Message from the Minister

Local government financial sustainability and jobs headed the agenda when Queensland’s northern most town, Bamaga, hosted the Ministerial Indigenous Roundtable in May. Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships Desley Boyle was joined by Indigenous mayors and government official

Pride in culture, pride in people

NAIDOC Week — 4 to 11 July — presents the ideal opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples whose shared history and cultures create a rich, diverse tapestry of which we can all be proud.

Names like Oodgeroo Noonuccal, Noel Pearson, Cathy Freeman and Chris Sarra are known across the nation; even internationally. They are established achievers, leaders and role models. However, they’re not alone.

This NAIDOC Week, I call on all Queenslanders to recognise — in fact, celebrate — the achievements of so many young Indigenous people who are leading by example: showing that actions truly do speak louder than words.

Merissa Jose, Christian Thompson and Worrin Williams, for example, might not be household names yet but their considerable achievements are certainly worthy of acknowledgment.

In March, Christian Thompson (profiled in this edition) became one of the inaugural recipients of a Charles Perkins Scholarship to study at Oxford.

The scholarship will see the acclaimed artist, originally from Barcaldine, take up doctoral studies in Fine Art at the Ruskin School of Art completing a remarkable journey from Queensland’s dusty outback to one of the world’s most prestigious universities.

Merissa Jose is a Queensland Health Indigenous Alcohol Diversion Program Officer whose commitment to change led her to establish the Far North Queensland Indigenous Youth Advisory Council to help give young people in and around Cairns a voice. She is also a member of Cairns Regional Council’s Youth Advisory Council. Cairns Regional Council named Merissa Young Woman of the Year for 2010.

Worrin Williams earned a place in history when he became the first player from Queensland’s Indigenous cricket team to earn a contract with the Queensland Bulls. Worrin was also part of Australia’s Indigenous XI team which toured England last year, commemorating Australia’s very first international sporting team: the Aboriginal cricket team of 1868. Worrin and his teammates are helping to change the face of Australian cricket.

In their own fields, in their own ways, each of these young people is overturning stereotypes, making the most of their own lives and inspiring others to greater things. In this edition of Namalata Thusi, we celebrate such achievement.

Hon. Desley Boyle
Minister for Local Government and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships