Minister for Indigenous Australians
BILL NICHOLSON, WURUNDJERI WOI-WURRUNG ELDER: [Speaks in language.] Welcome and greetings in the local language here, the language of the Wurundjeri people. We are the traditional custodians of this land that we’re on today and we are here to celebrate a great success of our community, what we call our Narrap Team, which is our land management team, which incorporates Wurundjeri culture and cultural practices within modern-day land management.
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY, MINISTER FOR INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS: Thanks Uncle Bill. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for being here and thank you Uncle Bill and all the Narrap Rangers for having us here on Country. It’s so beautiful. I just want to pay my respects as a Yanyuwa Garrwa woman. [Speaks in language.] Thank you very much for having me on your Country and my staff and the team, it’s lovely to be here with my fellow Senator, Jana Stewart, the Senator for Victoria. Today is such a really exciting day, such an exciting day for our rangers right across the country. We have, through our processes, improved and increased the amount of rangers across the country by 1,000. We want to see 770 of those filled by women across First Nations communities in Australia. We know that our rangers from sea country to river country to bush country to mountain country are the guardians of our country. They are the guardians. They are the guardians that look after our lands, our seas, our rivers. From the desert mob in the centre right across to Western Australia, over to the north in Cape York to the island countries and down here in Victoria, over to Tasmania, our rangers are the guardians of our country. And the seas and the rivers. So, this is a really exciting and symbolic day as well in recognising the cultural significance of First Nations people as the guardians of country, Australia. So, I’m very pleased to see that $355 million will go towards the extra 1,000 commitment in terms of rangers across Australia, rangers who assist with the biosecurity of our country, whether it’s on the rivers and the seas but also in our bushland, whether it’s feral animals, whether it’s looking out for the bush country in terms of bushfires and the preparation. Our knowledge, our science goes back thousands of years and it’s really important that broader Australia and broader society across the world sees and hears the knowledge of those who hold it so strongly on Country. And I really commend all the Narrap Rangers here. It’s been so lovely to be with all of you this morning to listen to your stories but also know that you are part of a bigger global family of rangers who care for Country. And it’s a really wonderful, wonderful role and a very precious one that we should never take for granted so I’m very pleased to make that announcement today.
JANA STEWART, SENATOR FOR VICTORIA: As a Mutthi Mutthi, Wamba Wamba woman, it’s important for me to acknowledge Country and thank Uncle Bill and Wurundjeri mob for having us out here on country. It always feels so lovely and healing to be out here with the birds, and with mob doing what they do best, which is really showcasing their knowledge and strength when it comes to looking after Country and people and really healing a land that has been damaged over a long period of time. So, it’s incredible to see the regeneration of Country and also the strength of the mob who are involved with the Narrap program here at Wurundjeri to continue to go from strength to strength. So, I’m incredibly proud to be here today to be a part of this announcement to see more investment into traditional owner groups and rangers programs like this. So, I’m absolutely stoked. Thank you.
DAMIEN NICHOLSON, NARRAP RANGER: I’m Damien Nicholson. I’m Bill Nicholson’s son. I’ve been with Narrap for about eight years now. I’m one of the crew leaders in the crew and since I started we’ve seen a lot of progress through the works that we’ve done over time and just the depot as well and just building the crew as well. So, with the pretty much a million-dollar depot that we’ve got going on and a lot of fire equipment, a lot of crew going through training as well that’s going on at the moment, which is really good to see. So, since I started it’s really been a big progress what we’ve got going on. So, I just want to do a big shout‑out to Sean Hunter and Uncle Dave Wandin for getting all this started for our young mob, finding work or any of that stuff so, yeah, I just want to do a big shout‑out to them and thank you.
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: So thank you, everyone. I suppose just in finishing I’d like to say to those ranger groups who were unsuccessful, we still see you and I’ll be reaching out across the country to groups. We are very committed to our rangers across Australia and we’re very proud of the work that you all do wherever you are, so thank you very much.
JOURNALIST: So you guys are aiming to double the number of rangers by the end of decade. How on track you are you to doing that?
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: We feel we’re very much on track to do that. It is incredibly important that there has been support of the Albanese Government. We’ve said this from day one into coming in to the election in 2022 that this was a strong commitment and we remain firmly committed to that.
JOURNALIST: What’s the importance of the ranger program in general for self‑determination and giving First Nations groups the ability to look after their land, like we’re on Wurundjeri land at the moment?
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: It is absolutely a very strong part of self‑determination. We’ve been able to provide over $1.1 million here just with the Wurundjeri and the Narrap Rangers for their work not just with caring for Country but also the broader needs of having the equipment, having the resources to be able to do the jobs that they need to do out on Country and also to engage and communicate and teach the message of why caring for Country is so important. If I can speak personally though as Yanyuwa Garrwa woman, we have rangers up in the north. We know that, you know, in my language we call it the Li-Anthawirriyarra, where we know our spiritual origin comes from the sea country. That sense of empowerment of being able to continue to look after Country, learn from Country, live with Country, assists us with healthy minds, healthy bodies, healthy spirit and being able to pass that on in strength to our children.
JOURNALIST: So, I think this program will bring three main positive aspects, which is it will help to keep Indigenous practices caring for Indigenous country. It will give more opportunities to Indigenous women and the last thing, it will help pass the Indigenous culture down to the next generation. So, in terms of those three aspects, how do you expect this program will bring benefits?
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: It will bring great strength and pride to First Nations families across Australia to know that our government is really focused on that connection to Country and caring for Country. To now see a focus on First Nations women to be able to take on more of the roles, we know as First Nations people that both men and women have significant roles in our culture, in our society, and we want to see more of our First Nations women be acknowledged through the ranger programs, as they are culturally, as they are every day. So, this will give and boost, hopefully, our women across the country who receive this funding with their nearby ranger groups.
JOURNALIST: Just briefly, are there any metrics to measuring both the success of the grants but also ensuring that they are used successfully?
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: Every program, every funding grant has to be adhered to appropriately. Naturally there are audits. There are all sorts of ways, mechanisms that are used to make sure that any organisation is using the funding appropriately. But having said that, it’s not about coming down on organisations, it’s also saying, “If you’re not sure, give us a ring.” The ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Indigenous Australians Agency is obviously there to provide support. Uncle Bill, did you want to say anything else on that, self determination or?
BILL NICHOLSON: I’ve always got something to say so, yes, look, self‑determination from a Traditional Owner point of view is something that is a real key factor to a major discussion we’re actually having with the state government around treaty. Being here on Coranderrk lands, my ancestors over 100 years ago proved to the colony now called Victoria that self‑determination was something that we could achieve in this new world that came to our lands. And, unfortunately, back in those days we weren’t allowed to achieve it through pretty much racist policies of the past. So, this is a great symbol that the country has evolved as a community and supporting Aboriginal people today in creating self‑determination or decision‑making in the way that we see ourselves both now and moving forward into the future. So, it’s a major positive and a very exciting time for Wurundjeri with our Narrap team.
MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY: Thank you, everyone.
