A conversation about Australia Day
At the first Chairman's 20 event for 2021, Chairman Kate Lamont AM invites our Gold and Silver members to hear from guest speaker Dr Richard Walley OAM and 2021 WA Senior Australian of the Year.
The Committee for Perth is committed to reconciliation and this roundtable event offers members the opportunity to engage in discussion on an important issue – the date which Australia Day is celebrated.
Richard will share his views on why the date needs to change so that it is the celebration of nationhood rather than colonialisation.
Meet our speakers and panellists
Dr Richard Walley OAM
Dr Richard Walley OAM is a Noongar man and one of Australia’s leading Aboriginal performers, musicians and writers.
Richard is a working director of his family-owned business, Aboriginal Productions and Promotions, which delivers cultural awareness and learning programs and has been in operation for over 25 years. Richard is a committed leader in the promotion of Noongar culture, and has extensive experience working alongside Australian and international organisations as a cultural consultant and presenter. Richard lectures on Aboriginal culture at UWA and is a regular host and participant at significant public and cultural events in Perth and the South West.
In 1978, Richard formed the Middar Aboriginal Theatre which has since taken Noongar culture to 32 countries. It is estimated more than 10 million people have experienced a live performance from Middar, contributing to the company’s win of the 1988 Gold Swan Tourism Award. In 2015, Richard was named a State Living Treasure from the Western Australia Department of Culture and the Arts for his lifetime contribution to arts and culture.