Mike Kelly (Eden-Monaro, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I take this opportunity to express my sympathy for the recent loss of Georgina Parsons, an elder of the Walbanga Yuin people, who was better known as Aunty Coope. Aunty Coope was a talented artist who, for 13 years, shared her extensive knowledge of Aboriginal art and culture at Art Central in Moruya. She allowed people of all walks of life to be able to access and understand the culture and art of the Walbanga Yuin people. She forged strong relationships with her colleagues at Art Central, which is the home of the Arts Council of Eurobodalla. In addition to this work, Aunty Coope worked hard for her community by consulting with all levels of government on important issues such as Closing the Gap and achieving reconciliation. Her generous spirit also spread to all members of her multicultural local community through education, health, stories, arts and culture. She will be greatly missed by all who knew her. Aunty Coope was part of what is a vibrant arts scene in our region, in particular a vibrant Indigenous heritage.

It is not only the Walbanga Yuin people of the coast who I am talking about here but also the peoples of the high country, the Ngunawal and Ngambri peoples, and the Wiradjuri peoples of the south-west slopes and Yass region. We have seen a wonderful proposal that will tend to bring all of these traditions together in our region in a project known as the Bundian Way, which will open up a traditional and historical track that runs from Mount Kosciuszko down to Twofold Bay. We have been using this project as a lightning rod for promoting Indigenous art. The wonderful Bundian Way Gallery that has been established in Delegate is a fantastic showcase of that art. It is breathing life back into the respect that we should always have had for the Indigenous culture of our region. It is providing a wonderful outlet for expression and revival of the themes of that culture, such as the traditional bogong moth hunting that used to take place, with the gathering of the tribes of our coastal and slopes region on the south-western side.

The artists are now carrying that torch forward and showing that our region is very special when it comes to that heritage. It is something that all Australians will have the opportunity to experience as we get this Bundian Way project up and running. It will need more funding to get there, and I am hoping that we can all work together to achieve that outcome. I will be looking forward to working with the government to see what more can be done to make that dream real and to open it up as wonderful tourism opportunity as well. It will be a boost for our local economy but a key step forward in the reconciliation process and a resuscitation of the wonderful cultural heritage of our region.