10
COVER STORY
MARCH, 2020//
SENIORS
Unwavering Work for indigenous causes inspires Tracey Johnstone
AGENT OF CHANGE: Kevin Coombs (OAM) has been speaking up for the rights of disabled Aboriginal people since the early 1980s. Picture: Contributed
WHEN a journalist described indigenous paraplegic Kevin Coombs’s childhood accident as fortunate, the initial reaction was a fiery slapdown, but then he started to look back. The Wotjobaluk elder’s voice for indigenous recognition wouldn’t have been sought out. “The late Charlie Perkins wanted a disabled bloke who could talk a bit,” Uncle Kevin said. “He said, ‘I understand there is a bloke in Melbourne by the name of Kevin Coombs; I want him’. This was when he was secretary of Aboriginal Affairs in Canberra.” Uncle Kevin was appointed in 1981 as the Aboriginal representative on a committee for the International Year of Disabled Persons. There were 14 people on the committee, all representing different groups. As a result of that working group Uncle Kevin said: “I wanted to get the message through to Aboriginal people what they were entitled to, including grants (under the disability scheme).’’ Speaking to the then minister for health in Victoria, Bill Borthwick,
Uncle Kevin also articulated the need for Aboriginal people to be involved in decision-making around the wellbeing of the Aboriginal communities. Mr Borthwick subsequently opened the door for Uncle Kevin to move from the Department of Aboriginal Affairs to the Department of Health. “I was there for 21 years,” he said. “My job was to get hospitals, where there was a lot of Aboriginal people coming in, to have a liaison person working there. We started off with eight for the whole of Victoria.” For his family He might not have been in the Pink Pussycat pub in Melbourne that night more than 50 years ago when he saw and fell in love at first sight with his wife, Linda. They had two daughters – one is a magistrate and the other a vocal advocate for a Victorian Treaty. The First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria held its first meeting last December. The assembly will decide, alongside the Victorian Government, the ground rules for the treaty negotiations. “I support it,” Uncle Kevin said. “It’s not about me, it’s for our kids and grandkids. “I would like to see a treaty here in Victoria. I
would like to see being recognised by the federal government in the Constitution.” Will anything change? As to a change at the federal level within his lifetime and actionable outcomes from Closing the Gap, Uncle Kevin doesn’t think anything will happen unless there is a “radical PM”. The Federal Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt (AM) announced on February 6 that the Government “is committed to recognising indigenous Australians in the Constitution and will hold a referendum should a consensus be reached, and should it be likely to succeed”. Previously he had signalled wanting a national vote by mid-2021. Only a few days later, on February 12, at the tabling to Parliament of the 12th Closing the Gap Report, Prime Minister Scott Morrison signalled his unwillingness to lock in a specific time commitment, saying: “I am not going to allow any timetables to prevent the successful achievement of this result.’’ So, where does that leave indigenous Australians? On May 26, 2017, The Uluru Statement from the
Sunday 19 April 2020 Big River Sailing Club, Harwood to Iluka Bay - 15km Kayaks, Canoes, SUPs, Surf Skis, Dragon Boats, Outriggers
Any non-motorised paddle vessel - If you can paddle it you can enter it!
Pre-Paddle Party
Chopper Paddle
Sanctus Brewing Co 5 Re Road, Townsend
Adults $25 Children $10 Single Vessel 6+ paddlers $125
Live Music by Guy Kachel & Macleles Jumping Castle Sanctus Kitchen Open Wood fired Pizzas, Burgers, Tacos & Grazing Plates
Tickets www.helirescue.com.au/events/ clarence-chopper-paddle-2020 For more information contact the Lismore Helibase 6623 7300 events@rescuehelicopter.com.au 7121714ab
Saturday 18 April 5pm - 8.30pm Donation Entry to the Rescue Helicopter Service
SENE01Z01MA - V1
