Thursday, 18 May 2023

Dardi Munwurro

Nathan LAMBERT (Preston) (17:12): (186) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Corrections, and the action I seek is for the minister to visit Dardi Munwurro in High Street, Preston, and to hear firsthand about the group-based healing and behaviour change programs that they run for First Nations Victorian men who have had contact with the corrections system. Dardi Munwurro is a beloved organisation in Preston. They have been doing their thing for a long time now, over 20 years, and they run a range of programs that have supported hundreds of First Nations Victorian men. The thrust of their program is a focus on cultural healing, developing pride and confidence and supporting men to understand trauma and to address the behaviours and outcomes that are symptomatic of trauma, including substance misuse, violence, anger, homelessness and employment challenges.

Dardi Munwurro operate across Australia, but of particular interest to the minister will be the work they do in Victoria’s correctional facilities and the work they do with men who are in contact with our justice system or our youth justice system. They run week-long behaviour change programs within correctional facilities, and they accept referrals from Corrections Victoria and the Koori Court for their other programs. One very important outcome of the work they do is that they reduce the rates of incarceration for participants in their programs and they reduce the rates at which those participants are subject to court orders, including community correction orders.

The minister’s visit to Dardi Munwurro will be an opportunity to hear about this work directly from the organisation’s director Alan Thorpe. Alan has run Dardi Munwurro since the very beginning. This is not the first time he has been mentioned in Hansard. If you ever check out his LinkedIn, it is wonderfully simple and impressive. It says ‘Director, Dardi Munwurro, 23 years and five months’, and we hope for many more years and months to come. I am sure the minister will be keen to hear from his wealth of experience.

And while he is there the minister might also take the chance just to head next door to Aunty Alma Thorpe’s Gathering Place, which is a fantastic spot to grab a coffee or a bite to eat and does have a great new mural there that was funded through Creative Victoria through this government. On that note, if the Minister for Creative Industries or the Minister for Treaty and First Peoples wish to join us, they would be most welcome given their overlapping portfolios, but we look forward to hearing from the Minister for Corrections in particular.