Two Bougainvillean parliamentarians were recently invited to attend Australia’s largest Indigenous cultural festival as part of a Pacific delegation.
Minister Geraldine Paul, Minister for Finance and Treasury and Marine Resources in the Autonomous Bougainville Government, and the Hon Francesca Semoso, Member for North Bougainville Open and Assistant Speaker in the National Parliament, attended the Garma Festival in East Arnhem Land.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also was present at the festival which is now in its 25th year.
The Garma festival is an initiative of the Yothu Yindi Foundation and is held annually on the Gulkula ceremonial site, on Gumatj country (one of the largest Yolngu clans).
Minister Paul and Ms Semoso were hosted by the Department of Foreign Affairs’ Head of the Office of the Pacific, Elizabeth Peak – other countries in the delegation were Fiji, Kiribati, Palau and Tuvalu.
The festival initially started as a Yolngu arts, culture and music festival, and has also evolved into a key political forum, bringing together influential people to discuss key issues facing First Nations Australians.
The Hon Francesca Semoso, Member for North Bougainville Open and Assistant Speaker in the National Parliament says it was a great honour to be there:
“It was mind opening for me again as a mother, as a grandmother, as an artist, as a leader. Traditions and cultures must be kept alive. It makes us who we are today and the learning doesn’t stop”.
Minister Geraldine Paul, ABG Minister for Finance and Treasury and Marine Resources says the festival has made her think about the preservation of culture:
“The responsibility that we have, as chiefs and leaders, and women in charge of our children and communities, is ‘what do we do to make sure these cultures are maintained”?
Quote attributed to The Hon Anthony Albanese MP, Prime Minister of Australia:
“Garma teaches us, it inspires us and it challenges us. Because this is a place for ideas, ambition – and accountability. Where we learn from the past, are honest about the present and ‘look up to the future’.
When we include more people in the opportunities of our economy and the promise of our society, we are better for it. When we embrace the fullness of our history and culture, we are richer for it. When we draw on the genius and creativity, the courage and resilience, the compassion and love of country that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people live every day, we are smarter and braver for it.”
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