This project is now closed
A Memorandum of Understanding between the Taungurung people and Strathbogie Shire Council has was officially signed and adopted in October 2021.
The MoU with the Taungurung Land and Waters Council (TLaWC) will ensure compliance with the following legislation, reducing Council’s risk exposure and most importantly strengthening the relationship with first peoples, and the Traditional Owners of Taungurung Country:
- Native Title Act 1993 (Commonwealth);
- Traditional Owner Settlement Act 2010 (State); and
- Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006 (State).
In addition, the MoU recognises Australia’s (and therefore Council’s) obligations arising out of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Read the MOU here
Help us strengthen our relationships and recognition with our first peoples
The Strathbogie Shire Council is in the process of developing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Taungurung people.
The Taungurung Land & Waters Council (TLaWC) was registered on the 16 July 2009 as the Registered Aboriginal Party that represents the interests of the Taungurung people.
Registered Aboriginal Parties (RAP’s) are organisations that hold statutory decision-making responsibilities under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006 for protecting Aboriginal cultural heritage in a specified geographical area.
Council must enter a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the TLaWC to ensure compliance with the following legislation, reduce Council’s risk exposure and most importantly strengthen the relationship with first peoples, and the Traditional Owners of Taungurung Country:
- Native Title Act 1993 (Commonwealth);
- Traditional Owner Settlement Act 2010 (State); and
- Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006 (State).
In the spirit of reconciliation and partnership, the Council and the Taungurung Land and Waters Council will enter a Memorandum of Understanding, to govern their interactions, and to build practical and mutually respectful and beneficial connections.
Select the tabs below to have your say
Submissions close at 5pm on July 29, 2021.
Principles
Acknowledgement
The adoption of a MoU also provides an opportunity for Council to update the acknowledgment used for Council to use at all official meetings and events and in Council documents.
We have drafted three options as a starting point.
I’d like to start today by acknowledging the traditional owners of the lands on which we are all meeting and pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and also to any Aboriginal people who may be online/here with us today.
Today, we are meeting on the lands of the Taungurung peoples of the Eastern Kulin nation, whose sovereignty here has never been ceded.
I acknowledge the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of this nation.
We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the lands we have gathered on today and I pay our respects to ancestors and Elders, past and present.
I acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land we have gathered on today. I pay my respects to the Elders past and present, for they hold the memories, the traditions, the culture and hopes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across the nation.
A better understanding and respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures develops an enriched appreciation of Australia’s cultural heritage and can lead to reconciliation. This is essential to the maturity of Australia as a nation and fundamental to the development of an Australian identity.
