2019-10-31
Understanding indigenous culture and history, ongoing concerns for native forests, climate strikes, inclusive communities, … and more
By Hon. Diane Evers, MLC, Member for South West
Time’s arrow flies – but with only three weeks of Parliament remaining for 2019, my next MP update will be on the eve of 2020! During this busy time, I have been guided by the recurring themes of ‘kart’, ‘koort’ and ‘wirrin’, meaning head, heart and spirit. I view this as the triple bottom line of indigenous culture and representative of the strength to be found in people and community within the regions.
From the Great Southern, throughout the South West and back to Parliament, these words of our First Nations people resonated with me. No more so than when speaking on emotional topics such as at the Bindjareb Boodja memorial commemoration of the 1834 Pinjarra Massacre or in Parliament, or during the Second Reading of the Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD) Bill 2019.
The VAD Bill reached the Legislative Council in October and I was pleased to see it pass the Second Reading. Valued commitment to the issue has been shown by my Greens colleague and spokesperson on end of life choices Robin Chapple MLC. I tried to do my part during the Second Reading by encouraging the Legislative Council to recognise the importance of this Bill to the 84 per cent of Western Australians who support the choice to end suffering at the end of life.
Native forests issues received attention in October, when ABC South West reported on WA’s biggest native hardwood processor, Auswest Timbers, which was accused of 'wasting' thousands of tonnes of jarrah logs at its Greenbushes facility. I’m pleased to support the significant work done by WA Forest Alliance (WAFA) in this matter, with my office liaising between constituents, WAFA and Parliament regarding practices at Auswest. The native timber industry remains poorly managed by the Forest Products Commission, who are not up to task.
Just days after this story was revealed, the facility’s sale to the Queensland-based Parkside Group, along with two others in Manjimup and Pemberton, was confirmed. As The Greens (WA) spokesperson for forests, I will continue to pursue the end of native forest logging. One wasteful operation has ended – now is the time to implement a rapid transition to plantations and farm forestry for the production of timber currently derived from native forests. We must work together to protect the forests.
September saw a remarkable month for climate action, commencing with my Greens colleague Tim Clifford MLC calling on WA Parliament to declare a climate emergency – a motion watered down by amendments in a disgraceful manner by the McGowan Government. One place governments are recognising the urgency for action, however, is the South West! The Shires of Denmark, Augusta-Margaret River and Boyup Brook have all declared a climate emergency in recent months.
Of course, another highlight was the hundreds of thousands of school students and workers across Australia who took to the streets, young and young-at-heart alike, to demand urgent action on the climate crisis. Climate change affects all of us and it will take all of us to stop it. The major parties are unable to take the action we need – but seeing our young people in the streets to demand climate justice at the Bunbury Global Strike 4 Climate on September 20 provided so much hope for the future.
There was good news for Community Resource Centres (CRC) recently, with State funding confirmed to continue for two more years through to the end of the 21/22 financial year. This allows CRCs time for forward planning, as they work hard to meet the needs of communities. We would not find such strong, vibrant and inclusive communities that make regional WA so special without the efforts of the peak body, Linkwest. However, the Government’s evaluation of Linkwest remains unclear, providing only a six-month funding extension. I gave the opening address at day two of at Linkwest’s ‘People. Place. Partnerships.’ conference on October 17 and I will continue working to push the Government to ensure clarity to Linkwest and the WA Community Resource Network.
The past two months have seen many opportunities for Greens to come together at a state and regional level. The Greater Bunbury Greens group hosted its forum, Green Communities Going Forward, on Saturday, September 28, where I was delighted to join the Q&A panel. Meanwhile, The Greens (WA)’s state conference was held over two days in early October, which was a great opportunity to hold a forests workshop in collaboration with Jess Beckerling, Convener of WAFA. The future is bright when so many good people can come together for action.
Alongside Diwali celebrations, attending the WA Forest Alliance Annual General Meeting and the Regenerative Agriculture Conference: Investing in our Food Future plus many more travels throughout the South West constituted just a few of my activities in the past two months.
However, to finish on the theme of kart, koort and wirrin: it was a privilege to attend two Koolbardies Talking events in September and October, a local women's group in the City of Mandurah serving as a meeting place for Indigenous and non-Indigenous women, providing an opportunity to share stories and change public perceptions. We have so much more to do to recognise the deep value in the culture of this land’s traditional owners, especially when contrasted with the tragedies of the past. Attending the Bindjareb Boodja memorial commemoration of the 1834 Pinjarra Massacre was a solemn remembrance of this – but when I speak the words of kart, koort and wirrin now, I speak them with pride, knowing that I have the trust of the people who have given these words to me. I speak them with love, and I speak them with the spirit of connection. May we all strive for this together, as time’s arrow marches forward.
Header photo: Traditional dance at the Bindjareb Boodja memorial commemoration of the Pinjarra massacre on Friday, 25 October