The ACT will better recognise the Indigenous history and culture of Weston Creek, one of Canberra’s oldest districts, Weston Creek, after a motion by Labor MLA Dr Marisa Paterson passed on Tuesday.

“In a time when there is a fierce and national public debate leading up to the Voice referendum, I think it is constructive to engage with our local heritage here in the ACT,” Dr Paterson said.

The Weston Creek suburb of Waramanga was named after the Warumungu people in the Northern Territory. The suburb was established in 1968, a year after the historic 1967 referendum that changed the Constitution to count Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as part of the population, and gave the Commonwealth the power to make laws for them.

“The naming of Waramanga was very much riding on the national momentum for change, for recognition, and for equality,” Dr Paterson said.

However, ACTmapi, a search tool that offers information about the origins and importance of place names in the ACT, provides less information about Waramanga streets than it does for other suburbs. The streets are all labelled the same, as ‘name of Aboriginal Tribal Unit’ and the area they occupied.

“ACTmapi lists no history or significance behind the street names in Waramanga, failing to recognise the immense cultural, social, and linguistic history of Indigenous people groups in the ACT and Australia,” Dr Paterson said.

In the 1870s, early white explorers described the Warumungu, a tribal group living near Tennant Creek, as a flourishing nation, Dr Paterson said. However, by 1915, invasion and reprisal had brought them to the brink of starvation. In 1934, a reserve that had been set aside for the Warumungu in 1892 was revoked to clear the way for gold prospecting. By the 1960s, the Warumungu had been entirely removed from their native land.

“The level of detail … is virtually non-existent,” Dr Paterson said. “It’s time to address this administrative oversight and get Waramanga up to speed with the level of detail provided.”

In contrast, Dr Paterson noted, nearby Fisher had short descriptions of the mines and mining towns after which its suburbs were named; Stirling’s Western Australian pioneers had short biographies; and there were lengthy descriptions of colonial ships and explorers in Red Hill.

Newer Canberra suburbs receive more comprehensive coverage, Dr Paterson remarked. Bonner’s streets are named after Indigenous leaders and their supporters; Elphick Place, a cul-de-sac of 10 residences, has a 300-word biography about Gladys Elphick, a campaigner who fought for Aboriginal women and land rights in the 1960s.

Dr Paterson’s motion called for the ACT Government to work with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body and the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) to incorporate pertinent details regarding the street names in Waramanga, and to evaluate the content on ACTmapi to enhance and bolster the cultural identity of the ACT.

The Canberra Liberals supported the motion. Ed Cocks MLA, however, considered it an odd motion to bring forward in the limited time for debate, given it could be dealt with by Dr Paterson approaching the relevant minister to update the relevant entries in the database.

“With only four and a half sitting weeks left this year, what Labor thinks is important enough to take up our very limited debate time is whether a barely used component of a rarely used and less than perfect IT system includes enough information about the origin of the street names in one suburb in our electorate.”

Mr Cocks said that Waramanga residents were more concerned about the health system, traffic congestion, potholes and crumbling local infrastructure, public transport, lack of police, increasing crime rates, and unaffordable housing.

Dr Paterson believes her motion is particularly timely as Australians consider another referendum that could change the Constitution and benefit Indigenous people.

“And today, as we embrace another referendum, it’s worth amplifying our rich ACT heritage, and how it sits alongside and embraces our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage, and how a Yes vote can make the most quiet and subtle of differences for grassroots change,” Dr Paterson said.

Dr Paterson would be interested in speaking to any residents who were around in the late 1960s and who have any further understanding of the decision that was made to name Waramanga after Aboriginal tribal names, and why those particular names were chosen.

Michael Pettersson: ACT Neurodiversity Strategy

Fellow Labor MLA Michael Pettersson was also successful with a motion to calling for the ACT Government to become the first parliament in Australia to develop an ACT Neurodiversity Strategy and to establish an Office for Neurodiversity.

The ACT Government will work with neurodivergent Canberrans, their families and carers, and relevant stakeholders to design the strategy.

“Neurodivergent people often experience barriers to accessing appropriate and quality services, supports, education, employment, and broader social inclusion – all through no fault of their own,” Mr Pettersson said. “Sadly, these barriers can lead to poorer health, wellbeing, and other life outcomes in comparison to other people, and this is not good enough.

“Our community benefits significantly from supporting and learning from neurodivergent Canberrans. Neurodivergent people deserve better from all levels of government, and I am hopeful that we can move the needle forward through the development of a comprehensive ACT Neurodiversity Strategy and the establishment of a dedicated Office for Neurodiversity.

“Both of these measures will complement and interact with the National Autism Strategy (NAS), the ACT Disability Strategy, the ACT Inclusive Education Strategy, and other relevant policies, findings, and recommendations — such as those arising from the Senate Inquiry into ADHD, Senate Select Committee on Autism, and the Disability Royal Commission.”

Jenny Karavolos, co-chair of the Australian Autism Alliance, welcomed  “the forward thinking and commitment for an ACT Neurodiversity Strategy that will enable a whole-of-government coordinated and integrated approach to improving the life outcomes of autistic people and their families in the ACT”.

AW Shim, a neurodivergent person and neurodiversity advocate, said: “As an autistic member of the National Autism Strategy Oversight Council and a disability rights advocate, I welcome the potential support that the ACT Neurodiversity Strategy will provide the development and implementation of the National Autism Strategy. State/territory buy-in will bolster implementation, and an ACT Neurodiversity Strategy will improve outcomes for not only Autistic Australians but also Australians with ADHD, dyslexia, and other co-occurring neurodevelopmental conditions.”