NAIDOC Week 2019 signals far reaching change for Community
news April - July 2019
Image: VIC NAIDOC March Melbourne
During 2019 NAIDOC week, we publicly supported the move towards a Treaty process in Victoria. With Australia being the only Commonwealth country not to have a Treaty with its First Nations peoples, VACCHO celebrates this years NAIDOC theme ‘Voice, Treaty and Truth’ and welcomes the opportunity for Aboriginal people to engage in a Treaty process in Victoria. Our Acting CEO Trevor Pearce believes it is a basic human right to claim one’s own self-determination and sovereignty. “First Nations Peoples have never ceded our rightful position in the contemporary Australian landscape. Our culture and connection to Country is fundamental to our health and wellbeing” Mr Pearce said.
This year we’ve adopted the NAIDOC sub-theme Land is life to reflect on Aboriginal communities’ holistic approach to health and wellbeing and Country and culture in improving the lives of Aboriginal people in Victoria. Claiming and acting on the right to self-determination, sovereignty and collective agency are intrinsically linked to good health and wellbeing, supported by a significant body of evidence. “We encourage the Federal Government to follow in the steps of the Victorian State Government and Aboriginal communities in Victoria, and engage in a National conversation about Treaty. It is our hope that the Uluru Statement from the Heart is adopted at a National level, as a first step Continued on page 2
Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation Inc.
VACCHO is the peak body for the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal peoples living in Victoria: RTO No: 20739
More pictures of VIC NAIDOC events inside