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Aboriginal Groups receive Sydney Peace Prize from Arundhati Roy

By Nancia Guivarra

5 November 2004 - Representatives from Mudgingal Aboriginal Women's Group in Redfern, ACT's Youth support service, The Connection and the Ceduna Aboriginal Women's Group, Weena Mooga Gu Gudba Incorporated received their controversial donations of the Sydney Peace Prize funding of $50,000 from Indian writer, Arundhati Roy last night in a glitzy black tie dinner at the University of Sydney.

NSW Member for Canterbury, Linda Burney gave a welcome to country and stressed the need for ongoing acknowledgement of Indigenous people's rights in Australia.

Roy received the award from NSW Governor Marie Bashir, and then presented cheques to the Weena Mooga Gu Gudba Incorporated's CEO and Chairperson, Avis Dunnet and Gwen Miller, to the ACT youth substance abuse program The Connection's John Van Den Dungen and to Redfern's Mudgingal Aboriginal Women's Service's Bronwen Penrith and Dixie Gordon (from Redfern Legal Centre).

Avis from Ceduna was overwhelmed by the gift and the night's gala proceedings saying, "I never expected anything like this". Chairperson, Gwen said that the money given to them would go towards implementing a new women's program the details of which Weena Mooga Gu Gudba's board would decide later. The Connection's youth representative, John said the money would help the Connection to pay wages to people who are currently staffing their youth support service on a voluntary basis.

Arundhati Roy, was graceful and humourous in her acceptance of the award and denouced the Australian government's participation in a war which she described as "cowardly". After the award was then presented she shared dessert at the table of the Indigenous groups and graciously signed autographs and posed for photographs.

The swanky black tie dinner presentation of the award, at $350 per ticket, was attended by many corporations and parliamentarians including DAA's Director, Jody Broun who was involved in the selection of the groups who received the award, the NSW Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Dr Andrew Refshauge and Sydney Peace Foundation Advisor, NSW Magistrate Pat O'Shane.

Source: ABC, Message Stick Online

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