Submissions Library

Lionel Lauch is a Gunditjmara Kirrae Wurrung-Bundjalung man. He is the co-founder of Living Culture, which teaches people to see through an Indigenous perspective in the Mornington Peninsula area, including bush tucker, medicine, dancing, art and cooking. Lionel’s family experienced intergenerational trauma through the Stolen Generations. Growing up in out-of-home care he experienced racism, violence and abuse. He has also faced racism in the health system throughout his life, which has affected his health. He has learned to let go of the anger and despair he felt growing up and feels immense pride in culture as an Aboriginal man.

Uncle Henry Atkinson is a Wolithiga man. Born in Echuca, his father was born in 1891 and his mother around 1928. Uncle Henry describes the conditions at missions, including the Black Plague, stolen wages and the walk-off at Cummeragunja mission, when people were treated so badly they left and walked as far as Mathoura, Deniliquin, Echuca, Moama and Mooroopna. He describes children later being taken away from their parents, never to see each other again. He remembers segregated classrooms and Aboriginal children not being allowed to play sport or speak language. Uncle Henry also describes his battles to return ancestral remains, the need for housing and the importance of looking after younger generations coming through. Over his life Uncle Henry has gone on to be a champion fireman, General Manager at General Electrics and a Monash University Professor, starting Aboriginal studies courses.

First Nations men in the Metropolitan Remand Centre say one of the biggest issues across the prisons is the high cost of phone calls. It stops people being able to speak with their families, which is something that helps people feel sane and connected. They also talk about the shortage of mental health, methadone, banking, employment, housing and health services, which all have serious flow-on effects.

First Nations men in the Metropolitan Remand Centre describe how they are laughed at, targeted and taunted by prison staff, are sent to isolation for long periods, denied health services and have only restricted access to support, art and culture programs that are ‘taught’ and delivered by whitefellas. They say the across-the-board racism is why there are so many deaths in custody. The things that help are real community cultural programs, secure housing and employment opportunities. They are calling for the cost of phone calls and toiletries to be lowered, to be able to attend funerals and to have cultural packs.

This submission from Duncan Rouch addresses key issues related to homelessness of Aboriginal people, including the number of Aboriginal households on the Victorian Housing Register, the number and nature of Indigenous homelessness, and the chronic underfunding of Aboriginal Housing Victoria. It also offers recommendations for improvement.

Aunty Glenda Nicholls is a Ngarrindjeri, Yorta Yorta, and Wadi Wadi woman.

This submission is a transcript where Glenda reflects on her father’s story through the book Living Aboriginal History of Victoria, and her mother’s story. She discusses disconnections from country, culture, and each other, and the traumas tied to them

Karen McAlear identifies as a Wurundjeri woman, historically disconnected from mob due to the Stolen Generations and White Australia policy.

In this submission, she talks about her personal journey over the last 18 years and her work in mental health services as a clinical psychologist and psychiatric nurse.

Ngaweeyan Maar-oo, meaning “Voice of and from the people” in Gunditjmara dialect, is the Victorian Government’s implementation partner and shared-decision making body under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap (National Agreement).

This submission aims to build on and further explore the issues raised in the verbal testimony of the Ngaweeyan Maar-oo co-chairs and Executive Director. In particular, this submission:

• provides an overview and stocktake of the National Closing the Gap Agreement
• provides direction to the Victorian Government on next steps in activating the Productivity Commission Review into the National Closing the Gap Agreement recommendations
• makes further recommendations to draw on the Victorian experiences and challenges implementing the National Agreement
• coordinates a statewide collective position on behalf of the Ngaweeyan Maar-oo memberships individual recommendations made through their submissions to Yoorrook Justice Commission

This submission highlights the challenges faced by Aboriginal peoples in accessing, purchasing and fixing housing.