Fins would have been helpful. It's NAIDOC week and in Brisbane celebration central is Musgrave Park. The tents were there. The stages were there. The rides, the food, the sports stars, the entertainment, all there. Unfortunately so was the rain, the puddles and the mud. It may have been a little disappointing but not enough to discourage the truly hardy souls. Not long after the gates opened, Aboriginal Health Worker Betty McGrady and the team from the Forensic Child and Youth Mental Health Service arrived. Aunty Betty is a Gunggari woman and passionate advocate for her community. She did, however, confess that the expertise of elders such as herself was not always valued. Government departments had reached an understanding that consulting with Indigenous peoples was important. They did not, however, necessarily think they needed to pay for it in the same way as you would other consultants. She's working hard to get that changed with a register of Indigenous experts being developed. But, she confesses, until that happens if called on to represent her community, she'll be there.
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