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.