25
SPRING 2016
narratives in the teaching of the
design disciplines themselves.
I couldn’t help but reflect on
how much further down the track
we, in Aotearoa - New Zealand, are
with recognition of Te Reo Maori
as an official language, a Maori TV
channel, iwi radio stations, provision in legislation such as the RMA,
and the whole Waitangi Tribunal
process as a means of investigating
alleged breaches of the Treaty of
Waitangi. We still have a way to go.
Our Australian colleagues also
face the difficulty of the multiplicity of languages and dialects
used by different Aboriginal clans
throughout the continent.
As to the future, the efforts of
AILA led by Anne-Marie Pisani in
staging the symposium is an important first step.
Next steps include a call to action for AILA members to develop
an AILA National Reconciliation
Plan and formalise AILA Victoria’s
‘Connection to Country Committee and its terms of reference.
There may well be a role for
Te Tau-a-Nuku and NZILA to play
in supporting our neighbours in
their efforts to embrace their
indigenous past, present and
future and we need to be ready
to provide such assistance if and
when required.
FACING PAGE:
Using negative
spaces carved
into the balconies,
architects fashioned
a portrait of William
Barak, a 19th
century Ngurungaeta (elder) of the
Wurundjeri people,
into the facade of a
luxury apartment on
Swanston Street in
Melbourne.
ABOVE TOP:
Speakers included
Paul Paton, Mandy
Nicholson, Jefa
Greenaway, Timmah
Ball, Alan Titchener
and Vicki Couzens.