Dear Community Its great to see people on all facebook sites having this discussion and responding to the post on ASSI inclusion on the centrelink form. FYI we / ASSI.PJ did meet under the previous govt with the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) several times and via phone conference and face to face firstly during the 150th anniversary followed by then PM Rudd distributing a media release acknowledging ASSI and our forefathers/mothers contribution. On the 15th August 2013 Alex Greenwich (member for Sydney) put forward a motion in NSW Parliament House which saw bipartisan support for NSW ASSI community recognition. The minister for communities Minister Dominello commitment that day to work with the NSW community (all documentation and video speeches from 7 ministers are on our website assipj.au use them to lobby your local govt members). We had a followup meeting at NSW Parliament with CEO of the NSW community relations commission, Alex Greenwich, Prof. Clive Moore and a senior representative from the ABS, advisors and so on. All participants were handed a brief/strategy that would assist the federal and state government agencies in thinking and following through from the 1994 Commonwealth ASSI recognition on how to address the 1992 findings in an action plan for ASSI disadvantage that exists more than ever today. The only way to truly support the development of meaningful programs and services is to assess the demographic of our community through inclusion as apart of these welfare forms complimented with a strong community awareness campaigning before the 2016 Census. ASSI.PJ have drafted in all documentation and verbalised that our consideration and inclusion is NOT to take away or affect funding or otherwise of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families, community, relations given our evident synergy / kinship with these communities. We stress the importance of being independent and having a separate funding stream allocated towards our community group and NOT to be included in Aboriginal funding the objective is to remain transparent. To abolish the stigma of being a forgotten people we need to encourage our community groups, leaders and friends to spread the word and alert all to participate in identifying as surviving descendants in acknowledgement of our forefathers contribution / legacy. My personal perspective on government is that either party will do what suits the climate and indigenous, ASSI or other wise minority groups always loose out. However collectively in standing strong in collaboration along side but independent of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island communities we are a force of nature. Karen has some valid points we need to stay on guard and proactive .... Congratulations to all ASSI communities, individuals and organisations who continuously commemorate, celebrate in demonstrating to the government that we are here and not going anywhere. Collectively we have achieved this change for our rightful inclusion.
Posted on: Sun, 13 Jul 2014 03:18:14 +0000
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