Kevin Fitzgerald from Indigenous Workabout was asked for some words on the significance of NAIDOC week and to reflect on his work with LCC and Workabout:
"NAIDOC week is a fantastic week where we can embrace all nations and all peoples because it’s celebrated with respect and with dignity and I guess with a great celebration. This year our Federal Indigenous member Ken Wyatt is working towards an agreement to have Aboriginal people recognised in our constitution. Mr Wyatt is looking to expand what the Uluru Statement asked for – he doesn’t want a ‘singular voice’ but change in all tiers of Government to stop and listen to the voices of Indigenous Australians. We want to manage our own destiny and as a nation of people we believe in having a voice that tells government what and where things should be. The new Uluru Statement comes from the hearts of all Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and we are pushing.
The Great Spirit says we must look after our Country – this country is our Mother, and we need to look after it. When we are planting trees and working in the forest and replanting and revegetating, the Great Spirit is with us because we are looking after our Country. We love our work, we love what we do alongside the LCC, and it’s part of our – I guess – spirituality, that we are revegetating the land we love."
"NAIDOC week is a fantastic week where we can embrace all nations and all peoples because it’s celebrated with respect and with dignity and I guess with a great celebration. This year our Federal Indigenous member Ken Wyatt is working towards an agreement to have Aboriginal people recognised in our constitution. Mr Wyatt is looking to expand what the Uluru Statement asked for – he doesn’t want a ‘singular voice’ but change in all tiers of Government to stop and listen to the voices of Indigenous Australians. We want to manage our own destiny and as a nation of people we believe in having a voice that tells government what and where things should be. The new Uluru Statement comes from the hearts of all Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and we are pushing.
The Great Spirit says we must look after our Country – this country is our Mother, and we need to look after it. When we are planting trees and working in the forest and replanting and revegetating, the Great Spirit is with us because we are looking after our Country. We love our work, we love what we do alongside the LCC, and it’s part of our – I guess – spirituality, that we are revegetating the land we love."
