Consultation news
Plenty of passion in Dubbo and Bourke
Last week the Committee held Community Roundtables in Dubbo and Bourke – two towns in central western NSW. The Committee, represented by Frank Brennan, Mary Kostakidis and Tammy Williams got the discussions started. The zoo provided a beautiful backdrop for the discussions and there was a great turnout at both meetings.
We felt that we really got into the swing of things with these two visits and it was great to hear the passionate voices of people who were keen to talk about a range of issues – particularly in relation to the challenges people face in rural and remote Australia. The people of both Dubbo and Bourke were interested, involved and very willing to share their experiences about a range of issues facing their communities.
While the discussions were different in both towns one issue that arose in both was the difficulty in accessing a range of services – especially health services. Stories of having to travel four hours from Bourke to Dubbo for simple procedures were plenty and people shared their views about the need for greater access to mental health services in these areas.
A good deal of the discussion in Dubbo was about whether or not Australia should have a Charter of Rights. Many people were in favour of this form of protecting and promoting human rights but many others preferred to see awareness of our current system increased.
A unifying message we heard loud and clear was that no matter how human rights are protected, more people need to be able to access information about our rights in a way that is easy to understand. One idea included better human rights and civic education for all.
In Bourke, people were keen to discuss the discrimination issues that they faced in their lives. There was strong concern that Indigenous people were not being given a fair go.
The concerns included:
- the high number of young Indigenous kids being suspended from school
- a health system that did not meet their needs, and
- the difficulties faced by Indigenous people looking for work in Bourke.
The people of Bourke came up with some specific ideas about how they could improve the situation in their town. One idea was to ensure more cultural awareness training was offered to people working in the town – particularly for those working in service delivery areas. A second idea was to have a Community Human Rights Committee that could hold regular meetings to discuss human rights concerns in the community and advocate on behalf of people whose rights have been violated.
As you can see, the Community Roundtables at Dubbo and Bourke certainly covered some interesting areas. We are really looking forward to the meetings next week in Sydney, Cronulla, Wollongong and Taree so register now on the Calendar of events page to ensure your place at those Community Roundtables.
Until next time,
Frank Brennan, Tammy Williams and Mary Kostakidis