Wednesday, 31 May 2023

 Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Attorney-General, Minister for Emergency Services) (12:45): I want to use my statement today to recognise National Reconciliation Week, which I know many members have used members statements to do today, and I thank them for that. It does carry particular significance this year for a number of reasons, and Minister Blandthorn took us through her experience, as did some other ministers who have had the honour of recently providing evidence to the Yoorrook Justice Commission, reflecting on and acknowledging the hard truths and reality of the nearly two centuries of dispossession and colonisation of Aboriginal people. I hope that this truth telling can lead to healing and that Aboriginal peoples and non-Aboriginal peoples can continue to walk together on this path of reconciliation. These are important reflections for us all as later this year Australians will be participating in the national referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. I am proud to be supporting the yes campaign, and I am proud to be part of a government that is committed to all elements of the Uluru Statement from the Heart – voice, treaty and truth – an amazing statement. If you have not read it, please do.

I am also proud that this year’s 2023–24 budget has invested over $7 million to expand the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service’s regional hub model. The regional hub model will provide culturally safe legal services at new locations across Victoria, benefiting regional and suburban Aboriginal communities. VALS provides tailored legal services and casework across criminal, civil and family law. I also commend VALS’s advocacy on many crucial policy matters and for promoting social justice for Aboriginal peoples. The recently opened offices in Warrnambool and Bendigo are already producing excellent results, with significant increases in their client intake, which is really important because local services mean that you can reach locals and get better tailored outcomes for them.

Aboriginal community controlled organisations, like VALS and Djirra in particular, enable Aboriginal people to seek help in a way that suits them, which is critical for fair and just outcomes. The work is central to our aim to address over-representation of Indigenous people in the criminal justice system, and I thank these organisations and also the members of the Aboriginal Justice Forum and the Regional Aboriginal Justice Advisory Committee for their ongoing engagement and leadership.