Where to from here post ATSIC?

Our children’s future is in our hands and we should be very discriminating when we cast our next community vote in all AGMs and boot out those who we know have track records littered with failure.

Pemulwuy, Jandamarra, Tudawali, Cooper, Ferguson and Lingari were noble but fearless leaders. They fought for the rights of their people at Sydney Cove, in the Kimberley, Brisbane Valley, Melbourne, Dubbo and on Gurindji land respectively. These remarkable Indigenous leaders took their battles to the front line and dared the establishment.

Our next wave of leaders needs to have the same fire in their bellies, take calculated risks, be transparent and accountable and move forward with the best intentions of our people in mind.

Colin Powell, first black US Secretary of State once said, “There are no secrets to success: don’t waste time looking for them. Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty to those for whom you work, and persistence.”

Vanstone may have burnt our bridges - but together we can rebuild and cross them to plant the seeds in the valley for our children to harvest.