Consultation news
More than banter in Busselton
The Busselton Roundtable saw us mid-way through our visit to Western Australia to seek the views and opinions of communities about human rights. And Busselton certainly didn’t disappoint, delivering an inspiring consultation filled with many passionate speakers.
Several participants voiced deep concerns about the lack of citizen appeal against planning decisions, while others spoke about empowering youth with the right skills to establish a culturally sensitive attitude.
One participant revealed he had driven for three hours to attend the Roundtable, as he felt the legal profession had been steering the human rights debate away from a values-based discussion and he wished to try and reclaim it for the people.
There were also emotional stories shared from the days of the White Australia Policy. We would like to share with you the recollections of one Busselton participant:
“I was fed a myth. Where did it come from? It wasn’t a conscious selling of a myth - just collusion. You didn’t see Aboriginal people at my school. I only saw them at my church and saw them playing sport at the mission. I didn’t realise that the babies were separated from their siblings. It’s hard to know how to connect to them… It’s not an intentional misleading of a myth just an absence of contact, of friendly contact – we don’t get to listen to each other’s stories.”
With only two more months of Consultation to go, we’re looking forward to speaking with as many people as we can about these types of issues and more.
Tammy Williams and Philip Flood