cover image: LAW IN ORDER PTY LIMITED

LAW IN ORDER PTY LIMITED

10 Jun 2024

Could I just tender the relevant documents for yesterday's witnesses? So there's a collection of documents relevant to the evidence of staff of the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service, and there are documents relevant to the evidence of the representatives of the Victorian Aboriginal Education Association. [...] 30 I'm also the chairperson of the Aboriginal Housing and Homelessness Forum and Aboriginal Housing Victoria is recognised as the lead agency for Aboriginal homelessness policy and advocacy in Victoria and we provide the secretariat to the Aboriginal Housing and Homelessness Forum and the Victorian Aboriginal Housing and Homelessness Framework Implementation Working Group as well. [...] What's the effect of that transfer and why was it 25 important? MR DARREN SMITH: Well, it's important because it gives more control back to the Aboriginal community and as an owner of property you have the ability to deal with the properties and you have the ability to leverage your properties, and 30 you have the ability to grow more housing. [...] We are the ones that have our fingers on the pulse understanding the needs and requirements and yet most of the time we are not at the table, at the conversation. [...] And my understanding is it was in the Labor policy platform for a number of years, and it was really advocacy at the point of the 2014 election and working with the central agencies, working with the Director of Housing and working with the Minister at the time, to tell them that we 20 thought it was time.

Authors

Raza Afzal

Pages
99
Published in
Australia

Table of Contents