City of Casey Four Oaks Ward councillor Paul Richardson and member of Council’s Access and Equity Advisory Committee Doug Smith, both of Aboriginal descent, and Casey mayor Janet Halsall raise the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags in recognition of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s ‘sorry’ address to the nation.THE City of Casey commemorated the Federal Government’s historic apology to the Stolen Generations last week with an Aboriginal flag-raising ceremony at the Casey Civic Centre.
Casey mayor Janet Halsall, along with Four Oaks Ward councillor Paul Richardson and council Access and Equity Advisory Committee member Doug Smith, both of Aboriginal descent, raised the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags together.
“This is a national day of reconciliation and acknowledgment, symbolising the first step in a shared healing process,” Cr Halsall said.
“It’s a time to celebrate the coming together of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians to move forward into the future of unity.”
Cr Halsall said Casey was one of the first councils in Victoria to have a dedicated Indigenous community worker who supported Indigenous groups and organisations.
“Cr Richardson is one of the many people who work to ensure that the needs of our Indigenous community are met,” she said.
Cr Halsall said Casey was committed to supporting projects and policies that help address the challenges facing the Aboriginal community.
