On 4 November 2025, Dr Susan Bartie premiered three short films titled Australian Lawyers and the Environment at a private screening in Sydney. These films offer a rare and deeply human perspective on how lawyers – both academics and practitioners –relate to place, respond to environmental harms, and imagine the future.

The films are the culmination of Dr Bartie’s Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) project, funded by the Australian Research Council. Drawing on years of meticulous research, the project explores the lives of more than 70 lawyers across generations, compiled from countless hours of interviews and data. Through these narratives, the films reveal the strong and growing community of lawyers whose lives and careers have shaped the role of law in Australia’s environmental story. The films were produced in collaboration with Angus Ashton, whose creative vision helped bring these stories to life.

The premiere brought together many of Dr Bartie’s research participants, with others joining online. The response was overwhelmingly positive, reflecting the significance of this work in understanding how legal professionals influence, and are influenced by, the landscapes and communities they serve.

In addition to launching the films in Canberra for 2026, Dr Bartie is now working on a monograph that will expand on these themes, weaving together insights from her broader study. About her research, Dr Bartie said:

“Creating a visual archive of lawyers who have organised their careers around the idea of the environment was always an extremely important part of the project. I wanted the films to record the size and scale of the community that has grown from the 1970s, when the idea of the environment first entered Australian law. I feel incredibly fortunate to have been able to interview a large part of this community, beginning with the founders. Through the films I could depict parts of the environment which have mattered to these lawyers. In this way, the environment becomes an important actor. I hope the films prompt audiences to think about the importance of environmental and climate conscious lawyers in any accounting of environmental justice.”

As Australia’s national law school, the ANU Law School is proud to support research that drives social and environmental change. Head of the ANU Law School, Associate Professor Ryan Goss says:

“Dr Bartie’s work exemplifies the depth and impact of legal scholarship at the ANU Law School. By exploring the intersection of lawyers and environmental responsibility, this research not only informs academic debate but also inspires practical change.”