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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-05-27 Daily Xml
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National Reconciliation Week

Mr DULUK (Waite) (16:07): As so many in this house have already commented, today marks the start of National Reconciliation Week. Reconciliation Australia's theme for 2021 is 'More than a word'. While words and speaking out are very important in raising the concerns of the community, I would like to take the opportunity to promote some of the actions that are being taken in Waite as part of Reconciliation Week. We know that the reconciliation movement takes action to amplify the voices of First Nations people.

Earlier this month, I attended a Kaurna cultural workshop. This was a rich workshop with colour, culture and community learnings. It was held at the beautiful Wirraparinga Reserve or, as you may know it, Mr Speaker, Mitcham Reserve on Old Belair Road. Many thanks to all those involved that afternoon, but a very special mention must go to the organiser, Liesl von der Borch, for all her work in putting this day together, and thanks to the City of Mitcham for their grant funding. I really enjoyed the talks, the stories and the presentations, but especially the discussions of Drew Kilner and Anzac Lochowiak about Wakalti, Muriapaka and Tililya.

This Sunday will be the Blackwood Reconciliation Walk, which has been held every year for many years as part of Reconciliation Week. Once again, we will meet at the Blackwood Uniting Church on the roundabout and walk together down Shepherds Hill Road to Colebrook Reconciliation Park. Anyone who knows anything about reconciliation knows the importance of Colebrook Reconciliation Park to that story and the story of reconciliation in South Australia.

A smoking and Welcome to Country ceremony will be responded to by local schoolchildren. After the formalities, we all are invited to bring our own picnic lunch and take time to hear the voices of former residents of the Colebrook Training Home for Aboriginal Children, which are present in so many forms at the site. For those wanting to join, the march starts at 11.30am.

The Blackwood Reconciliation Group takes many actions to further reconciliation in our community. Last year, it was great to help out with the planting of over 600 native trees at Colebrook Reconciliation Park as part of the indigenous plants project. A big congratulations to the team, including Di, Helen, Tommy and Dave, on putting that together, on their planning and on bringing so many people in our community together. It was great to see just this week Raymond and Barry joining Helen and Di to place some Kaurna signage around the trees that are now 12 months old.

On another note, I look forward to a new documentary about the Colebrook Reconciliation Park with the Colebrook families and friends, which is currently being produced by Scarlett Media to help educate the next generation about the story of Colebrook and promote healing and reconciliation. I would like to thank the Blackwood Reconciliation Group for all the work they do as part of Reconciliation Week, National Sorry Day, NAIDOC Week and all throughout the year.

Finally, this Friday Gallery One in Mitcham is hosting their exhibition, The First Stories. Opening night is tomorrow night and includes a smoking ceremony performed by Belair resident and Kaurna elder Uncle Tamaru. Anyone who has been to an Uncle Tamaru smoking ceremony knows it is always pretty fantastic. The exhibition will be opened by Rowena Brown from the Glenelg Art Gallery. Throughout June, Gallery One will be running Indigenous art workshops, called An Afternoon with Aunties, so jump on the website and have a look.

Reconciliation is a journey for all Australians, as individuals, families, communities, organisations and, importantly, as a nation. At the heart of this journey are relationships between the broader Australian community and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. There are many ways to become more involved in reconciliation, from educating our youngest members of society to reading Indigenous storybooks and joining the conversation online.

One book, Kunyi, which is currently available at my local Shakespeare's Book Shop, is a powerful story that needs to be in South Australian homes, schools and libraries. It tells the stories of Kunyi, born on Todmorden Station near Oodnadatta in South Australia in the 1950s. Kunyi June Anne McInerney is a renowned artist. Her paintings and stories are a moving testament to the stolen generation and the children's home kids she called family.

We all have a role to play in reconciliation. Once again, I would like to thank our state's Commissioner for Aboriginal Engagement, Dr Roger Thomas, for his historic address to parliament last year. The year 2021 marks 20 years of reconciliation in Australia and almost three decades of Australia's formal recognition process. I hope that as parliamentarians can all play our part in this important journey.

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