1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,560 Speaker 1: Ninety six a FM, Claresy and Lisa This Morning. He's 2 00:00:02,600 --> 00:00:04,960 Speaker 1: not just a documentary filmmaker. He's also a wonderful actor. 3 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:07,880 Speaker 1: But he's previous work in this Realm includes that Sugar 4 00:00:07,920 --> 00:00:10,200 Speaker 1: film and twenty forty. He's got a new one coming out. 5 00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:13,399 Speaker 1: It's all about regenerating Australia. Damon Gamo, Welcome, Matt, How 6 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:13,640 Speaker 1: are you. 7 00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:14,360 Speaker 2: All very well? 8 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:17,400 Speaker 3: Thanks for having me now, Damon tell us, how has 9 00:00:17,560 --> 00:00:19,360 Speaker 3: Regenerating Australia come about? 10 00:00:19,520 --> 00:00:21,119 Speaker 2: Well, I guess we've got a lot of learnings after 11 00:00:21,160 --> 00:00:24,439 Speaker 2: twenty forty of sort of positing this sort of more 12 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:27,319 Speaker 2: hopeful future and then marrying it to really tangible ways 13 00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:29,520 Speaker 2: that people can get involved and take action. And we 14 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:31,800 Speaker 2: certainly saw a lot of our community bring to life 15 00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:33,760 Speaker 2: some of the solutions we showed in twenty forty. And 16 00:00:34,120 --> 00:00:36,360 Speaker 2: I'd always thought it would be nice to do something 17 00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:39,319 Speaker 2: more Australian focused, because obviously twenty forty had more more 18 00:00:39,360 --> 00:00:43,559 Speaker 2: global leanings, and so in twenty twenty COVID was in 19 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:47,400 Speaker 2: full swing. Were about five months after the fires, WWS 20 00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:50,839 Speaker 2: reached out to us and we started this listening campaign 21 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:53,479 Speaker 2: with a really diverse group of Australian from farmers and 22 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:57,080 Speaker 2: tradees to coal workers and indigenous groups, and basically asked 23 00:00:57,120 --> 00:00:59,000 Speaker 2: them what kind of Australia they'd like to see as 24 00:00:59,040 --> 00:01:01,600 Speaker 2: you re emerge from co that they could make any changes, 25 00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:03,720 Speaker 2: what will those changes look like? And so we took 26 00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:05,880 Speaker 2: all that feeds back in information and then put it 27 00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:08,120 Speaker 2: into this vision which is set in twenty thirty and 28 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:11,120 Speaker 2: it shows what Australia could look like if we did 29 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:13,120 Speaker 2: implement some of these changes that people wanted. 30 00:01:13,440 --> 00:01:15,120 Speaker 1: Kause Daman had anything to do with the earth and 31 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:17,440 Speaker 1: our connection with it. We've seen it as a gloomy, 32 00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:19,640 Speaker 1: you know, doomsday kind of vibe, but the trailer is 33 00:01:19,760 --> 00:01:21,040 Speaker 1: very uplifting, very positive. 34 00:01:21,319 --> 00:01:23,199 Speaker 2: Well, I think that's a huge part of the problem 35 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:25,200 Speaker 2: of why we've got so many people just not engaged 36 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:27,240 Speaker 2: with this is that it does fill all to apocalyptic 37 00:01:27,319 --> 00:01:29,600 Speaker 2: and overwhelming and existential and we don't even know what 38 00:01:29,640 --> 00:01:31,679 Speaker 2: to do about it. So I think that's been a 39 00:01:31,720 --> 00:01:33,240 Speaker 2: failure in a lot of ways, is that we haven't 40 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:35,520 Speaker 2: shown the opportunities they're available, and you know, lots of 41 00:01:35,560 --> 00:01:38,160 Speaker 2: people aren't happy with what's going on, or they'd love 42 00:01:38,240 --> 00:01:40,400 Speaker 2: more thriving communities, and we do have a chance to 43 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:43,040 Speaker 2: do that as we regenerate, not only sort of dealing 44 00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:45,760 Speaker 2: with things like climates, but also repairing our land and 45 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:48,800 Speaker 2: our soils and bringing more life and vitality to communities 46 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:51,720 Speaker 2: and more jobs or security. All those things are available 47 00:01:51,720 --> 00:01:53,320 Speaker 2: to us right now, and I think we need to 48 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:55,600 Speaker 2: tell that story of a beautiful opportunity that we have 49 00:01:55,640 --> 00:01:56,320 Speaker 2: in this country. 50 00:01:56,520 --> 00:01:59,480 Speaker 3: Absolutely right. You've got to have some hope that there 51 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:02,040 Speaker 3: will be access at the end of the road rather 52 00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:07,000 Speaker 3: than you know, the doom and gloom. Interesting coincidence that 53 00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:10,239 Speaker 3: the opening night of Regenerating Australia in Sydney took place 54 00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:13,120 Speaker 3: five days after the first floods hit the Northern Rivers 55 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:15,600 Speaker 3: up where you live, and you had a very serious 56 00:02:15,600 --> 00:02:17,600 Speaker 3: family connection with your daughters. 57 00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:20,760 Speaker 2: Well, yeah, it was a pretty tough time to leave. 58 00:02:20,760 --> 00:02:22,560 Speaker 2: That was the first flood that hit, and we were 59 00:02:22,600 --> 00:02:24,480 Speaker 2: okay where we were, but obviously had a lot of 60 00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:27,240 Speaker 2: friends lose their homes. And then when the second flood 61 00:02:27,280 --> 00:02:29,320 Speaker 2: hit only a short time later, which people might not 62 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:31,519 Speaker 2: be aware of, that's when the water did encroach where 63 00:02:31,560 --> 00:02:33,320 Speaker 2: I live and I got a phone call at three 64 00:02:33,320 --> 00:02:35,280 Speaker 2: in the morning. I was in another part of the country, 65 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:37,440 Speaker 2: but my wife and two young daughters, so they had 66 00:02:37,480 --> 00:02:39,600 Speaker 2: to take some action there, which was a bit scary. 67 00:02:39,639 --> 00:02:41,600 Speaker 2: And I couldn't even fly into the airport that was 68 00:02:41,600 --> 00:02:43,560 Speaker 2: all flooded as well. So you know, here we are. 69 00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:46,720 Speaker 2: We've had a huge fire in our region and across 70 00:02:46,760 --> 00:02:48,440 Speaker 2: the country only few years ago, and now we had 71 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:50,919 Speaker 2: these two huge floods. So I think people are starting 72 00:02:50,919 --> 00:02:52,760 Speaker 2: to realize that we do need to take more action 73 00:02:53,440 --> 00:02:56,280 Speaker 2: than they are, and it's already starting to affect us 74 00:02:56,320 --> 00:03:00,080 Speaker 2: and the effect livelihoods and huge costs in action there 75 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:01,679 Speaker 2: as all these things that we've been talking about and 76 00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:04,760 Speaker 2: we show in the film can allow us to defend 77 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:07,120 Speaker 2: ourselves against these things that are coming, but also create 78 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:10,399 Speaker 2: great opportunities and more incomfort people as we transition. 79 00:03:10,760 --> 00:03:13,560 Speaker 1: Yeah, we talk about the word, the word overwhelming comes 80 00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:15,760 Speaker 1: to mind when you talk about you know, we said 81 00:03:15,800 --> 00:03:17,080 Speaker 1: the way we see the planet, like I said, our 82 00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:19,160 Speaker 1: connection with it. But it's a way to start just 83 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:21,799 Speaker 1: with small steps because for so long we've many of 84 00:03:21,880 --> 00:03:23,680 Speaker 1: us have been out there thinking, oh, the small steps 85 00:03:23,680 --> 00:03:24,920 Speaker 1: don't really matter, but they actually do. 86 00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:26,840 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean it depends what those small steps are. 87 00:03:26,919 --> 00:03:30,040 Speaker 2: I think, you know, if you look at those carbon 88 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:32,560 Speaker 2: calculates for example. I mean that was a program started 89 00:03:32,600 --> 00:03:34,320 Speaker 2: by one of the big BT, one of the big 90 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:36,880 Speaker 2: companies in the nineteen nineties, you know, to sort of 91 00:03:36,880 --> 00:03:39,240 Speaker 2: shift that attention away from the big policies that needed 92 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:41,400 Speaker 2: to happen, the big changes, and put that responsibility on 93 00:03:41,560 --> 00:03:44,200 Speaker 2: individuals that said, we still need to pay our part. 94 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:46,000 Speaker 2: There's no doubt about that, but I think, you know, 95 00:03:46,040 --> 00:03:48,840 Speaker 2: really it's about finding ourselves and our agency is in 96 00:03:48,880 --> 00:03:51,680 Speaker 2: our citizenship known as consumers, and I think we've just 97 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:53,560 Speaker 2: left it too late now. If we were all switching 98 00:03:53,560 --> 00:03:56,880 Speaker 2: to keep cups and riding bikes to work thirty years ago, 99 00:03:56,960 --> 00:03:58,960 Speaker 2: we might have had a better chance. But we've really 100 00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:00,920 Speaker 2: left it so late now that we just do need 101 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:02,800 Speaker 2: that leadership and the government. 102 00:04:02,880 --> 00:04:03,000 Speaker 1: Now. 103 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:05,600 Speaker 3: I understand this is a short film, unlike you know 104 00:04:05,640 --> 00:04:08,600 Speaker 3: that Sugar film, which was a full length feature film. 105 00:04:08,880 --> 00:04:11,880 Speaker 3: And I think what's equally as important as the film 106 00:04:11,960 --> 00:04:14,680 Speaker 3: is that that's being set within Q and a's around 107 00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:17,000 Speaker 3: the country. There's going to be a couple in w 108 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:19,280 Speaker 3: Way this week in Bustleton and Margot River and then 109 00:04:19,320 --> 00:04:22,040 Speaker 3: at Luna and Lunar lead of all on Wednesday and Thursday. 110 00:04:22,440 --> 00:04:25,080 Speaker 3: What do you hope that people will take away from these. 111 00:04:25,160 --> 00:04:27,760 Speaker 2: Well, I've done fifty two of them now around the country. 112 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:31,360 Speaker 2: We've got fifteen to go, so we're nearly there. And 113 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:33,400 Speaker 2: it's just been especially for people on the East Coast, 114 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:34,960 Speaker 2: I think, a great chance to get in a room 115 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:36,479 Speaker 2: with other people, which is a lot of people haven't 116 00:04:36,520 --> 00:04:38,320 Speaker 2: done for long time. So we've pretty much had full 117 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:41,400 Speaker 2: screenings and really great robust conversation. And I guess, as 118 00:04:41,400 --> 00:04:44,480 Speaker 2: you said before, perhaps some optimism's a muscular optimism. It's 119 00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:46,760 Speaker 2: not just a big utopian fantasy, but it's saying all 120 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:49,320 Speaker 2: that you've been dre already out there, let's talk about 121 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:52,560 Speaker 2: what's applicable for your community. And in particular, WWS has 122 00:04:52,560 --> 00:04:54,640 Speaker 2: put up a multimillion dollar fund with the film. For 123 00:04:54,720 --> 00:04:57,479 Speaker 2: anyone that sees the film and has an idea and 124 00:04:57,520 --> 00:04:59,640 Speaker 2: they want to do something in their community, there's grants 125 00:04:59,640 --> 00:05:02,200 Speaker 2: of CAN twenty fifty one hundred grand and to work 126 00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:04,680 Speaker 2: with their subject matter expert to develop that early two 127 00:05:04,760 --> 00:05:07,479 Speaker 2: projects or a comuniton battery or a first Nation's learning center, 128 00:05:07,480 --> 00:05:09,960 Speaker 2: whatever it is that you want to do, there's actually 129 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:12,240 Speaker 2: a pathway to get involved and bring it to your community. 130 00:05:12,279 --> 00:05:14,000 Speaker 2: And I think that's why we just had such great 131 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:16,680 Speaker 2: discussions at the Q and AS, and that's translating now 132 00:05:16,720 --> 00:05:20,039 Speaker 2: into really exciting solutions that people are submitting, and we're 133 00:05:20,080 --> 00:05:23,080 Speaker 2: really forming this sort of regenerative network, decentralized. No one's 134 00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:25,919 Speaker 2: leading it. It's actually all about communities sharing their learnings 135 00:05:25,920 --> 00:05:28,080 Speaker 2: and sharing with each other what they're doing. And that's 136 00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:29,159 Speaker 2: the way we're going to get through this. 137 00:05:29,640 --> 00:05:32,520 Speaker 3: Damen, how important do you think this weekend's election is 138 00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:33,800 Speaker 3: in regard to the subject matter? 139 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:39,000 Speaker 2: Yeah, look, I'd say it's the most important election we've 140 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:40,840 Speaker 2: ever had for the planet. I don't think we can 141 00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:44,159 Speaker 2: afford another three years of inaction. We're particularly vulnerable in 142 00:05:44,200 --> 00:05:46,680 Speaker 2: this country, as we've seen lately. And you know, it's 143 00:05:46,720 --> 00:05:48,240 Speaker 2: not just me saying that this is you know that 144 00:05:48,279 --> 00:05:50,960 Speaker 2: the IPC is not just a handful of climate scientists. 145 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:53,440 Speaker 2: It's literally tens and tens and tens of thousands of 146 00:05:53,480 --> 00:05:55,320 Speaker 2: scientists that have looked at tens and tens and tens 147 00:05:55,320 --> 00:05:57,640 Speaker 2: of thousands of papers, and they're saying, we've just got 148 00:05:57,680 --> 00:06:00,000 Speaker 2: to get to at least fifty percent emissions by twenty thirty. 149 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:02,680 Speaker 2: Having a remote chart of avoiding some kind of catastrophe, 150 00:06:02,720 --> 00:06:05,960 Speaker 2: and unfortunately we're nowhere near that in this country. And 151 00:06:05,960 --> 00:06:07,800 Speaker 2: we could be because we've got as much wind and 152 00:06:07,839 --> 00:06:10,120 Speaker 2: solar as any other country in the world. We could 153 00:06:10,160 --> 00:06:13,159 Speaker 2: be making huge industries out of this, and making and 154 00:06:13,160 --> 00:06:16,320 Speaker 2: manufacturing turbines and like vehicle with all sorts of things 155 00:06:16,320 --> 00:06:18,600 Speaker 2: for the rest of the world. That's the opportunity that's 156 00:06:18,640 --> 00:06:20,840 Speaker 2: here right now, and no one gets to miss out, 157 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:23,200 Speaker 2: no one gets left behind. We can replace really high 158 00:06:23,279 --> 00:06:26,039 Speaker 2: paying fossil field jobs with really high paying clean jobs. 159 00:06:26,200 --> 00:06:27,560 Speaker 2: And that's the story we've got to tell. 160 00:06:27,800 --> 00:06:29,479 Speaker 3: I'm sure a lot of our state could be powered 161 00:06:29,480 --> 00:06:33,520 Speaker 3: by you know, those windmills and the turbines. There's no doubts, 162 00:06:33,560 --> 00:06:34,240 Speaker 3: not enough of it. 163 00:06:34,800 --> 00:06:36,800 Speaker 2: Well, in fact, your state's doing some great things that 164 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:38,960 Speaker 2: they really are. I think you, Twiggy and some others 165 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:42,640 Speaker 2: are doing really interesting around green steel and all those 166 00:06:42,680 --> 00:06:45,000 Speaker 2: sort of things. But it is happening. We're not getting 167 00:06:45,040 --> 00:06:47,360 Speaker 2: the leadership sederally, but it's happening certainly to state level 168 00:06:47,480 --> 00:06:50,080 Speaker 2: and communities and schools. They're all doing amazing things around now. 169 00:06:50,360 --> 00:06:52,240 Speaker 1: And I was just curious, Daman, there was a seventeen 170 00:06:52,279 --> 00:06:54,839 Speaker 1: minute film always so that that sort of time frame. 171 00:06:54,880 --> 00:06:56,440 Speaker 1: Always like you felt like you got everything out in 172 00:06:56,480 --> 00:06:56,760 Speaker 1: that time. 173 00:06:56,839 --> 00:06:59,200 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, obviously it was a challenge to everything 174 00:06:59,200 --> 00:07:02,000 Speaker 2: and condensed. What's really what we learned from twenty forty 175 00:07:02,080 --> 00:07:04,320 Speaker 2: is that, you know, people have got this saturated with 176 00:07:04,360 --> 00:07:06,640 Speaker 2: content these days, and we had a lot of corporates 177 00:07:06,680 --> 00:07:09,440 Speaker 2: through screenings twenty forty, but it's very hard to organize 178 00:07:09,440 --> 00:07:10,760 Speaker 2: this staff to sit down for an hour and a 179 00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:12,800 Speaker 2: half after work and watch it. So we just thought, 180 00:07:12,880 --> 00:07:15,120 Speaker 2: let's just make this bite sized chunk that really opens 181 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:16,760 Speaker 2: the door for people and if they want to learn more, 182 00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:20,280 Speaker 2: all the information exactly on the website. So the amount 183 00:07:20,280 --> 00:07:23,520 Speaker 2: of political screenings and corporate screens we've already had extraordinary. 184 00:07:23,520 --> 00:07:25,360 Speaker 2: How many people have already screened it, I think because 185 00:07:25,360 --> 00:07:27,600 Speaker 2: of the election coming up, But it's just a nice 186 00:07:27,680 --> 00:07:29,960 Speaker 2: bite size glimpse into the future. Yeah. 187 00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:32,000 Speaker 1: I still haven't recovered from that bowl of sugar. 188 00:07:35,800 --> 00:07:37,680 Speaker 3: I've got to tell you, I watched that sugar film 189 00:07:37,720 --> 00:07:39,200 Speaker 3: when I first decided I was going to do the 190 00:07:39,280 --> 00:07:41,120 Speaker 3: key I died. Oh my god. It gave me the 191 00:07:41,200 --> 00:07:42,120 Speaker 3: boost to stick to it. 192 00:07:44,240 --> 00:07:46,040 Speaker 1: Yeah, I know, well amazing. 193 00:07:46,240 --> 00:07:50,520 Speaker 2: A few people say that they can't undersee that No 194 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:53,840 Speaker 2: there's lots of teachers still teaching the kids, and they 195 00:07:53,880 --> 00:07:55,760 Speaker 2: often stopped in the street. They made I kind of 196 00:07:55,800 --> 00:07:57,520 Speaker 2: think I want to thank you, but I'm also been angry. 197 00:07:58,320 --> 00:08:02,280 Speaker 1: I know, but as a filmmaker, you're still having the impact. 198 00:08:02,520 --> 00:08:03,600 Speaker 1: That's great lasting impact. 199 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:06,480 Speaker 2: No, no, very good. Well, I appreciate your support. Thanks, 200 00:08:06,560 --> 00:08:06,880 Speaker 2: good time. 201 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:08,720 Speaker 3: Thanks for your time, David, but all the best.