Tati Tati told us it was a way to bring Elders on-Country, to pass knowledge from generation to generation, to increase knowledge of plants and animals in the ecosystem, and to keep working for Country – like Tati Tati have done for thousands of years. It was an honour to visit this important work.

The team cleared rubbish and fallen trees, replaced invasive weed species with endemic native plants, and cared for the landscape in the same way their ancestors did.

This wasn’t just about restoring the health of Country, it was about restoring the health of Tati Tati people as well.

Under the Aboriginal Culture and Healing Flood Recovery Grant Program – which we administer on behalf of Emergency Recovery Victoria – Tati Tati employed mob as recovery officers, to help restore three key areas of Country.

But for Tati Tati, flooding is a natural part of the river’s lifecycle, and an important aspect of the health of Country.

What wasn’t natural was the human-made destruction that followed the floods. So Tati Tati got to work.

Victoria must be better than this.

The Federation condemns this violence in the strongest possible terms, calls for swift justice for its perpetrators, and confirms our strong support for Camp Sovereignty and all Aboriginal people affected by this disgusting and deeply shameful violence.

They yelled racist abuse and harassment.

They assaulted and injured four people, sending one to hospital.

Aboriginal communities have been under attack from racist brutality for 237 years, and it is abhorrent these attitudes still exist in small, poisonous pockets of our community.

It shouldn’t need to be said that the horrific actions of this small group of neo-Nazi scum have no place in today’s society. Neo-Nazis arrived, unannounced and unwelcome, at an important Aboriginal place of activism, ready to hurt people.

They stomped, gleefully, on the Aboriginal flag.

Now, men at Wulgunggo Ngalu grow and process native spice plants: coastal saltbush, mountain pepperberry, and bush mint (native thyme) – which will soon be available for sale.

As Uncle Troy McDonald said: “A Nation grows strong when it shares ideas as freely as it does food.”

GLaWAC used funding from the Nation Building Resource Pool grant program, to refurbish the former prison nursery and establish a labelling system that respects the Indigenous cultural and intellectual property rights captured in our Traditional Owner Native Foods and Botanicals Strategy.