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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-05-14 Daily Xml
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Ministerial Statement

TREVORROW, MR TOM

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Treasurer, Minister for State Development, Minister for the Public Sector, Minister for the Arts) (14:02): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: I seek to make a ministerial statement relating to the passing of the late Mr Tom Trevorrow, Ngarrindjeri elder and respected Aboriginal leader. On behalf of the South Australian government I would like to express sorrow at Mr Trevorrow's passing and pay tribute to a leading advocate for Aboriginal rights in South Australia. I acknowledge that many people from our community are saddened by Tom's sudden passing while at Camp Coorong Race Relations and Cultural Education Centre on 18 April 2013. He was 58 years old.

I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to work closely with Tom over the years. I considered Tom to be a friend, and I know that he was a friend to many others across government, particularly to former minister for Aboriginal affairs and reconciliation, the member for Colton, and to the South Australian community. I have the deepest respect and admiration for him. I honour and respect the significant contribution and legacy that Tom leaves for the Ngarrindjeri people, the broader South Australian community and our nation.

Tom made a significant contribution to negotiations for the co-management of the Coorong National Park, and his support was critical to our campaign for a fair and equitable Murray-Darling Basin Plan. The Ngarrindjeri believe that to be healthy the lands and waters must be healthy, which is a philosophy I strongly believe in and a cultural necessity that Tom fought so strongly to protect.

Tom's advocacy and ability to negotiate just terms for his people were made personally clear to me at the height of the recent drought, when I was the minister for environment and conservation and minister for Aboriginal affairs and reconciliation. At a time when we were facing unprecedented drought conditions, I was forced to make a most difficult decision to construct temporary regulators in the Goolwa Channel to protect this area from the serious threat of widespread acidification. I know that this decision caused great pain and suffering to the Ngarrindjeri people, and I respect the strength and integrity of Tom and other Ngarrindjeri leaders at this time in negotiating a way forward.

When Tom spoke people listened. He was highly respected for his wisdom and insight into Aboriginal matters, and he was a central figure in the advancement of Aboriginal issues and opportunities, both within our state and across our nation. Tom continued to strongly advocate regarding issues of sovereignty and the 1836 Letters Patent until the day he passed. He believed that the original promises of a just settlement in the Letters Patent needed to be followed through by this place. Tom always talked about these challenging moral issues with integrity and clarity, and the promise of the 1836 Letters Patent remains an important issues for our state's attention.

Tom spent much of his life developing Ngarrindjeri community programs, such as the Ngarrindjeri Lands and Progress Association, which sought to enrich the lives of his people. His commitment and dedication was integral to the development of the Ngarrindjeri Regional Authority in 2007. He worked alongside his brother George and his Ngarrindjeri brother Matt Rigney and many other Ngarrindjeri leaders to guide the vision of respect and understanding to reality.

Many South Australians would have visited Camp Coorong Race Relations and Cultural Education Centre near Meningie, in the south-east of our state. Tom, with his wife Ellen and their family, have been the heart and soul of Camp Coorong since it was established more than 20 years ago, and they have shared Ngarrindjeri culture and history with thousands of people from throughout Australia and overseas. Camp Coorong not only fostered Ngarrindjeri culture but encouraged greater understanding and respect between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples and embodied Tom's commitment to form partnerships based on foundations of trust and respect.

On behalf of this place, I extend our heartfelt condolences to Tom's wife Ellen, their children, his many grandchildren, his close friends, the Ngarrindjeri people and all those who hold fond memories of him.

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