Tuesday, 2 May 2023

 Samantha RATNAM (Northern Metropolitan) (17:38): (160) My adjournment matter tonight is for the Minister for Treaty and First Peoples, and I ask that she provides support to the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation to secure suitable, culturally appropriate premises. Last week I met with the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation at their current home at Abbotsford Convent. The corporation has leased space at the convent for many years, supporting and protecting First Nations culture and connection to land and educating visitors. However, their offices are no longer fit for purpose. The convent is not a culturally safe space for First Nations people, meaning it is extremely difficult for the corporation to continue to support and promote Wurundjeri culture out of a culturally inappropriate space. Leasing space at the convent on Wurundjeri land also means that the corporation have to rent space on their own ancestral lands.

The Wurundjeri corporation is currently seeking government support to purchase premises which are fit for purpose for the work of the corporation. Supporting the corporation to secure suitable premises would allow them to continue their current work supporting the ongoing connection of the Wurundjeri people to their land and culture and to showcase the culture and knowledge of the Wurundjeri people to visitors to their land. It would be an important act of good faith by the government as we continue to progress treaty and truth telling in Victoria. I echo their ask, and I ask the minister to provide support to the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation so they can secure suitable, culturally appropriate premises.