Assistant Principals' Report

Harmony Day

Students of Years 7-9 were treated with a day of activities starting with a Harmony Day assembly to held to celebrated cultural diversity.  The assembly included some excellent speeches by students including a very powerful "If I were Prime Minister" speech from Amielia Wall and a spirited launch of the "Everyone Belongs" program by Chloe Wallace and Zawadi Muhindo.  We were also delighted to hear from four members of the New Change group talking about a video that has been produced to counter cultural stereotyping about South Sudanese people in the community.  Information about the video can be accessed at:

http://www.africamediaaustralia.com/breaking-news-from-new-change/ .

Finally we were treated with a terrific performance by the Senior School Choir who sang a beautiful Indigenous Welcome song.  The day continued with activities organised by the Harmony Day team that included a big contingent of VCAL students once again showing great leadership for our younger students.  A big thank you to everyone who contributed to this event.

AIME

Amelia Wall was invited to speak at the launch of the AIME (Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience) launch at Federation University. The CEO, Jack Manning Bancroft spoke about the AIME program, specifically promoting students to set challenging goals. Amelia spoke about her desire to become the first Indigenous Female Prime Minister of Australia. Kate Nye Butler and myself accepted the invitation to attend the launch and we were very proud of Amelia.

Congratulations, Amelia

Before I begin my address to the Nation as Prime Minister, it is important that I pay my respects to the Aboriginal custodians of this nation, past and present.  I am a proud Aboriginal person and my connection to this land has helped shaped my identity. I am paying my respects to all Aboriginal people, all Australian people and the Nation as a whole.

"If I were Prime Minister"

As a proud young Aboriginal woman, I hope to start a revolution.

I stand here before you in Deer Park Women's prison, to emphasise the strong need for change.  It is my hope that as a nation, we can finally address the ingrained problems of inequality, social justice and discrimination in our society. This venue has been chosen because it showcases the dramatic issue in Australia that we choose to hide problems in our justice systems, rather than deal with them at a community level.

As your elected leader, I thank you for giving me the opportunity to work tirelessly in addressing over representation of women and indigenous people with the criminal justice system.

Furthermore, it is my absolute agenda to change perception held by some in society that continues to stop Australia becoming a truly harmonious multicultural, multi racial, multilingual nation.

We need to bridge the gap in society regarding social acceptance and in equal representation of cultural demographics.  I intend to change laws which stop racial discrimination and racial vilification in our nation.

As an aboriginal person, I believe my culture has a lot to offer in understanding the environment and ways that we can make the land sustainable.  Aboriginal people are the oldest living culture on the planet, and as a result, we have maintained a fundamental connection to the land.  We all have a lot to learn about sustainability in society.  I will pass laws that will protect our country for future generations and to ensure that our children, our grandchildren, our great grandchildren and many more generations to come will have the best lives possible.

I hope that we can become world leaders in environmental management and sustainability and the longevity of our land.

These are just a few major issues we face daily in this country, and I promise you, we can and we will work together to ensure that our country becomes a just and equal country to live in.  This is our land, our country, our future.  There is no doubt this country is facing many challenges.  I am the first female Indigenous Prime Minister, and I will initiate change.  Enough is enough.  It is time we stand our ground and take our place as a first world nation, and a fair and just society.

It is my pledge to you Australia, to work with all Australian people to make this happen.  This change, this revolution of our nation, starts with us.

Amielia Wall - 11G