Below is an article published by the Bulletin:

Darumbal elder Dean Edmund sees a long road ahead towards justice for indigenous Australians. Mr Edmund was speaking at a flag-raising ceremony yesterday heralding the start of NAIDOC Week. Mr Edmund said Australian Aboriginals had come a long way since the oppression his people suffered about 50 years ago, but there were still large gaps to bridge. Among the sectors he said needed addressing were health, employment and justice. "The government always seems to go back to maternalism and adopts the 'we know best' point of view.

"Until the government gets it right and gets Aboriginal elders involved in decision-making, these gaps will never be closed," Mr. Edmund said. "I believe initiatives like the income management scheme can work for our people, but remember these things are available for everyone."

Yesterday's celebration at the Rockhampton Town Hall was an opportunity for the Aboriginal community and local stakeholders to come together to celebrate the city's diversity. The year's NAIDOC Week theme is Spirit of the Tent Embassy: 40 Years On. The Tent Embassy was created in 1972 when four men went to Canberra and placed a beach umbrella on the lawn in front of the Old Parliament House and named it the Aboriginal Tent Embassy.