WHO ARE WE?

The Latrobe Valley was chosen as the location for Victoria’s first Place-based Partnership and Community Data Project, two reforms from the National Agreement on Closing the Gap. A Place-based Partnership means we are the place and the people to Close the Gap. We can work together to change this place so it’s better for us.

In this Partnership Committee we all talk to each other and work together with the other local First Nation, First Peoples groups here, and government. It’s local mob all talking and working together, we all know what is going on. We can decide what’s best for our community and work out ways that are right for us here in the Valley.

There are lots of kids that aren’t with their family so we want them back with mob. Closing the Gap calls this Target 12, reducing the overrepresentation of Aboriginal children in out of home care by 45%. This means in this place, this area, we will be working to keep kids at home and not have them staying in out of home care.

There’s also this Community data project that’s about telling our stories so the Koorie Partnership then knows what mob in the Valley need most. We will have sovereignty over this information because it’s about us. The Community data project is going to help the Koorie Partnership decide what to do, and what is best for us mob here. Our families, going a long way back, have suffered and we want to help change that for mob. We want more connection to culture and families together from the Boorai’s, Koorie kids the teenagers and elders.

Strong hearts and strong lives in this place in this country. We are Koorie, we are strong. We are going to make strong leaders here and make our mob proud, because Koorie kids matter.