The Truth-telling and Healing Inquiry Members visited the Torres Strait to consult with the community and key stakeholders. This was the first regional activity of all Inquiry Members together since the Inquiry started on 1 July 2024.
The visits started conversations to help the Inquiry understand how people wish to engage and participate in sessions and hearings. These conversations will help shape the Inquiry’s approach in the Torres Strait, as they aim to explore and share a more complete picture of Queensland’s history.
The Inquiry visit was led by Member Vonda Malone, former CEO of the Torres Strait Regional Authority. The visit incorporated several meetings, activities and a community event on the islands in the week of 2 September 2024.
Member Malone said that community engagement and consultation is critical to the Inquiry.
“The Inquiry Members are committed to speaking with community members, Elders, and key stakeholders to ensure we understand how people would like to engage with us to share their stories as part of this Inquiry,” she said. “I am grateful for the time that people in our community took to spend with the Inquiry Members during this visit.”
“The Truth-telling and Healing Inquiry will allow us to appropriately take-away the layers of band aids to reveal parts of our history we may not have known about, to learn and better understand unanswered questions for that greater knowledge of our history,” she added.
Inquiry Chairperson Joshua Creamer stated, “The Inquiry is committed to working with all Queensland communities to build processes and opportunities to connect with Aboriginal peoples, Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous peoples to hear and record experiences.”
Community event
The Community event on Thursday 5 September at Port Kennedy Hall, Waiben (Thursday Island) was well attended.
Member Malone said, "We can put the pieces together and bring them to light."
“This visit is now so important because it’s engaging with the Torres Strait,” said Member Malone.
“It’s like putting the jigsaw puzzle together. This is all about truth-telling and some of those stories have never been heard.”
Chair Creamer explained that four elements were critical to the Inquiry – a culturally informed approach, that is trauma informed, with free prior and informed consent and data sovereignty.
“We work, in some ways, like a court. What comes before the Inquiry will be evidence. And like a court, we want to make findings about that evidence. But this needs to be done in a trauma-informed and culturally appropriate way.”
Chair Creamer talked about the Terms of Reference which guides the Inquiry on what it will examine. He said that today was an introduction and in coming months we will encourage people to talk to the Inquiry, and there would be different ways to share experiences and evidence.
A Truth-telling hearing, which is more formal, is just one of the ways the Inquiry can receive information from participants. Information about upcoming hearings are available on the Events section.