SORRY DAY

Mrs GERAGHTY (Torrens) (16:53): In May this year I attended a Sorry Day ceremony in my electorate at a residential program which provides housing for Aboriginal students. Before I share the events of the Sorry Day ceremony with you, I would just like to give you some background on the Wiltja Residential Program. Wiltja is a home away from home for Anangu students who come predominantly from—

The Hon. G. Portolesi: Hear, hear!

Mrs GERAGHTY: Yes, it is a really excellent program. The students come from the APY lands to develop the skills they need to succeed in mainstream education. A group of Ernabella women back in 1970 saw the advantages of offering mainstream secondary schooling to APY lands students and an initial cohort of female students was enrolled at Ingle Farm High School in 1980, with the current Wiltja program being consolidated at the Woodville High School campus in 1990.

Students board at the Wiltja residence at Northgate and participate in a comprehensive recreation program. Wiltja Residential Program staff support these students in their education and also with recreation and cultural transition. Students attend the Wiltja school program, which is now generally based at Woodville High but, speaking to some of the students a while ago, some also now go to the Windsor Gardens Vocational College.

The students who attend Woodville and Windsor Gardens see the additional educational options that are available to the students, which is developing this campus as a multitype campus approach. All students participate in an after-school tutorial program that is designed to support the school-based program. There are youth workers at Wiltja who help maintain and also teach and focus on learning, which is really important. It is evident when you visit the facility that staff provide a high level of care, with a supportive and challenging educational and home environment. It is actually a delight to be there.

The residential program includes a comprehensive recreation and social learning program, designed specifically to provide experiences to enhance cross-cultural learning for students aged between 18 and 19 years of age. The recently completed and expanded facilities have increased student capacity to about 100, and Wiltja is also able to host additional student numbers for its short-term transition programs.

Upper primary students with an interest in undertaking their secondary schooling at Wiltja visit and participate in the full program for a 10-day period. This initiative has proven to be very successful as it enables families and students to get a feel for the residential program and helps them to make decisions about their future pathways.

At Wiltja students have the opportunity to participate in a range of activities such as sport, art, music and dance activities, aquatics and a health program, driver training and a host of other programs that focus on student wellbeing. These are delivered after school hours on weeknights and weekends and help to equip students with the skills and knowledge required for future study, work and life after Wiltja.

At the Sorry Day ceremony it was a delight to actually witness the students performing a dance. The state-funded AusDance group conducts weekly dance lessons and students shared their movement skills at the Sorry Day ceremony and performed a dance they had choreographed themselves with a bit of help from their dance instructor. On a very cold and wintry morning they did an excellent job. The ceremony also included a song performed by a small group of Anangu women who were either visiting or residing in APY land schools.

Tjinkuma, the leader of the singing group, is a graduate of the AnTEP teacher education program and is a qualified Anangu teacher. The women sang a very melodic tune—I was incredibly impressed—which certainly captured the attention of all who were there on the day. At the ceremony the students 'sorry garden' was officially opened. It was particularly interesting to note that the Wiltja students had selected white standard roses for the plantings in this area with a plaque displaying the following words:

To those Indigenous people affected by the misguided intervention of others we extend our sympathy. We will work to ensure history is never repeated and may love and respect guide us forward together. Sorry.

Those of us who attended also had the opportunity for further reflection and we were invited to write down a personal message of hope and attach it to a balloon, which were then all released together and glided above us, so it marked a fitting end to the ceremony.

In conclusion, I take a moment to reflect on a few commendable outcomes the Wiltja Residential Program has achieved. In 1998 Wiltja produced the first-ever SACE graduates from traditional Anangu communities. There were seven more graduates in 1999-2001. Early in 2002 there were a further six year 12 students on track to complete SACE. This trend has continued and, as at 2012, more than 50 students have now completed their secondary education at Wiltja. Retention rates have risen over time due to a range of finely-tuned improvements made to the way the program operates. In general, 90 per cent of students who are studying in a given term return to further their studies the following year and then complete that year. Consequently, the student cohort is spread relatively evenly across all secondary levels.

The number of long-term male students has also risen by approximately 50 per cent in recent years, which is something to be really proud of. Attendance levels of students at schools on a daily basis sits at above 98 per cent. A significant development over recent years has been that the Anangu communities have decided to actively support the further studies of young men who have been initiated. As a consequence, several young men have returned to Wiltja in the last few years, after undergoing initiation, to complete their secondary education.

It is facilities with relevant and inspiring programs like those at the Wiltja Residential Program which will help to empower our Aboriginal youth. These young people will then become self-determining adults with the confidence and skill to drive their own futures, manage their own communities and choose how they want to participate in the wider world.

It is a program I am exceptionally proud to have in my electorate. I commend the work that they do and I congratulate everyone involved in the program. I know that we are going to hear many good things about the Wiltja program in the future.

At 17:01 the house adjourned until Wednesday 11 July 2012 at 11:00.