This years and eighth annual Dungala Kaiela Oration called on state and federal governments to align themselves with the priorities of the region to drive better outcomes.
The Dungala Kaiela Defining Goulburn Murray Oration is an annual event co-hosted by the Kaiela Institute and the University of Melbourne
This year's oration was delivered by Dr Martin Parkinson PSM, Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.
Executive Chair of the Kaiela Institute, Paul Briggs says that the orations serve to support change management in the region; to stimulate it as an investment proposition for the region as opposed to an intervention engagement of the region.
Dungala and Kaiela are the Yorta Yorta names of the Murray and Goulbunr Rivers that flow through Shepparton and Ithaca, in the heart of the Yorta Yorta peoples land.
The Kaiela orations are part of the expression of the Yorta Yorta peoples and more broadly these orations, according to Paul Briggs, represent: the critical thinking that talks about the future of Indigenous peoples in the social and economic agendas within the region.
They are about, not so much the assimilation of Indigenous people into the mainstream society, but the capacity of the mainstream society to embrace the identity of Indigenous peoples and to show reciprocity in the respect and value of Indigenous culture in mainstream society.