Catherine Liddle, the CEO of SNAICC the National Voice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, joins us for a powerful conversation about the lasting trauma of policy failures.
She tells the incredible story about her family meeting Thomas Mayor and discussing the Uluru Statement from the Heart that he rolled out on the floor of her lounge room. “We could hear the beating of that heartbeat,” she said.
Catherine also shares her insight on how poverty in indigenous communities is often misunderstood as neglect, the damage of covert racism, and why Alice Springs often becomes a political football.
“Everything relates to policy, and we know that the wins are only as good as the government that gets them across the line.”
Catherine Liddle is an Arrernte/Luritja woman from Central Australia. She’s a leading advocate in upholding the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. As CEO of SNAICC – the national voice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, she works to strengthen, represent and amplify the voices of children and families.
Sharon Bessell is a Professor of Public Policy and Director of both the Children’s Policy Centre and the Poverty and Inequality Research Centre at ANU Crawford School of Public Policy.
Arnagretta Hunter is the Human Futures Fellow at ANU College of Health and Medicine, a cardiologist, physician, and a Senior Clinical Lecturer at ANU Medical School.
Show notes / The following was mentioned during this episode
SNAICC – National Voice for our Children
Northern Territory Emergency Response (also known as Northern Territory Intervention)
Beacon of Democracy: The strength of listening – Helen Haines on Policy Forum Pod (2023)
Lessons from South Australia’s Voice to Parliament – Dale Agius on Policy Forum Pod (2023)
Courting change: Indigenous reconciliation – Kate Auty on Policy Forum Pod (2023)
Uncovering the cycle of child abuse in Australia – Daryl Higgins on Policy Forum Pod (2023)
Behind the scenes of change – Rachel Perkins on Policy Forum Pod (2023)
Weaponising Indigenous children for the voice’s no campaign is a distraction from the solutions we need – Catherine Liddle for the Guardian (2023)
Uluru Statement from the Heart
Annual Drinking Water Quality Report – PowerWater (2021)
“Little Children are Sacred” – Northern Territory Government Report of the Northern Territory Board of Inquiry into the Protection of Aboriginal Children from Sexual Abuse (2007)
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