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Engagement with First Nations people's in Casey

Answer

I acknowledge and celebrate the Wurundjeri & Boon Wurrung peoples of the Kulin Nation who have a deep connection to place over thousands of years. I pay my respect to Elders who have passed into the dreaming, those here today and those of tomorrow.

I am committed to listen and engage with our First Nations people's in Casey to learn. 'Reconciliation is moving forward towards a future of respect, caring and sharing for all cultures living in harmony' (Shire of Yarra Ranges Indigenous Advisory Committee). I will work to move us forward towards reconciliation. I look to the Uluru Statement from the Heart to guide us.

If elected as the Independent MP for Casey I will:
  • Engage with the Shire of Yarra Ranges Indigenous Advisory Committee, First Nations peak bodies and our First Nations people's in Casey in all votes, changes and policies that involve them.
  • Advocate to achieve the targets set out in the National Agreement on Closing the Gap | Closing the Gap.
  • Support First Nations people's history, culture and language programs being taught in schools across Casey.
  • Support raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 10 years to at least 14 years of age. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and youth are over-represented in detention at a rate of 23 times that of non-Indigenous young people.
  • Support Welcome to Country and smoking ceremonies.
  • Stand in front of the Aboriginal Flag, the Australian flag and the Torres Strait Island flag.

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Local History

  • Coranderrk Aboriginal Station in Healesville opened in 1863 and became home to Aboriginal people from across Victoria whose lands had been stolen from them. Coranderrk is now managed by the Wandoon Estate Aboriginal Corporation (WEAC) as its custodians.
  • Yarra Ranges was the first Council in Australia to formally apologise in 1997 to the Stolen Generations 
  • Yarra Ranges is home to one of the largest populations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in eastern metropolitan Melbourne.
  • On 27 June 2023 Shire of Yarra Ranges voted to support a Voice to Parliament, with backing from Council's Indigenous Advisory Committee.

Actions I have taken to advocate for First Nations people's voices

In response to heightened community interest leading into the 2023 Referendum, in July 2023 I founded a local community group called Casey for YES created to meet people and share ideas to promote respect, hope and reconciliation across the federal electorate of Casey. Casey for YES with 293 members and 138 active volunteers, was a place for locals to ask questions, seek out factual information and get involved in support of the YES Vote in the referendum. In Casey the YES vote was 42%. Click here to see the full Referendum result in Casey. The YES vote was 50% or more in the following places:

After the referendum Casey for YES suggested the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) should undertake community engagement to listen and survey the electors to Change the Name of the Casey electorate to a First Nations name that is meaningful to our community, supporting the suggestion to rename the federal electorate to Barak in honour of William Barak.

  • William Barak (1824 - 1903) 'Beruk' in the Woiwurrang language was a renowned and influential Indigenous Elder of the Wurundjeri and last Chief of the Yarra Yarra tribe and is recognised in the Victorian Indigenous Honour Roll. He has tribal, birth, geographic and historically significant ties to our community. He was both a diplomat and an ambassador.

  • Barak campaigned for the creation of Coranderrk, contributed to its early success as a thriving, self-sufficient community, and was its indefatigable defender until the end of his life. For most of his life Barak lived at Coranderrk. He saw Coranderrk as a way for the Kulin people to maintain a physical connection to their country and Barak played a key role in educating non-Aboriginal people about this relationship.

  • William Barak’s leadership included two significant ‘walks’ for land rights and recognition from Healesville to Parliament House in Melbourne, events that continue to inspire advocacy by First Nations peoples in Australia.

  • Changing the name of the electorate to a prominent local Indigenous person aligns with local community sentiment that more needs to be done in promoting local Aboriginal history.

  • The name Barak is consistent with the AEC naming guidelines of recognising a deceased noteworthy Australian who has made a significant contribution to public life. 

The AEC did not support the proposal to change the electorate name of Casey, but this campaign is not over with advocacy to continue to change the name.

Local resources and ways to get involved

Please connect with local services and join local community groups committed to listen and learn as we walk together towards reconciliation: