A Day on Country

It was hard to avoid feelings of raw emotion as an incredibly brave Gunditjmara woman, Denise Lovett, and rightly proud Gunditjmara man, Ben Church, guided LGSC participants through Gunditjmara lands. Budj Bim National Park, Lake Condah and the associated Weir are breathtakingly beautiful yet tarnished by a lamentable history for the traditional owners. The strong connection that both Denise and Ben, as well as speaker and fellow Gunditjmara man, Denis Rose, still have with the lands that their family have lived on for hundreds of generations was evident throughout the day, as was a genuine sense of welcoming that extended to us all.

A smoke ceremony and heartfelt words from Ben helped participants feel genuinely welcome to such a sacred place. Denise walked the group to a stunning lookout over the volcano and spoke of how Aboriginal people believe the creation spirit Budj Bim revealed himself in the landscape as a volcano and shared his blood and teeth with the people in the form of a lava flow which was witnessed by the Gunditjmara. The resulting lava flow forms the areas that make up the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape and the abundant food pantry for the Gunditjmara people. No question seemed unanswerable even at this early point of the day with Denise’s wealth of knowledge and warm, sobering, and considered responses creating a safe and inviting environment for participants to explore the history of family, landscape, politics and culture with her guidance.

Similarly, a Lake Condah Mission walk proved to be an emotional rollercoaster for everyone present as Denise spoke of a deplorable abuse of human life, racism, prejudice and loss, but also of resilience, strength and fond childhood memories shared with her by her elders. Resilience seemed to be the especially dominant theme, which saw traditions and knowledge survive, and was spoken about with pride. As Denis spoke about the long journey toward World Heritage acknowledgement, that resilience and persistence shone through once again, as he told us of the ever changing system that seemed to be obviously stacked against the cause. The ingenuity, intimate knowledge of the country and sustainable farming techniques that were wiped from historical records by design were also astonishing to hear about.

Hearing Denise, Ben and Denis speak from the heart as they told their story, undoubtedly left participants feeling enlightened, frustrated, sorrowful, and angry at an extraordinarily painful history. Equally, the strength, determination and pride that was also obvious as each speaker shared their experiences and stories was infectious and left each participant wanting to play our own part in closing the gap, and the story that is yet to be written, together.

Community Leadership Impact

Day two of our Melbourne trip provided an opportunity to meet with the 10 other Victorian Regional Community Leadership Program participants. Networking was a key focus and participants relished the opportunity to share experiences and learnings with others who are on the same journey.

The VRCLP Combined Program Day allowed for high level conversations about our demographics, exploring how we can attract migration to regional areas and strategies to retain our young people. We found that across the State we are all experiencing the same issues with regard to our ageing populations, our lack of infrastructure and connection to metropolitan areas. We were encouraged to consider how we as future leaders can change that. How do we breach the divide between region and city? Reduce barriers to relocation? Become better advocates for regional Victoria? And how do we change the narrative?

A highlight of the day was no doubt the announcement by Nationals Leader Peter Walsh of $9.5 million in funding for the Victorian Regional Community Leadership Programs over the next four years, should the Liberal Government be elected in November. Minister Walsh praised the programs as valuable, stating they are essential to the development of future leaders across business, community, government and not-for-profit.

The day highlighted for us, that with close to 3500 alumni from these programs, the future is looking bright for our regions. With continued funding, this will only improve. Developing the skills and knowledge of passionate leaders in regional areas, and empowering them to be strong local advocates, will drive positive change for Victoria.

Victorain Government at Work

The last week of Parliament before the upcoming Victorian State Election (24/11/2018) provided the LGSC Program Participants an opportunity to experience Parliament at work in the lead up to what is predicted to be a very close election.

Having been provided the opportunity to meet with Parliament House Staff, the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, to meet with our local MPS and attend Question Time, the day provided a real insight into our State Government in action. Underlying all these facets was the greater understanding of democracy in action.

The experience reinforced that what the everyday voter hears/sees  in the media is only a snatch of the actual workings of the Victorian State Government. The theatrics of Question Time (preparing the media with a grab for the evening’s news) was in no way a true reflection of the more serious underlying activities within our State Government.

The true work of the Government is more apparent in the bipartisan role of Parliamentary Committees capturing the everyday work of parliamentarians. The enormous amount of information and knowledge they gained and decisions made on these committees was the pre runner to changes in legislation. This insight highlighted the proactive rather than the occasional instantaneous reactive legislation to a new, unpredicted happening (especially evident in the law and order scenarios currently occurring throughout Victoria).

The evident passion of both the current members of Parliament and the apolitical staff of Parliament House showcased a real commitment of Democracy In Action for the State of Victoria.

Getting Ready for a Governace Role

Against a backdrop of sweeping city views from level 26 at the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD), Bruce Anderson encouraged LGSC 2018 participants to seek opportunities to contribute to leadership within the community, urging participants be selective, and pursue areas they’re passionate about.

A guided tour through Melbourne’s laneways gave participants an appreciation (and a taste!) of the rich and dynamic street-art and food cultures, as well as stories behind some of the city’s unique  and beautiful architecture.  The walking arts tour included street art highlights in and around Flinders Lane, Hosier Ln, ACDC Ln, and concluded at Parliament House where the group explored the upper and lower houses of Parliament, before meeting with former Victorian Premier, Dr. Denis Napthine.  The former Premier offered some practical tips on lobbying politicians, and an overview of the inner workings of State Government.

Tanya Waterson, Chief of Staff for James Purcell MLC gave a generous and candid insight into the day-to-day functions of state government.  There was were further discussions about community leadership and lobbying local members.  Also discussions around the degree of influence that a member has when representing their region – in particular – the current unique position that James Purcell holes within the upper house.  Tanya also acknowledged the complexity of the Victorian Parliamentary system and how it can be difficult for people to know which area of government or which representative to approach when addressing local issues.  At day’s end, there was an increased appreciation around the role of community leaders in representing their community’s interests, and how best they might utilise their state government representatives to further their community’s agendas.