The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council (NATSICC) have grave concerns regarding the Western Australian Government’s proposal to close up to 150 Aboriginal Communities throughout Western Australia. Whilst in many cases these communities are not perfect, their foundations are deeply rooted in the Cultural and Spiritual links that Aboriginal people have to the land on which they have cared for and walked upon for thousands of years. They are symbols of the self-determination and tenacity of Aboriginal people in this country.

The results of dispossession of Aboriginal people is evident today in the abysmal health, socio economic and incarceration rates that our first people endure in contemporary Australia. The proposed closures will result in generational trauma and erode any progress of self-determination made in the last 20 years.

NATSICC, and the undersigned, asks that the Western Australian Government, and any other States and Territories considering similar closures, to reconsider their position on closing remote Aboriginal communities. We ask that they instead focus on working in partnership with Elders and local people to nurture and encourage ideas that build these communities into safe places utilising the inherent knowledge and ingenuity of our first Australians.