Wednesday, 29 October 2025

 Sheena WATT (Northern Metropolitan) (09:46): The Torch is one of the organisations that provide a service unlike any other. The Torch provides not housing or cost-of-living relief but something deeper. It provides an outlet for expression and creativity through a cultural lens that allows people to connect with a part of themselves that they may have lost. Last week with my colleague Minister Erdogan we opened the Future Dreaming exhibit, an annual program that features over 200 different Indigenous artists from around the state. It allows these First Nations artists who have lived experience in the justice system to connect with culture and find their way back to community, all while making an income to help their lives outside. The Torch is more than art; although it represents a deeper connection to country and culture and history, it also shows the disproportionate amount of First Nations Victorians within the justice system. One of the changes I and so many Victorians need to see is for mob to get out of the perpetual cycles in the justice system and reconnect with country and community, and programs led by the Torch help make that dream a reality. Can I finish by acknowledging the new and incredibly energetic leadership of the chair of the Torch, Benson Saulo, and thank him for taking on the chairmanship of this organisation so trusted and so beloved in our community, and I am sure it is now in very good hands. Thank you, Benson.