Media Release
25 January 2023
As we approach 26 January, we recognise that for a great many of our community this public holiday, one that was only established 29 years ago, is anything but a cause for celebration.
On 26 January 1788, the first fleet landed on the shores off Botany, New South Wales in what we now have come to know as Australia, beginning a journey of violent dispossession, erosion of human rights, and loss that is still deeply felt to this day.
As an organisation Positive Life NSW stands with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, and acknowledges the profound impact that colonisation and injustice still has on health and wellbeing outcomes.
“For many of us, and many other Australians,” said Positive Life NSW Aboriginal Health Project Officer, Michelle Tobin, “this date can’t be seen as anything other than a day of mourning for the First Nation’s Peoples. It is a day where we mourn the losses of our brothers and sisters, our culture and family connection. It is a day of resistance and survival.”
We need to actively dismantle injustice, and the inequities in health and quality of life so that no one is left behind.
Sovereignty was never ceded. Always was, always will be Aboriginal land.
—
Gadigal Country / Warrang / Sydney
Invasion Day Protest – Monday 26 JANUARY 2022 – 9.30am – Belmore Park
Yabun Festival – Monday 26 JANUARY 2022 – 12pm – Victoria Park, Broadway
Yabun has been celebrating the survival of Aboriginal cultures and identity on 26 January for over 20 years. A live stream will be available at yabun.org.au or you can listen on Koori Radio 93.7FM.
Make sure to visit the stall we are sharing with our friends at SWOP, and Hepatitis NSW.
We are there all day from 12pm, so come grab some resources and have a yarn with our Aboriginal Health Project Officer Michelle Tobin about the services we provide at Positive Life NSW.
If you need peer-centred support or information, call Positive Life on (02) 8357 8386 or 1800 245 677 or visit www.positivelife.org.au.
###
MEDIA CONTACT:
Jane Costello, CEO – 1800 245 677 or email communications@positivelife.org.au
Positive Life NSW is the voice of all people living with HIV in NSW since 1988. We are the largest peer-led and run representative body of all people living with HIV in Australia based in NSW. We make a significant contribution to and positive impact across the spectrum of health and social issues on behalf of all people living with HIV in collaboration with HIV specialist and mainstream services to improve the health and quality of life of all people living with HIV in NSW. We do this through evidence based health promotion, research, policy advice and peer support.
