Zaneta Mascarenhas (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

'Now more than ever'—that is the theme for National Reconciliation Week. It's a reminder that, despite setbacks and disappointments, we must stand together with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to build a better future for all Australians. Now more than ever, Australians have an opportunity to fully understand our First Nations history. If you think about it, we need to know where we've come from to know where we're going.

National Reconciliation Week provides an opportunity to learn about our history, culture and achievements. There are different ways people can get involved in learning about this culture. That could be taking a language class, such as what's happening in my community of Swan on Thursday. There are Noongar classes run by Dylan Collard at the Vic Park Community Centre. Dylan is a proud Whadjuk and Ballardong Noongar man and also a Vic Park local resident, primary school teacher and language expert. These classes are being held at the lovely Vic Park Community Centre, which is in the heart of my neighbourhood. They have a number of different experiences and community activities. It's a gorgeous, inclusive, innovative and vibrant hub of activity, and I congratulate them for the work that they do that is above and beyond.

For the classes in Noongar that are running this term at the Vic Park Community Centre, children get to go along for free. They learn Noongar language and culture through a range of fun games, songs, craft activities and storytelling. Other activities for Reconciliation Week in WA include a together walk, which is happening on Friday across the river at Langley Park.

The thing that I also love having the opportunity to do is listen to stories or storytelling. I note we stand on Ngunnawal and Ngambri country, and I recognise that every grain of sand has a story that spans tens of thousands of years. It's only by sharing stories that we get to increase our understanding and history, that we can come together as a nation.

I will say that learning about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history should not stop at the end of the week. There are so many opportunities to embrace Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and history. I'm grateful to local elders in my community who give up their time to foster this learning.

My good friend and neighbour is local Aboriginal elder Simon Forrest. Simon delivered a moving welcome to country last week at Optus Stadium, as part of the AFL Sir Doug Nicholls Round. It was a sellout crowd to watch the almighty Waalitj Marawar defeat Kuwarna. People could hear the roar from kilometres away when Waalitj Marawar won the game. It was the same Simon Forrest who took a small group of Swan locals to Mogumber earlier this year, on 13 January—which happens to be my wedding anniversary. It was a really special wedding anniversary, and I felt really privileged to have the opportunity to spend time in places where a lot of hurt had happened for Aboriginal elders in the past.

But the thing that's amazing is you don't necessarily have to go on a bus trip to learn the history. Missions Connect, at Curtin University, has some really innovative technology. They've managed to create a virtual reality world where people that have spent time in orphanages, the stolen generation, have the ability to basically scaffold places where they spent their childhood and tell stories without necessarily having to go and travel kilometres away. This is one of the things they've done with Mogumber. It's not the same as the real thing, but it's pretty close and pretty time efficient. It was a four-year-long project that was directed by the views of the stolen generation survivors and their families. The goal was to transform the mission sites of Mogumber-Moore River Native Settlement into healing spaces for survivors. It's a way to engage the WA community to learn about WA's stolen generation history.

I encourage every person in my community to embrace opportunities to learn how we continue to grow and heal alongside our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander brothers and sisters.

House adjourned at 20:00

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