WEBVTT - The Change Direction Campaign

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<v Speaker 1>With National Reconciliation Week winding up for another year, I

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<v Speaker 1>wanted to highlight a timely and powerful new short film,

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<v Speaker 1>Change Direction, which delivers a stark truth Aboriginal suicide rates,

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<v Speaker 1>particularly among young people, continue to rise. And on the

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<v Speaker 1>line to tell us about that the film and the

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<v Speaker 1>campaign that's built around it is one of Australia's leading

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<v Speaker 1>Aboriginal psychologists, Dr Tracy Westerman. Hi, Tracy, Oh, thank you

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<v Speaker 1>so much for having you on the show. Ah, it's

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<v Speaker 1>a pleasure, it really is. Now the campaign goes beyond awareness,

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<v Speaker 1>isn't it. It's a call to action to support the

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<v Speaker 1>Western Westerman Jillia Institute. Tell us about the institute and

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<v Speaker 1>your role in it.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, okay, so I volunteer in Julia, and I actually

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<v Speaker 2>started the Junior Institute, I guess out of frustration with

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<v Speaker 2>the lack of government action on Indigenous child suicides. And

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<v Speaker 2>for the listeners that don't understand the context here is

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<v Speaker 2>that in Western Australia, my own home state, we've had

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<v Speaker 2>four government iries into Indigenous suicides, mostly around the Kimbley,

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<v Speaker 2>and when I started the scholarship it was really looking

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<v Speaker 2>at those four inquiries. The last one was thirteen beautiful

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<v Speaker 2>young Indigenous young people took their own lives from the

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<v Speaker 2>Kimberley and when I read the reports, they all concluded

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<v Speaker 2>pretty much the same thing, and that was that children

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<v Speaker 2>were literally dying due to a lack of access to

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<v Speaker 2>culturally confidence services and I guess on the complex treatment side.

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<v Speaker 2>So I just went it looked like and fix this.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm a psychologist, I'm an Indigenous one and from a

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<v Speaker 2>remote community. So I self funded the Doctor Tracy Westerman

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<v Speaker 2>Indigenous Psychology Scholarship Program, not really thinking, to be honest

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<v Speaker 2>with all that it was going to grow to the

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<v Speaker 2>excess as I thought, I'd probably fund one scholarship and

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<v Speaker 2>that would be it, But Australia sort of had other

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<v Speaker 2>ideas and now was actually funding sixty four, most of

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<v Speaker 2>whom I've now graduated. So the Change Direction film, the

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<v Speaker 2>great part of it is that it literally gives people

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<v Speaker 2>something to do. Often you see campaigns and people go, Okay,

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<v Speaker 2>that's good, what do we now do? So institue is sorry,

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<v Speaker 2>you'll figure so.

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<v Speaker 1>What does your director change Direction campaign do than?

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<v Speaker 2>Basically, what it does is it takes people into a reality.

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<v Speaker 2>And I think for a lot of people sadly they

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<v Speaker 2>don't really understand relate to the experiences of indigenous people

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<v Speaker 2>in the country. So the film just very beautifully takes

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<v Speaker 2>people on our journey and so essentially what we're doing

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<v Speaker 2>is really inviting Australia into what starts off as a

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<v Speaker 2>painful journey. But I guess most people who have seen

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<v Speaker 2>the film you don't really predict the change, and so

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<v Speaker 2>what's really lovely about it as you take people into

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<v Speaker 2>that pain but also get them to understand when you

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<v Speaker 2>actually do have that help, that you can actually get

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<v Speaker 2>out of it as well.

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<v Speaker 1>So in a way, the film follows the whole process.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, absolutely, And to be honest, when I first watched it,

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<v Speaker 2>I didn't predict what was coming because it's so clever

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<v Speaker 2>and it's just so brilliantly done. It's literally a poem

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<v Speaker 2>that goes into dark spaces and then literally you start

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<v Speaker 2>reading it backwards and the actor is the main us

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<v Speaker 2>for Drea Jackson. It just goes backwards and then things

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<v Speaker 2>start to lighten. But what it's actually about, obviously, is

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<v Speaker 2>about the answers being in culturally competent services and that's

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<v Speaker 2>what we've always known there.

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<v Speaker 1>You wrote the poem featured in the film.

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<v Speaker 2>So tell us about No, I didn't write I, which

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<v Speaker 2>I'd love to take credit for a beautifulde of fearer

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<v Speaker 2>who's done it.

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<v Speaker 1>Tell us a bit about it.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, So essentially what it does is it goes into

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<v Speaker 2>the beautiful actor for Edrea Jackson, who essentially goes into

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<v Speaker 2>some dark places and says, look, my country tells me

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<v Speaker 2>that I'm invisible, and it's very negative and it actually

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<v Speaker 2>explains I guess what it's like to feel that way,

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<v Speaker 2>to feel as if there's no hope. And then suddenly

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<v Speaker 2>halfway through it switches and it literally goes backwards into

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<v Speaker 2>hope and light and that there are people that care

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<v Speaker 2>and I can actually change this in me. And so

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<v Speaker 2>it really is a I guess a visceral experience bill

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<v Speaker 2>that you go into this, you know, feeling of what

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<v Speaker 2>it would feel like, and then literally it changes to

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<v Speaker 2>go backwards and you feel like there is actually hope

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<v Speaker 2>at the end of it, which is just very brilliant.

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<v Speaker 1>Actually, So where was the film shot.

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<v Speaker 2>I think it was in Adelaide. That was done by

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<v Speaker 2>the wonderful Warwick the Wornton, who of course has become

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<v Speaker 2>incredibly famous and of course you know, from a remote

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<v Speaker 2>community himself, so he had a passion to do something

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<v Speaker 2>about Indigenous suicides. And then Jackson Long, who was a

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<v Speaker 2>creative person behind it, literally spent twenty months banging down doors.

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<v Speaker 2>So he's just been incredible in terms of his will

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<v Speaker 2>to do something about it. And then I sort of

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<v Speaker 2>came along when they heard of my work because they

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<v Speaker 2>were looking at someone like an organization to donate whatever

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<v Speaker 2>money they raised from it, and it became, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>very old. It became very obvious that there was a

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<v Speaker 2>really good synergy there in terms of getting people something

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<v Speaker 2>very clear that they could do.

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<v Speaker 1>Now, what statistics can you provide us about the unacceptable

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<v Speaker 1>rates of Indigenous suicide?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it's kind of heartbreaking, And I guess the thing

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<v Speaker 2>that you know is the statistic that probably separates arguably

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<v Speaker 2>Australia from all other developed countries is the age at

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<v Speaker 2>which our young people are taking in their lives. So

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<v Speaker 2>it's really for Indigenous children, we have a six times

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<v Speaker 2>the likelihood of dying by suicide and non Indigenous children.

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<v Speaker 2>And a statistic that's probably the most sobering and heartbreaking

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<v Speaker 2>is that every time an Indigenous child dies in this

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<v Speaker 2>country forty percent of them will do so by suicide.

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<v Speaker 2>And I've said this many times. Children's suicide just does

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<v Speaker 2>not belong in a center. A yeah, kind of. I

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<v Speaker 2>guess when you're getting into those teenage years, you're sort

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<v Speaker 2>of getting I mean, obviously heartbreaking. We we've had suicides

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<v Speaker 2>of children as young as ten, but when you're getting

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<v Speaker 2>into those teenage years around thirteen to fifteen, then the

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<v Speaker 2>statistics get even worse. So we are looking at that

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<v Speaker 2>particularly particular vulnerability around the teenage years.

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<v Speaker 1>Traca, What do you want Australians to do when they

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<v Speaker 1>see the film or visit the website? What outcomes are

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<v Speaker 1>you looking for?

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<v Speaker 2>Oh, it's a really easy one. I mean, this is

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<v Speaker 2>probably the easiest from the campaign in that we are

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<v Speaker 2>already taking care of this. We're put a hand up.

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<v Speaker 2>We don't have any federal government funding. I volunteer every

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<v Speaker 2>single day. I'll never take awage from Juilliet's. They've registered charity.

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<v Speaker 2>We've had our students graduate at eighty percent compared to

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<v Speaker 2>twenty percent for heavily funded universities. And they're coming from

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<v Speaker 2>our springs, the Kimberly, They're coming from the highest risk community.

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<v Speaker 2>Seventy percent of them first in their families to go

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<v Speaker 2>to university. So we're literally making people who would never

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<v Speaker 2>have had hope in their lives become psychologists. So it's

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<v Speaker 2>an incredible program. And so literally all you have to

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<v Speaker 2>do is donate every dollars tax deductible and we're putting

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<v Speaker 2>our hands up for it. Seemed quite simply we are

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<v Speaker 2>saying we've got this, We're happy to take on the

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<v Speaker 2>most complex issues in Australia. You just literally have to

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<v Speaker 2>get behind us and know that every single dollar goes

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<v Speaker 2>to putting another indigenous psychologists in the remote community.

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<v Speaker 1>So what can we do tra see as every day

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<v Speaker 1>Australian it's not just as part of Reconciliation Week, but

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<v Speaker 1>throughout the year, what can we do to make a

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<v Speaker 1>difference on this issue?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I guess the answer to that is that just

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<v Speaker 2>for all public attention tool, we find it really difficult

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<v Speaker 2>and it's great to be on shows like this, we

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<v Speaker 2>find it really difficult for anyone to pay attention to

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<v Speaker 2>this crisis. And as someone who spent my life on this,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, it is actually really difficult to get media

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<v Speaker 2>to pay attention to this, and of course we rely

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<v Speaker 2>on the media to explain to people while we have

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<v Speaker 2>such heartbreaking rates of suicide, and to get that message

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<v Speaker 2>out that these are Australia's children and we should all

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<v Speaker 2>be affected by this equally, and to just pay attention

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<v Speaker 2>and just just get involved.

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<v Speaker 1>Really, but you've got to do a bit more than

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<v Speaker 1>just raise a wenness, haven't you. Because White Ribbon Campaign

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<v Speaker 1>and all of those try to do that as well.

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<v Speaker 1>You've got to get people to do something as well,

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<v Speaker 1>haven't you.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, And I guess that's where the Juilliar Institute comes in.

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<v Speaker 2>That I've had, you know, lots so do lots of

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<v Speaker 2>public presentation and so many people have come up to

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<v Speaker 2>me and said just that that we've never known what

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<v Speaker 2>to do, and this actually gives us something to do

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<v Speaker 2>that we can donate money and we know that this

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<v Speaker 2>is actually going to changing generational trauma, generational risk in

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<v Speaker 2>our highest risk communities like our springs, you know, like Derby,

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<v Speaker 2>like you know, Mount Eyes a Plate. We've got psychologists

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<v Speaker 2>coming from those communities who ultimately will stay there and

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<v Speaker 2>we're skills building from a ground up. So this is

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<v Speaker 2>really going to achieve massive change, or it already is

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<v Speaker 2>achieving massive change in the country.

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<v Speaker 1>So it kind of aligns with and complements existing government

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<v Speaker 1>mental health programs.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it does. However, you know, Julia is kind of

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<v Speaker 2>not beyond is outside of government. We have no government

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<v Speaker 2>funding for what we do, and I think that's actually

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<v Speaker 2>a good thing because we are truly grassed for its activism.

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<v Speaker 2>We are truly about getting business as usual isn't solving

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<v Speaker 2>this crisis. So what we need to do, we're quite

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<v Speaker 2>on orthodox. We we for example, picked students, picked students

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<v Speaker 2>who I'd regularly reject students to have distinctions, so I

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<v Speaker 2>don't pick students who will get there anyway. I'll pick

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<v Speaker 2>students based on how many more gaps they have to close.

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<v Speaker 2>So we're getting the most disadvantaged. But what that means

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<v Speaker 2>is that likeals never leave, right, Yes, so they Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>So if any of our listeners would like to know

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<v Speaker 1>more or view the film Change Direction, what should they do?

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<v Speaker 2>They just get onto www Dot change Direction literally and

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<v Speaker 2>you can see that there. And you can also, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>if we would be massively grateful if people would donate

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<v Speaker 2>some of their dollars, and bearing in mind that no

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<v Speaker 2>public donations one hundred percent of public donations go directly

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<v Speaker 2>to our scholarship program. Nothing goes on paying you know,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, admin or salaries. That's why I work for free,

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<v Speaker 2>so to make sure that every cent goes directly into

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<v Speaker 2>getting another Indigenous psychologist in a remote community.

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<v Speaker 1>Now, before I let you go, how happy if you've

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<v Speaker 1>been with the way National Reconcilient Sitiation Week has gone

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<v Speaker 1>in general?

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<v Speaker 2>Look interesting enough. I was interviewed a couple of weeks

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<v Speaker 2>ago on ABC and I said, I think had without

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<v Speaker 2>getting into the politics, will have to get into the

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<v Speaker 2>politics of I guess the election for a lot of

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<v Speaker 2>Aboriginal people has been almost like a moral victory, and

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<v Speaker 2>because we're sort of heading down a path of you

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<v Speaker 2>know a lot of negativity in terms of Indigenous issues,

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<v Speaker 2>particularly after the referendum, and I think a lot of

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<v Speaker 2>Australians probably you know, probably had really, to be honest,

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<v Speaker 2>not a really good sense of what they're no vide

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<v Speaker 2>actually meant. And so I think, you know, the rejection

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<v Speaker 2>of what dare I say, the right wing rest wreck around,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, people being really negative about Welcome to Country,

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<v Speaker 2>and you know, the attacks on Indigenous organizations and so forth.

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<v Speaker 2>Certainly the Indigenous people that I interact with all day,

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<v Speaker 2>every day, and there's thousands of them than I do.

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<v Speaker 2>There's been a sense of people can breathe now, and

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<v Speaker 2>I think now O Pray would have given a differn answer

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<v Speaker 2>four weeks ago. But I think you know the fact

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<v Speaker 2>that Australia has repudiated, you know that real negative in

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<v Speaker 2>negativity and right wing approach to Indigenous issues has certainly

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<v Speaker 2>helped significantly.

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<v Speaker 1>One of Australia's leading Aboriginal psychologists, doctor Tracy Westerman, thanks

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<v Speaker 1>so much and God bless you Tracy. Godess