The Territory Labor Government’s Community Cabinet will move to East Arnhem this week, with Aboriginal Affairs policy at the forefront of discussion as Australia marks National Reconciliation Week.
Priorities during the week-long Gapuwiyak Community Cabinet will be the continued rollout of the Government’s key policy of Local Decision Making, homelands policy, remote housing and regional economic development.
National Reconciliation Week begins each year on 27 May, the date Australians overwhelmingly voted for Aboriginal people to be included in the Census in 1967, and finishes on 3 June, the date of the landmark, 1992 Mabo decision, in which the High Court of Australia recognised native title for the first time.
Reconciliation Week is an important opportunity for Australians to recognise and celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and heritage.
This year’s theme is Grounded in Truth - Walk Together with Courage. For more information about Reconciliation Week events, go to https://www.reconciliation.org.au/national-reconciliation-week/
Quotes attributable to Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Selena Uibo.
“National Reconciliation Week is an important week, not just for commemorating key events in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, but to celebrate the resilience of Aboriginal people.
“This week’s Community Cabinet in Gapuwiyak enables the Territory Labor Government to continue to deliver on some of our key policies to improve the lives of Aboriginal Territorians and to support the economic and social benefits land and sea ownership can bring.
“Importantly, the Territory Labor Government is also working to returning local decision making to communities to empower residents and let people living in those communities decide what is best in the areas of housing, health, education, justice and employment.
“This is underpinned by our promise to deliver a Treaty between the Territory Labor Government and Aboriginal Territorians, which has advanced this year following the appointment of our inaugural Treaty Commissioner, Mick Dodson.”
Media contact: Kim Stephens 0417 683 144