NAIDOC Week

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (15:06): My question is to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs on the topic of NAIDOC celebrations in Port Augusta and Whyalla. Will the Minister inform the council on this year's NAIDOC events in Port Augusta and Whyalla?

The PRESIDENT: The Minister for Aboriginal Affairs.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector, Special Minister of State) (15:06): Thank you, sir. I note your strong interest in events occurring in Whyalla, and I thank the Hon. Russell Wortley for his question and his strong interest in events during NAIDOC Week. NAIDOC Week is always filled with many events and activities right around South Australia and greater metropolitan Adelaide. While many of these events are in metropolitan Adelaide, it is always good to try to attend events across remote and regional South Australia.

This year, I was fortunate enough to attend events in both Port Augusta and Whyalla. Port Augusta NAIDOC celebrations kicked off in earnest on the Monday of NAIDOC Week, 7 July, with a smoking ceremony and a corporate breakfast, followed by an opening ceremony and a flag raising. Tuesday's calendar began with the hugely successful CultureFest, which was hosted at the barracks in the centre of Port Augusta this year.

It was great to spend time with many locals and community members, to have a chat and listen to a pretty awesome line-up of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists at Culture Day, MC'd by Elaine Crombie, who is a fantastic local MC and is almost everywhere during NAIDOC Week. Artists at Culture Day included Uncle Eddie Peters, Scott Rathman Jnr, BOUSTA, Makiri Inma Group and Of Desert and Sea. There were plenty of activities for family and kids, such as weaving, face painting, boomerang painting and a caricature design wall.

Later that evening, the famous Port Augusta NAIDOC Week quiz was held at West Augusta Football Club. This event was a little different from other events, including the Port Augusta NAIDOC Week quiz night that I have attended in the past, due to the fact that the winning table from the year before has the responsibility for running the quiz night. I was unfortunate enough to be on a table with some very knowledgeable local Aboriginal people last year, so our table had to run the quiz night this year, so it was a different sort of enjoyment of the quiz night, having to front up and ask questions rather than sit on a table answering questions.

With collaboration and support from Umeewarra Media, we pulled together a very enjoyable quiz night that attracted close to 200 people, such was the interest from the community in the NAIDOC Week Port Augusta quiz. On Wednesday, I had the privilege of attending the Centacare NAIDOC community event at Norton Park in Whyalla, which I was also able to attend last year. It is always a popular event and it is fantastic to see so many community organisations present, and particularly children's events and also having a proper roo tail cookout, with many kangaroo tails being cooked in the ground, as has happened in previous years.

Both the Port Augusta and Whyalla NAIDOC Week events provide numerous opportunities for community members to engage with and celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, histories and achievements. I have only touched on a couple of the events in just a couple of cities around South Australia, but the diverse range of activities ensures that there is something for everyone, from children to elders, fostering a sense of community and achievement during NAIDOC Week. I congratulate all those who put on such successful events for our communities, and I look forward to informing the chamber of NAIDOC Week events right around South Australia in the future.