From the General Manager Welcome to the Makuru edition of the newsletter. For those that may not know, Makuru is one of the Noongar six seasons and indicates that the weather is about to get wet and cold. I find the Noongar six seasons to be such a valuable example of the intricate knowledge of the land and the environment that First Nations people hold. In May we celebrated National Reconciliation Week, which is even more important this year as we will all be voting on an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament. We have featured one of our tenants, Esther, who has been heavily involved in local and national conversations about this and I thank her for sharing this knowledge with our staff in June.
Our team has celebrated the theme of ‘Be a Voice for Generations’ by attending a national breakfast to hear words of wisdom from First Nations leaders, and a Walk for Reconciliation through Kings Park, where we took time out of our day to reflect on how we contribute to a nation strengthened by respectful relationships between the broader Australian community and First Nations peoples. As part of our commitment to diversity and inclusion, a committee of staff have been busily developing a Diversity and Inclusion Strategy which is intended to hold us accountable for making sure we provide an environment that is welcoming, respectful, and inclusive of everybody. We look forward to bringing more news about this once the strategy is launched. Some other important news is that we will be welcoming our new CEO, David Fisher, in June following the
departure of our long-term leader Michael Lennon. David joins us from an organisation called Housing Plus and has many years of experience in leading housing and homelessness services, so we think he is going to fit right in. I hope you enjoy the feature in this edition on the Housing Choices WA art exhibition, our favourite day of the year, which was again, bigger and better than ever. I think you will agree that the standard of artwork exhibited was outstanding and I congratulate all the artists for their talent and courage in being part of this wonderful day. Finally, a huge welcome to Sheryl, our newest Advisory Committee of Tenants member – we are looking forward to having a Bunbury voice in the room to make sure we are being the best we can be in the South West.
Natalie Sangalli General Manager WA
Acknowledgement of Country In the spirit of reconciliation Housing Choices WA acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Noongar boodja (land) where we are based. We acknowledge their connections to land, sea and community and pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Cover: Tenant artist Ben and Dean Baylis Memorial Prize Custodian Ursula.
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