CHARLES DARWIN UNIVERSITY, DARWIN
Thursday 23 April 2026
Yo, bajinda yamalu yinda, ngarna Yanyuwa.
I acknowledge the Larrakia people on whose land we all come together on, and as Yanyuwa, Garrwa, Marra and Gudanji peoples and Ltyente Apurte mob, Eastern Arrernte peoples, to acknowledge that we are all coming together here and acknowledge all of you here today.
This is an incredibly important moment here in the Northern Territory.
It's outstanding to see Borroloola and Ltyente Apurte step up and lead the way on what we can do wisely with energy, and it is because of the vision of my uncle and my brother in making sure this took place.
There are lots of battles going on around the world at the moment but one of the things we can always stand strong with is First Nations culture in Australia.
With over 60-thousand years of history and knowledge, lived experience, we know how to be resilient.
We know how to look for answers to problems that are around us.
This is a really important answer to the problem of energy and the future of energy in our country.
I'm incredibly proud of my families here today and each and every one of you who are going to train and study here.
You stay strong.
I know it's hard.
I know we've got a lot of personal and family issues, and we're losing a lot of people, but what you're doing here today really matters.
It really does.
It gives me a lot of strength in the work that I do.
I acknowledge our Elder here, my grandmother, you give us a lot of strength.
And the work of bringing people here together, lijakarda, is because of all of you.
And so, at the Northern Territory level, at the federal level, and the businesses that are here, Charles Darwin University that’s here.
I want to make a special mention of Karrina Nolan (Original Power) and Lauren Mellor (The Clean Energy Communities).
Thank you so much for your work in this space and for your perseverance.
It is an important moment.
It's a beginning of going from strength to strength in using wisely the resources of our country.
We can do that together when we work together at every level: local government, federal government, territory government, but importantly, with Traditional Owners.
Yo, Bauji Barra.