May 2021

‘Everything You Need to Know about the Uluru Statement from the Heart’

Posted: May 27th, 2021

On the fourth anniversary of the Uluru Statement, the book ‘Everything You Need to Know about the Uluru Statement from the Heart’ has been released.

The book is written by Megan Davis and George Williams, two of Australia’s best-known constitutional experts, and includes how the Constitution was drafted, what the 1967 referendum achieved, and the lead-up and response to the Uluru Statement.

Importantly, it asks: What was the journey to this point? What do Australians need to know about the Uluru Statement from the Heart? And how can these reforms be achieved? The book also explains how the Uluru Statement offers change that will benefit the whole nation.

The Uluru Statement from the Heart was a clear and urgent call for reform to the community from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples asking for the establishment of a First Nations Voice to Parliament protected in the constitution and a process of agreement-making and truth-telling.

It is a vitally important book written for all Australians who have accepted the Uluru invitation and are walking with us in a journey of the Australian people for a better future.’

The book is available online at leading e-bookstores.

For more information contact Caitlin Lawless, publicity manager, caitlin.lawless@newsouthbooks.com.au, www.newsouthbooks.com.au

Pilbara Aboriginal Voice and Danjoo Koorliny Walking Together Towards 2029 and Beyond – West Pilbara Tour

Posted: May 25th, 2021

YMAC is proud to have been a supporter of the recent Pilbara Aboriginal Voice (PAV) and Danjoo Koorliny West Pilbara Tour.

This important initiative involved the Danjoo Koorliny leadership team, in partnership with and hosted by PAV, travelling up from Perth to visit the West Pilbara region to be shown Country and to workshop ideas for how Western Australia Aboriginal people might move forward together.

The community workshops held as part of this trip provided an opportunity for people to learn more about the Danjoo Koorliny movement and to share their thoughts and aspirations for how people and organisations in the Pilbara can become more involved and what this might all mean for them. Speaking on the value of these sessions, PAV organiser, Sissy Ramirez, said “It is so important for us, as Aboriginal people, to listen to each other, to support each other, and to come together so we can be stronger together.”

Dr Noel Nannup, Danjoo Koorliny leader, added further, “Everyone has a piece of the pathway to the future. We each need to polish our own part and put it together to form a collective path to go forward together. We can’t speak for you. So come and speak for yourselves.”

YMAC very much looks forward to seeing what positive outcomes this partnership will foster into the future.

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PAV is a regional leadership group, nominated and endorsed by the community at the Annual On-Country Bush Meetings at Yule River. The group comprises a collective of representatives from many different language groups from across the region. The objective of PAV is to provide a strong, unified community voice that can influence policy reforms and advise relevant decision-makers on issues affecting Pilbara Aboriginal people. It is PAV’s intention to consult, collaborate, co-design and co-create effective, culturally appropriate solutions to the benefit of all Pilbara Aboriginal people.

For more information about PAV, please visit their website here.

Danjoo Koorliny Walking Together Towards 2029 and Beyond is a bold, long-term, large-scale, Aboriginal-led systems change project to help all of us – be it in Western Australia, the rest of Australia, or around the world – walk together as Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people to co-create a better future for all. It is everyone contributing to the journey towards 2029, and beyond. A date that will mark 200 years since colonisation starting in Western Australia. It belongs to no organisation but hovers above all of us and aligns us so that we can care for everything. For generations upon generations.

For more information about Danjoo Koorliny, please visit their website here.

Mrs Doris Eaton announced as finalist for 2021 Western Australian of the Year Awards

Posted: May 13th, 2021

YMAC congratulates Mrs Doris Eaton, our Deputy Co-Chairperson – Pilbara Region, following the announcement she is a finalist for the 2021 Western Australian of the Year Awards.

The much-awaited finalists were announced over the weekend, and celebrate thirty-seven outstanding Western Australians who have made an extraordinary impact in a range of fields across seven different award categories.

Mrs Eaton is a confirmed finalist in the ‘Aboriginal Award’ category, which is “presented in celebration of excellence in professional and/or personal achievements at a state, national or international level, contributing to the Western Australian community and recognition as an inspirational role model in the Aboriginal community”.

Mrs Eaton was nominated in recognition of her ongoing and outstanding contribution to the protection, preservation and promotion of Aboriginal culture and heritage; in particular, her dedication and actions as a driving force challenging planned changes to the state’s Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972.

The awards form part of the ‘WA Day’ long weekend festivities. Winners for each category will be announced during a gala dinner in Perth on Friday, 4 June, with the overall ‘Western Australian of the Year’ winner to be selected from the category winners and awarded at the end of the evening.

For a full list of this year’s finalists, please visit CelebrateWA.

To purchase tickets to the gala dinner, please click here.

Tourism fund and action plan launched to grow Aboriginal tourism experiences in WA.

Posted: May 10th, 2021

Aboriginal tourism is being recognised as fundamental to Western Australia’s tourism industry- with the State Government launching an action plan to drive outcomes economic outcomes for Aboriginal people.

The Tjina: Western Australian Aboriginal Tourism Action Plan was developed by Tourism Western Australia [and other government agencies] with the Western Australian Indigenous Tourism Operators Council and the Aboriginal tourism industry.

Visitor Experience and Expectations Research 2019/20 showed 81 per cent of visitors to WA want an Aboriginal experience, however only 17 per cent access one. These figures show there is a huge demand and opportunities to grow the sector.

The Plan provides the government with an agreed approach across agencies to grow a sustainable Aboriginal Tourism Sector for WA. It is backed with a $20 million Aboriginal Tourism Fund to support initiatives.

Key outcomes include facilitating the development of more authentic Aboriginal cultural tourism experiences, and building capacity for Aboriginal people to participate in the tourism industry.

You can read the plan it in full here.

YMAC News Issue 42 available now

Posted: May 7th, 2021

The latest edition of YMAC News is now available on our website. To read it or download it, click here.