Tuesday, 2 August 2022

 Ms RICHARDS (Cranbourne) (13:08): Deputy Speaker, congratulations on your elevation and your role.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank Cranbourne Primary School for inviting me to their NAIDOC Week welcome to country and smoking ceremony recently. The students and the school community came together to observe a traditional welcome to country and smoking ceremony that was performed beautifully by father-and-son team Josh and Danny from the Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation. As always it was wonderful to see the way Marnebek School and Cranbourne Primary are working together, and this was particularly evident at this moving event, with the brilliant school captains both performing moving renditions of the acknowledgement to country and the voices of Marnebek’s gifted musicians an absolute highlight.

The event taught students of the significance and meaning of the smoking ceremony as a traditional Aboriginal custom and the importance of NAIDOC Week as a celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ history, culture and achievements. NAIDOC Week is always a great opportunity for us to amplify and champion the contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in our communities and in this context to share the knowledge with young people. Students learned of the history behind the theme ‘Get up! Stand up! Show up!’ and how it pays respect to the long and proud history of resistance, activism and advocacy led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. I would also like to acknowledge that Cranbourne always was and always will be on the land of the Boon Wurrung people and say how proud I was to be with principal Lachlan Yeates, the students and the school community and thank them for their hospitality.