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Parliamentary Questions


Question Without Notice No. 762 asked in the Legislative Assembly on 23 November 2022 by Ms L.L. Baker

Parliament: 41 Session: 1

ABORIGINAL CULTURAL CENTRE

762. Ms L.L. BAKER to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs:

I refer to the McGowan Labor government's commitment to delivering a statewide Aboriginal cultural centre in Perth. Can the minister update the house on how we are engaging and working with Aboriginal people in progressing the development of this iconic project?

Dr A.D. BUTI replied:

I thank the member for Maylands for her question. It is a very exciting project that the member refers to—the Aboriginal cultural centre. It is part of our longstanding commitment to reconciliation. I know that the member for Maylands has a longstanding commitment to reconciliation.

As most people would be aware, not so long ago, we joined the Whadjuk Noongar elders to announce that the Terrace Road site is the preferred location for the Aboriginal cultural centre. That followed an extensive culture investigation and an Aboriginal-led process consultation. The site was chosen primarily due to its connection with Derbarl Yerrigan, the Swan River; Matagarup, Heirisson Island; and Kaarta Koomba, Kings Park. All those places are of cultural significance to Noongar people.

Yesterday, I had the great pleasure to join the Minister for Culture and the Arts and the member for Wanneroo, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier, at a cleansing ceremony at the Terrace Road site. I just add that the member for Wanneroo, the parliamentary secretary, has done outstanding work in getting to this stage. It has been a challenging exercise, but the parliamentary secretary has been absolutely outstanding. Yesterday was another milestone in that process. I thank the parliamentary secretary very much. I know that the Noongar elders really respect her. She has an incredible relationship with them, so I have great confidence as we go forward with this project. The Minister for Culture and the Arts, the parliamentary secretary and the Premier have been the driving forces behind this centre. It is a really, really exciting project that we are very proud, as a government, to be heavily involved with. Yesterday, the Whadjuk Noongar elders hosted the ceremony, which included a formal welcome to country, a traditional smoking and water cleansing ceremony and a ceremonial song and dance. It was not like the ceremonial turning of the sod, where we just get a bit of sand; we actually had to use a bit of muscle and dig to collect the sand that has been taken away for preservation and will be re-laid when the site is established. It was really a very moving experience yesterday. It is an important step as we go ahead to the next step into the technical site investigations that will commence over the next month.

I should also say that yesterday was a great time to have that ceremonial exercise, because yesterday the Premier also announced that the resource industry has announced the establishment of a world-leading resources community investment initiative. This initiative has been brokered by the Premier, and one project that will be funded out of it will be the Aboriginal cultural centre. It is absolutely fantastic that we will have state and federal government funding and funding from the resource community. That is all very important as we support this iconic, transformative project known as the Aboriginal cultural centre. Members should understand that this is an incredibly significant milestone in our state's history. It will allow Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities to walk together for a reconciled future. It will mean that acknowledgement of the past is immortalised in the city's cultural landscape. I conclude by once again thanking the parliamentary secretary for her work on this.

The SPEAKER: The Deputy Leader of the Opposition with the last question.