Pat Conaghan (Cowper, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Earlier this month, I had the great pleasure of meeting with Clark Webb, Kaleesha Morris and Christian Lugnan of the Bularri Muurlay Nyanggan Aboriginal Corporation to discuss not only their achievements but also their goals of ensuring that our First Nations youth and community are both strong in culture and education. The BMNAC was established in 2010 and developed, immediately, two after-school Goori Learning Centres, and, since then, they've built an organisation including three learning centres and a cultural revitalisation program. In 2016, they opened two social enterprises. The first one was the Giingan Gumbaynggirr Cultural Experience, which was set up to create a long-term, sustainable financial income stream. The second one was the Nyanggan Gapi Cafe, which offers guests the opportunity to sample and see traditional ingredients with a new-age twist.

Their biggest role is yet to come. Language acquisition is one of the BMNAC's most important goals, including their goal to train and retain 50 fluent Gumbaynggirr teachers by the end of the year and launch a combined immersion school in 2022. This project is so important to all people, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to protect the language and create cohesion, and I look forward to working with them to achieve their goals.

And that's not all that's happening in my electorate. I'm also pleased to announce that a project manager will now be appointed to develop a detailed plan for the Port Macquarie tidal pool. This coincides with the first project payment to the Port Macquarie Tidal Pool Committee, which is one of the first major milestones. This has been a 50-year project. In the 1970s, the Port Macquarie community stood together to drive this movement, and it was through the coalition government that a $4.5 million investment was made to see this dream come true. This is something the Port Macquarie community clearly wanted, as there was a petition with over 18,000 signatures. This is not just a pool; it's great for tourism, it's great for rehabilitation and it will serve our ageing community well. The current design, I'm pleased to say, was done in consultation with the Birpai lands council board, and I'm proud to work with them and engage with them and take on board their experience and culture.

I continue to applaud the tidal pool committee and others involved, including the Port Macquarie-Hastings Council. This is a great project, and I look forward to the next important steps of planning proposal and simultaneous approval applications. I look forward to being one of the first to jump in the pool—I promise I'll wear board shorts and a rashie! We look forward to getting on with it.