Federal Member for Forde Bert van Manen brought Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion to the region today to hear directly from the local indigenous community.
Mr van Manen and Minister Scullion met with representatives from the Beenleigh Housing and Development Company to discuss the history of local community housing, before travelling to the Yugambeh Museum.
The Minister was then treated to a behind the scenes tour of the Spirits of the Red Sand exhibition, which is opening soon at the Beenleigh Historical Village.
Mr van Manen also took the Minister to the Jimbelunga Nursing Centre in Eagleby to discuss the recent expansion and future outlook of the flourishing aged care facility.
Mr van Manen said the Minister’s visit was much appreciated.
“This has been an excellent opportunity to discuss with the Minister, first-hand, some of the struggles and triumphs of our local indigenous community,” Mr van Manen said.
“The Federal Government remains absolutely committed to supporting indigenous families and working with them to improve their lifestyles and connectedness with our region more broadly.
“The Minister saw firsthand today some of the amazing initiatives, programs and services that are flourishing within our indigenous community locally and he will take that knowledge with him to Canberra to better represent our community’s interests federally.”
Minister Scullion said it was fantastic to meet with members from Forde’s indigenous community face-to-face and discuss their challenges and successes.
“As I’ve moved around today I’ve seen the way things are done here and the level of engagement with our first people is just fantastic,” Minister Scullion said.
“This facility (Jimbelunga) is just remarkable, it’s not indigenous only but it is focussed on indigenous culture and those particular needs, and it has some of the same challenges that we do in aged care but they seem to have overcome those really well.
“It’s been a real delight being here in Forde and I’ve learnt a lot today.”
