Environmental issues are treated through the medium of fantasy in The Nargun and the Stars. By using nature spirits from Aboriginal myth, Wrightson has given nature a voice to complain of humanity's destructive ways, and the power to combat them. Readers who sympathize with the Turongs, who are driven from their trees, or the Nargun, who is tormented by the roar and vibration of earth-tearing machinery, will be conscious that the destruction of the natural world takes place daily, and only human beings can stop it. The "owner ship" theme in the book brings up the moral aspect of humanity's relationship to the land: what right do temporary inhabitants of the land have to destroy it for everyone who comes after them?

Do we not have an obligation to be good caretakers of the earth?

A related issue is the difference in cultural attitudes between the...