I'd like to acknowledge the Gadigal people too, on whose land we come together today and to pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and especially one very significant Elder here, Aunty Mavis. It's actually you, Aunty Mavis. You're the reason we're all here. Because without you, there would be no Tracy. So heartfelt love to you and all the stories that you hold within your heart and have no doubt shared very deeply with your family and your daughter in particular.
It's lovely to be here with you. I think one of the first things that came to mind listening to Tracy this morning but listening to each of you as well with your stories, you're embarking, and have already embarked for many of you, on a road that is about the care of others. The care and concern. And I think we have to bring it back to just the simplicity of being human. Of compassion, of love, of understanding.
One of the key areas that I'd like to leave with you this morning is the importance of your self-care. Self-care. You have chosen to walk on a path in trying to help others. And that path is fraught with complexities, deep challenges, unsafe environments. You've chosen that path. And that's really courageous. And you've chosen that path for many reasons, but one of them is because you've also been inspired by someone who's been on that path.
And that's in Tracy, and the beliefs in all that she has shared with you and continues to share, but also in that pathway of knowing that there's got to be a better way for all people, in particular our mob.
And that begins with the deeper understanding of the challenges, firstly of our country and its history, and the different clan groups, the complexities of remoteness compared to regional, compared to cities. All of that are the different layers that you're going to be diving through in your journey in life.
It is really important that you stay centred. What is it that centres you? Well, that's for you to answer.
For me, I'm a Yanyuwa Garrwa woman. And we call it li-anthawirriyarra. Which means our spiritual origin comes from the sea Country. We start with here always, and we finish with here. At the beginning with the sunrise and at the end with the sunset. And that's the way of the Yanyuwa.
Does it solve all our problems? Does it fix everything? Does it make community life perfect? Not at all. But what it does do, from a deep sense of centring, it takes us back to why this is happening? Why have we lost this young person? Why is that old lady not happy? Why are they fighting? We come back to li-anthawirriyarra and it centres us. It will never always solve everything, but it helps us stay true to ourselves and who we are as we walk through life.
And, hopefully, it helps others as we reach out to others, encouraging them to do the same. It's really that grounding and centredness of who you are, which is what I saw in Tracy with this program.
I do have to at the level that I work with in the Cabinet and with fellow Indigenous Affairs Ministers across the country, I look at it and I go, why is it that we can't work with these issues and these problems? And then I see a program like Jilya, and I go, bang. That deeply rooted belief in encouraging our mob to just stand up and be who they are sounds really simple. But governments have a way of making the most simple things so complicated.
It is simple. And I do really, really want to see each and every one of you grab hold of this and be that army that you talk about with each other. But also, be there for each other. It's not going to be easy. And for many of you in there already, it’s not.
But that's not why you chose it either. I don't believe you put your hand up because you thought it was easy. I believe you put your hand up because you believed you could see change and do good. And that's what this program is about.
Next month, we have the Joint Council for Closing the Gap, and the Joint Council is where Indigenous Affairs Ministers come together twice a year, and we come together with Indigenous organisations as part of looking at all those targets that were signed up and agreed to by every state and territory Parliament and the Commonwealth. And we look at those targets to see how we're progressing.
We're doing reasonably well on many levels, but where we are not is the areas that you're embarking on. The high rates of suicide, the high rates of out-of-home care and the high rates of incarceration of our people. They still are an enormous challenge for our country as a whole.
And the more First Nations people we can get into these areas, especially the area that you've embarked on, I do believe we will see remarkable change.
It will take time. I want you to know you're not alone. Look around each of you and see who's here with you. Support each other.
And I'll leave you with these words, self-care. You're not going to have all the answers. But you're going to be surrounded by people who, like you, want to see good done.
And you're going to be challenged by the light and the darkness in helping others walk through some really dark moments.
Make sure your light never goes out. Look after one another, and thank you for embarking on this really, really important journey for our people.
Yo, Bauji Barra.