Cover Story – Kevin Coombs

10 COVER STORY MARCH, 2020// SENIORS Unwavering

AGENT OF CHANGE: Kevin Coombs (OAM) has been speaking up for the rights of disabled Aboriginal people since the early 1980s. Picture: Contributed

Work for indigenous causes inspires

Tracey Johnstone

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

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SENIORS \\MARCH, 2020 COVER STORY voice of Kevin Coombs

‘‘ I wanted to get the message through about what Aboriginal people were entitled to.

Heart was made. Turning to the Federal Government, it stated: “We call for the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution.’’

While the conversation continues at the federal level, alongside Victoria, which is recognised as the leader in the charge forward to reconciliation, Queensland and the Northern Territory are pressing ahead on their journey towards reconciliation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.

As for the other states, there appear to be mixed commitments to turning the conversation around statebased treaties into action.

“One treaty for the state?” Uncle Kevin said. “It won’t change me, but it will be good for my grandkids and great-grandkids.”

Sporting chance At 18 the wheelchair basketball athlete headed to Rome to compete in his first Paralympic Games. Uncle Kevin was representing Australia, but had to travel on an honorary British passport.

“We weren’t recognised as we didn’t get our rights until 1967; it’s not that long ago.”

It was not until 1973 that Gough Whitlam’s Labor government actively assumed responsibility for Aboriginal affairs. Uncle Kevin remembers missing the 1964 Games as he was “chasing women” at the time, but then went on to compete for Australia in the 1968, 1972, 1980 and 1984 Paralympic Games, the Commonwealth Games in New Zealand in 1974 and at two world championships. Hopeful future The body is weary, but the mind is sharp.

At age 79, Uncle Kevin hasn’t quite retired. He’s left behind his 17-year role as an elder with the Koori courts, but he remains on the Melbourne University Murumbarak Committee, which supports Aboriginal students, the Poche Centre for Indigenous Health committee, and at the Broadmeadows TAFE where PROUD MOMENT: Wheelchair basketballer Kevin Coombs at the opening ceremony of the 1960 Paralympic Games.

Picture: Contributed

he brings a voice of reason and understanding as an elder, watching over the indigenous students.

“You get to see kids go through and come out successful,” he said.

Changing the way older non-indigenous Australians see the First Peoples is something Uncle Kevin thinks can be achieved through knowledge.

As Mr Morrison said in his Closing the Gap speech to Parliament in February: “We must see the gap we wish to close not from our viewpoints, but from the viewpoint of indigenous Australians before we can hope to close it and make a real difference.’’

Uncle Kevin believes that by sitting down and talking to Aboriginal people, seniors can help to lead a change in the Closing the Gap conversation in Australia. “Talking is a wonderful thing,” he enthused. “You get to know people better.”

Saturday 30 May 2020

Byron Bay to

Broken Head (12km) $60

Lennox Head (24km) $70

Ballina (36km) $80

WAY WITH WORDS: Tweed Valley Toastmasters' latest monthly winners are Shirley and David, recognised for their interesting prepared speeches and impromptru talks.

FROM PAGE 8

speaker will be Rod Preston, on Poppies, Poms and Convicts.

New members and visitors welcome. Our club will be holding their Annual Flower and Garden Show on September 5 at the Tweed Heads Civic Centre, Brett St. For more, phone Gwen Barnes on 0468 872 199. BEGINNERS’ LINE DANCING FREE lessons for novice beginners. Learn to line dance for fun, relaxation and exercise. All ages welcome, and no partner is needed. Phone 0403 225 313 or go to dallaslinedancers.com. On Friday at 9.30am (DST), beginners; 10.30am, early intermediate. Pottsville Community Hall, Tweed Coast Rd, Pottsville. TWEED VALLEY TOASTMASTERS WE LIKE to give an award to those who were picked as the most interesting speaker of a prepared speech and an impromptu speech each month. Our latest winners are Shirley and David. Our meetings are on the first and third Wednesday at 9.30am for a 10am start at Cudgen Leagues Club, Kingscliff. For more, go to tweedvalley .toastmasters clubs.org/. COMMUNITY VISITORS SCHEME THE Community Visitors Scheme is an empowering free service that sends volunteer visitors to senior citizens in their own homes and in residential care.

It creates companionship and reduces social isolation. If you want to become a visitor, or would like to receive one, contact Northern Rivers Community Gateway on 02 6621 7397. LEISURE TIME AT ELANORA WE OFFER classes in art (acrylics, sketching, watercolour, oils), craft (beading, card making, crochet, knitting, patchwork) and floral art, photo bookshop, canasta and mahjong each Wednesday 9am to noon at the Uniting Church, 7 Applecross Way, Elanora. Cost: $5 includes morning tea. Phone Lynda on 07 5598 8849 or Glenys 0457 979 032. Go to elanorauniting.com.au. PROBUS CLUBS Banora Point

WE MEET meet on the fourth Monday of each month at South Tweed Sports Club at 10am.

We are a mixed club and have interesting speakers, as well an outing each month. Cost $5. Our speaker for this month is Patrick Pickett, owner, artistic director and conductor of Queensland Pops Orchestra. Phone Annette or Ron Finch on 07 5523 4016. AUTUMN FEDERAL EXCHANGE COME along on Saturday, May 2, from 10am to a crop swap at 10.30am at the Federal Park playground, Federal. This is an allweather, all-ages, familyfriendly, cash-free event. Bring along any garden fruit, vegies, herbs, cuttings, seeds, eggs, bulbs etc to swap and share. Help strengthen community connectedness and food resilience. See FB group @The Federal Exchange or email thefederalexchange @gmail.com. LOCAL MARKETS MANY markets have guidelines that insist the products on sale are handcrafted or homegrown and aren’t available in stores. Kingscliff: Beachside 2nd & 4th Sunday. Pottsville: 1st & 3rd Sunday.

Murwillumbah: Showground, 4th Sunday.

Uki: Buttery Bazaar, 3rd Sunday.

Tweed River: (Old Hwy) Chinderah 5th Sunday. Byron Bay: Butler Street Reserve, 1st Sunday. Mullumbimby: Museum, Stuart Street, 3rd Saturday. Bangalow: Showground, 4th Sunday.

Brunswick Heads 1st Saturday.

Lismore Car Boot: Lismore Shopping Square, 1st & 3rd Sunday. The Channon: Coronation Park, 2nd Sun. Urbenville: 3rd Sunday. Aquarius Fair: Nimbin Community Centre, 3rd & 5th Sunday.

Lismore Heritage Park: 5th Sunday 3-9pm.

Casino Market & Auction: Public School, 2nd Sunday.

Wiangaree: Wiangaree Hall, 2nd Sunday. Ballina: Canal Road, 3rd Sunday.

Lennox Head: Lake Ainsworth, 2nd & 5th Sunday.

Evans Head: Recreation Reserve, 4th Sunday. Iluka Community: Charles St, 1st Sunday. Yamba: Oval, 4th Sunday.