Thursday, 19 June 2025

 Wendy LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (10:16): I rise to pay tribute to Aunty Geraldine Atkinson, who was inducted as an Officer of the Order of Australia in the King’s Birthday awards. Aunty Geri is a proud Bangerang and Wiradjuri woman. She is a member of the Atkinson–Bamblett family, which has been so instrumental in progressing education for Aboriginal people in our state. Together with her sister Mary and her brother Alf she has carried on this tradition. Aunty Geri has a long list of achievements, and I will name just a few. She has been president of the Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Incorporated since 1999, she is a former board member of the Goulburn Ovens TAFE, she is an inaugural chair of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Corporation, she was the inaugural co-chair of the First People’s Assembly of Victoria, she holds an honorary doctorate for outstanding contribution to Indigenous education from Deakin University, she was awarded the Lynne Kosky Memorial Award for Lifetime Achievement in Education in 2020, she is a member of the Victorian Aboriginal Honour Roll and a member of the Victorian women’s honour roll. Aunty Geri is someone who I am very proud to call my friend, who has made a huge difference to the lives of Indigenous people in our region.