Page 4083 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 22 October 2019
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
commitment to listen to and work in deep partnership with the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.
We wish to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land that we are meeting on, the Ngunnawal people. We wish to acknowledge and respect their continuing culture and the contribution that they make to the life of this city and this region. We also would like to acknowledge and welcome other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are attending the Assembly today.
We are commit to working in partnership to create the necessary supports and services that assist community healing and aspirations of strong, resilient families free from family and domestic violence. Family and domestic violence is not traditionally part of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. Rather, traditional culture and customary lore are highly respectful and protective of women and children.
The complex interpersonal, family and community relationships were successfully nurtured for over 60,000 years prior to colonisation. In all the conversations Minister Stephen-Smith and I have had with the community on various issues, it has been clear that family is at the heart of community life and impacts on all other parts of people’s lives and identity.
The kinds of interpersonal, family and community violence seen across Australia in communities today are a manifestation of the widespread intergenerational trauma, trauma resulting from oppression, racism, discrimination and abuse of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It shames me to say that they continue to experience that harm across our society. We are sorry for that and we are committed to change.
Colonisation, dispossession and government policies, such as the forced removal of children and the disruption of kinship and community ties, have created grief, loss and intergenerational trauma. It causes ongoing harm. This complex interplay of factors also contributes to the transmission and pervasiveness of lateral and family violence, both within and against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families across generations.
However, strong community leadership and enduring resilience have prevailed. We pay tribute to the many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who, through their courage and leadership, have sought consistently to improve the situation for their communities. People have shared their stories and insights and offered government clear and compelling recommendations on what needs to be done.
This leadership is demonstrated through the publication of the We don’t shoot our wounded report, a significant community-led report from 2009. The Change our future. Share what you know report from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community forum on domestic and family violence was published eight years later. This second report supports and underscores the longstanding significance and pertinence of the recommendations from We don’t shoot our wounded. Both of these reports are clear examples of local leadership and courage to bring about change across our ACT community.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video