Submission – Wamba Wemba Aboriginal Corporation

“The Wamba Wemba Aboriginal Corporation (WWAC) Sovereign Elders Council and Directors, as well as other Wamba Wemba leaders (of which there are many), follow on from an intergenerational collective resistance by Wamba Wemba people for more than 150 years, following on from ancestors such as Sir Doug Nicholls and John Stuart Murray.”

“This submission seeks to bring into focus key systemic barriers faced by the Wamba Wemba Aboriginal Corporation in achieving land justice. These barriers fit under three broad themes:

• Administrative barriers to formal recognition as Traditional Owners continues to impact the development of the WWAC and the capacity to represent and advocate for Wamba Wemba People.
• The chronic cultural/colonial load on Wamba Wemba Elders, Directors, and community leaders in building an Aboriginal community-controlled Traditional Owner organisation representative of Wamba Wemba People without access to any ongoing funding to provide for basic resourcing and infrastructure.
• The serious ongoing impacts on the health and well-being of Wamba Wemba People arising from land dispossession and compounded by points 1 and 2.”