Murrindindi Shire Council officially launched its ‘Reflect’ Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) on Tuesday, May 30 in the company of Taungurung Traditional Owners and Elder Aunty Jo Honeysett, local councillors, staff and students from Yea High School.
The event was held in Alexandra during National Reconciliation Week and began with a traditional Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony performed by Taungurung Elder Aunty Jo, followed by a speech from Murrindindi Shire Council Mayor John Walsh and a morning tea made with native bush ingredients.
“Council is proud to have taken this important step forward in our reconciliation journey.
“I’d like to commend the work of the RAP Working Group and thank both the Taungurung Land and Waters Council and the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation for their guidance and support.
“The RAP aims to improve connections with, and outcomes for, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who live in Murrindindi Shire.”
“Council’s RAP supports the 10-Year Community Vision, where we respect and celebrate the cultural heritage of our First Nations peoples and those who have come before us,” Mayor John Walsh said.
By launching the RAP during National Reconciliation Week (NRW), we’re celebrating the 2023 NRW theme, ‘Be a Voice for Generations’, which encourages all Australians to be a voice for reconciliation in tangible ways in our everyday lives.”
