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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-11-14 Daily Xml
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INDIGENOUS GRADUATES, UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (15:29): I acknowledge that parliament stands on Kaurna land and I pay my respects to the Kaurna people. I also did that on 20 October on behalf of the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation when I attended a dinner to honour and celebrate the achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander graduates of the University of Adelaide. Welcomed by Uncle Lewis O'Brien, the distinguished audience, including Vice-Chancellor Professor Warren Bebbington and former vice-chancellor James McWha, and the organiser and MC for the evening, Professor Lester-Irabinna Rigney, relived many success stories.

The motto of the University of Adelaide is 'Life impact'. That is well deserved, some of its alumni being our own Muriel Matters and Lionel Logue. Their stories are very well known to members here. The University of Adelaide continues to rank in the top 1 per cent of Australian universities. It continues to produce educational excellence and lead by example. The University of Adelaide has much to be proud of, particularly in its commitment to, and support and promotion of, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander educational outcomes.

The Centre for Aboriginal Studies in Music (CASM) has provided 38 years of dedicated music studies for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. CASM remains a pioneer in promoting musical success. It is the only university-based program in Australia that delivers specialist and accredited training for Aboriginal and TSI people in music and performance. On the evening, we were treated to TSI music and dance led by Mr Eddie Peters.

Also, the Centre for Aboriginal Education, Wilto Yerlo (which means sea eagle), was established in 1996, providing foundation and academic support and coaching for so many Aboriginal and TSI graduates. Some were at the dinner, including Dylan Coleman, who completed his PhD in creative writing in 2011 and then went on to win the Arts Queensland David Unaipon Award for his unpublished works; Professor Irene Watson, awarded the Bonython Law School prize for her PhD in 2000; Yvonne Clark, who was the first Aboriginal student to be awarded a masters degree in psychology in 1997; and Sonny Flynn, the first University of Adelaide undergraduate, who completed his Bachelor of Arts with Honours in 1986.

In 2011, there was a total of 190 Aboriginal and TSI students enrolled in Wilto Yerlo, representing 1.1 per cent of the total number of university enrolments. This nearly matches the Aboriginal proportion of the South Australian population, which is currently 1.9 per cent. Out of the 190 enrolments, 29 students graduated, five of those with PhDs. Not resting on those laurels, the University of Adelaide continues to move forward in delivering on its commitment to educational outcomes. For example, in the year 2000, through the Yaitya Purruna Indigenous Health Unit, it saw increased levels of support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in the area of health sciences, including medicine, as well as the integration of Aboriginal culture into the medicine curriculum.

In 2003, the university signed off on its reconciliation statement. In 2009, the university launched its Aboriginal and TSI employment strategy and funded this initiative out of its own internal resources. In 2011, through the Indigenous Oral Health Unit, there was for the first time a targeted focus on oral health for Aboriginal people. The university is building on this area of academic excellence by strengthening its presence in Upper Spencer Gulf. I also acknowledge the contributions of both the University of South Australia and Flinders University, which are also improving their educational outcomes for Aboriginal and TSI students.

Irabinna Rigney's mother, Dr Alice Rigney, was also present at the dinner. Alice is a special person and her lifelong commitment to education is inspirational. Earlier this year, her photo, along with that of her grandson, Trevor Ritchie, was used in an article by Samela Harris in The Advertiser on 12 April, talking about loss of endangered languages. Professor Ghil'ad Zuckermann, who is at the University of Adelaide in linguistics, accused Australia of linguicide. Once there were 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages spoken here and now there are only 15 in use. 'In other words, 94 per cent of Australian languages are dead or dying,' he said. If their lost languages were returned to them, he believes the Aboriginal people would regain immense cultural ground and self-respect. Professor Zuckerman said:

A loss of language is a loss of cultural autonomy and a loss of heritage, and the investment of those millions would save the country much more in the future.

His associate, Rob Amery, concurs and has been long involved in the recovery of the Kaurna language in Adelaide, a mission that has taken many years, and he is associated with the teaching of it to Kaurna students. There is now emerging a move towards teaching it in the Adelaide Kaurna Plains School. Some years ago, the Florey Reconciliation Taskforce held a ceremony here at Parliament House with the support of then minister Dorothy Kotz and former Governor, Sir Eric Neal, and Lady Neal, and displayed in Centre Hall sticks featuring the names of each of the languages spoken in South Australia at the time of settlement.

When Dr Amery first started his project, he was very worried the language would vanish. Instead, with the encouragement of Uncle Lewis O'Brien, then chairman of the Council of Aboriginal Elders, and with the help of records made by Lutheran missionaries earlier in the colonisation period, he was able to save the language. It is a very important thing that we give Aboriginal people literacy skills in their own languages.

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