Tuesday, 28 May 2024

 Annabelle CLEELAND (Euroa) (14:39): (652) My question is to the Minister for Treaty and First Peoples, and I ask: what recurrent funding opportunities can this government provide for Goranwarrabul House in Seymour? Goranwarrabul is currently seeking $380,000 in annual recurrent funding, vital to providing First Nations people of the Lower Hume with health services, support and care. This crucial service provides food relief, court and legal support, medical and cultural support, referrals and transport, and they are the only local option for Aboriginal liaison officers giving culturally appropriate care at hospitals in the entire region. Goranwarrabul means ‘gathering, healing and pleasant place’, and it truly lives up to its name. Each and every week 45 families rely on Goranwarrabul for food support, and over 100 people attend the house’s services – all delivered by my mentor and the fierce advocate Brenda Newman. As it stands, this community group will no longer be able to operate without an increase in their annual funding to cover wages, vehicles, rent, maintenance and general supplies or host their support group’s outgoings for children and NAIDOC events.