We have only just very recently finalised this matter, so I can, at last, finally thank you very much. We successfully applied for a federal grant. At the point of application, we had raised, though your support and efforts, $105,000. One of the grant’s conditions was that we use that $105,000.

We have now been reimbursed by the federal government grant, the additional monies we paid for the retrofitting of the sprinklers, over and above the $105,000.

The residents, in particular, are very grateful for the fire sprinklers. The fire sprinklers have made the residents feel very safe and secure.

Once again, I would like to thank all in the Junee and community for their very generous support in aid of Cooinda Court.

NAIDOC Week runs from July 2 to 9 and has the theme “Our Language Matters”. The emphasis of this week is to celebrate the unique role language plays in linking Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to their cultural identity, land and people. Today, only around 120 of some 250 distinct indigenous languages are still spoken, with many at risk of being lost. Youth Off The Streets is trying fix this.

My organisation has specific programs that are run to connect our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people to their culture and I believe that this is one of the best ways to help our young people make positive choices and achieve their full potential. The unfortunate truth is that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians make up around 27% of our prison population, have high suicide rates and an overall lower life expectancy. We cannot sit idly while these issues are still faced by Australians, we need to take action.

Working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities has been a privilege. I’ve seen so many young people turn their lives around through simply connecting with their culture, land and people. We know that connecting young indigenous people with Aboriginal Elders and our own Aboriginal youth workers ensures that they have cultural guidance in their most formative years. In some cases, all our troubled young people need is kindness and guidance from cultural leaders to turn their lives around.

This NAIDOC Week, I implore you to take part in your local NAIDOC Week events. Join me in encouraging our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people to connect with their community and history and achieve greatness. 

To read more about NAIDOC week and to find your event, please visit: http://www.naidoc.org.au/events-calendar

Thankfully, most of us have warm houses to live in and if we venture outside we can rug up in layers of thick clothing. But imagine if we had no shelter from the elements and just one woollen coat to keep us warm. How would we feel if we were robbed of that coat and left with nothing whatsoever to protect us from the cold?

This is the plight of millions of Australian sheep and, each year, countless numbers of them quite literally freeze to death in the month following shearing.

In the past, Australian wool farmers sheared in spring but, more recently, this practice has changed with many farms shearing in autumn. How can we possibly justify inflicting this suffering on sheep? And it's not as though their wool is used for clothing alone. How is this fair?