs of Deepcut News has written about the connections between the Australian government-funded body Sugar Research Australia and land clearing in Merauke. Louise has been working for West Papua's freedom and self-determination since 1999, and helped found the West Papua Office in Docklands in 2014. There will be a screening of Pesta Babi: Kolonialisme di Zaman Kita (Pig Feast: Colonialism in Our Time), an investigative documentary examining contemporary colonialism, militarisation, and large‑scale development projects in West Papua, on 31st August at the University of Melbourne. The documentary is also available to watch on YouTube.
Louise shared the following information to supplement our conversation about Wilmar:
Wilmar, the corrupt Indonesian sugar company in Townsville
Indonesian oligarch Martius Sitorus has owned Wilmar Sugar in Townsville since 2010 when he bought CSR's sugar and ethanol division for $1.5 billion. Wilmar has eight mills in Queensland, and manufactures half of Australia's raw sugar. Sitorus is Batak, from Sumatra, and lives in Singapore, with an estimated net worth of $3.55 billion. In 2013 Sitorus and his brother Ganda (as Gama Group, then KPN Corp), with demonstrable government support, began forcing sales of customary land in Boven Digoel and Merauke (West Papua) for large-scale deforestation and agribusiness. Wilmar pays no tax in Australia. In 2022 Wilmar subsidiaries in Indonesia were found guilty of corporate fraud and systematic judicial corruption, including payment of 'Billions in bribes to avoid trillions in fines', Mongabay, 15 April 2025). In 2025, Wilmar's Duta Sugar was convicted for unlawful acts over the import of raw sugar into Indonesia. Also in 2025, and court officials ($4 million to four Indonesian judges Wilmar's huge subsidiary in China, Yihai Kerry Arawana (the largest food processor in the People's Republic and responsible for 21% of its palm oil imports) was found guilty of fraudulent documentation in palm oil trades.
You can visit the West Papua Women's Office at 211/838 Collins Street, Docklands 3008 (VIC), and contact them at frwpwomensoffice@gmail.com or via SMS at 0424 745 155.//
Content note: this interview includes mentions of a First Nations person who has passed away. For support, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners can call 13 YARN (13 92 76) or Yarning Safe'n'Strong (1800 959 563). Karina Lester is a Yankunytjatjara Anangu leader and second-generation survivor of British nuclear tests at Emu Field in South Australia. She is a senior Aboriginal language expert, anti-nuclear activist and ICAN Ambassador. Most recently, Karina has been selected as a commissioner for the independent AUKUS Public Inquiry. We spoke with Karina about the impacts of the Emu Field nuclear tests, AUKUS associated nuclear waste risks, First Nations peoples' concerns around AUKUS, and what the Public Inquiry is hoping to achieve.//
Emily, Inez, Leila, Priya, River, Candy
