Reserved Seat holder representing Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation

Sean ‘Waikarra’ Fagan

Wadawurrung

I am sick and tired of fighting and crying and sick and tired of seeing my family cry and all the struggle. It is time we can move forward, and it is time for change. 

There’s still a lot to be done, we’ve only just started really, but we’re laying the foundations for a new way of doing things so hopefully there won’t be the heartache of the past for our people. 

It’s a heavy workload, but we owe it to our ancestors and Elders, who have struggled for so long, and for our children and their children, to make this opportunity work. We need to use this process to emphasise our survival, our ownership of this land before the invasion, and of our continued presence and connection to the land. 

We need the people to be part of this process. To tell us what they need. 

Inaugural Speech