A group of Aboriginal children performed an Aboriginal cultural dance on the opening morning of the Aboriginal Children’s Forum hosted by GEGAC in Bairnsdale last week.
GEGAC will play a greater role in caring for and supporting Aboriginal children and families that, until now, have been put under the authority of the state’s Child Protection agency.
At the Aboriginal Children’s Forum hosted by GEGAC in Bairnsdale last week, GEGAC CEO Kenton Winsley launched a new program called Wangun Lidj, which will ensure that the care and protection of Aboriginal children is led by Aboriginal people, in partnership with the community.
Wangun Lidj, which means “Boomerang” and “Child” in GunaiKurnai language, is authorised under Section 18 of the Children, Youth & Families Act, and allows for the transfer to GEGAC of responsibility and decision making for selected Aboriginal children on Child Protection orders.
The principle behind Section 18 and Wangun Lidj is that outcomes for Aboriginal children are better when decisions about their care are made by Aboriginal people, informed and guided by Aboriginal culture and communities.
“Wangun Lidj is not just a model, it’s a movement,” Kenton said before a room full of Aboriginal leaders and government representatives at the Aboriginal Children’s Forum last week. “It is a movement to bring our children home, not just physically, but spiritually, emotionally, and culturally.”
“A child who grows up knowing who they are is more protected than any policy will ever make them,” he said. “This time, the system will not raise our children. Culture will. Mob will. We will.”
Lisa Carter, GEGAC’s Executive Director Aboriginal Children and Families, said that for many years ACCOs and other Aboriginal organisations had been advocating that decisions about Aboriginal kids should made by their own communities.
“Now they have listened, and the Victorian government is working with ACCOs across the state to make this happen,” she said
“The Department of Families, Fairness and Housing has recognised that ACCOs are better equipped to support Aboriginal kids and families because they can provide more culturally sensitive care, and keep kids connected to their community and extended family.”
GEGAC is now one of 6 ACCOs in Victoria to have received pre-authorisation or full authorisation under section 18 of the Children, Youth and Families Act to be responsible for Aboriginal children or young people who have been placed on a Children’s Court Order.
GEGAC is currently in pre-authorisation, which means it will work alongside Child Protection in responding to protective concerns involving Aboriginal children in community.
“So let’s imagine a future where our children grow up in community, not in care,” Kenton said. ”Where they know their stories, their Elders, their Country. Where they carry pride, not pain.”
“That’s the future Wangun Lidj is building. A future defined by connection, not control.”
“Because when a child grows up without kin, without language, without ceremony – they don’t just lose connection. They risk disappearing altogether, slowly fading out of sight. At GEGAC we will not let that happen.”
The Aboriginal Children’s Forum is a quarterly meeting of representatives from Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) across Victoria, state officials and community service organisations working in the Aboriginal children and families sector.