Maria Taylor is an investigative journalist and author and a former award-winning documentary film-maker analysing environmental conflicts. She has travelled widely in Australia, observing government decision-making and the rural sector, also editing a national magazine reporting agricultural science. She holds a PhD in science communication. In the past decade she has focused on regional news and wildlife/environmental investigations while publishing The District Bulletin in southern NSW near the national capital. 

She writes and reports from homebase in semi-rural country with remnant bushland. Across the years with her human family and some wonderful dogs, she has shared the land with woodland friends – many birds among them. Magpies, currawongs, bronze-wing pigeons, ducks, rosellas and other parrots, lately joined by enquiring sulphur-crested cockatoos, sometimes black cockatoos, gang-gangs and galahs, wrens, thrushes, thornbills, fantails and laughing kookaburras. Noisy friar-birds, tree-creepers, eastern spinebill and more nectar-feeders.  Brushtail and ringtail possums share the trees. On ground are grey kangaroos, swamp and red-necked wallabies, blue-tongue, shingleback and smaller lizards, and the recovering (from threat of extinction) rosenberg’s monitor (goanna). Rounding out the native animal ecology, favoured huntsman spiders and a cohort of that family, and many other insects mysteriously returning following drought, to join the ant tribes that never left.  All have been inspiration for thinking about the ongoing injustice and the disrespect shown to too many of Australia’s wondrous indigenous animals, our fellow nations on this continent.   

Taylor’s previous book of documentary journalism and cultural history is Global warming and climate change: what Australia knew and buried, then framed a new reality for the public. 2014, ANU Press.