Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I've been very proud this week to host and support AMRRIC, Animal Management in Rural and Remote Indigenous Communities. They're doing brilliant work looking after companion animals in our First Nations communities. First Nations people have had cultural relationships with animals dating back many thousands of years. These animals are part of their dreaming, their stories and their totems. Some dogs are given skin names or family-member status. They are companions and protectors. AMRRIC's work in caring for these animals is also a way for caring for the health of the humans who live alongside them in our communities.

Ehrlichiosis a disease which is spreading rapidly through Indigenous communities around Australia. It's an exotic tick-borne disease that is killing dogs and may also be transmissible from ticks to humans, so it's bad news and very hard to contain. Raising awareness is key, which is why AMRRIC is here in Canberra this week, to ask for support and fund research and to discuss a national response to containing this disease. I would like to acknowledge the CEO of AMRRIC, Brooke Rankmore, and Program Manager, Bonny Cumming, and thank them for their work. I hope my colleagues in this building on both sides of politics are listening and will support AMRRIC too.