Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healing Foundation Ltd
ABN: 92 140 312 385 Address: PO Box 4363, Kingston ACT 2604
Phone: (02) 6273 0722 Fax: (02) 6273 0431 Email: info@healingfoundation.org.au
MEDIA STATEMENT
FRIDAY 12 FEBRUARY 2010
On the 2nd Anniversary of the Apology by the Honorable Kevin Rudd, MP the Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Healing Foundation Ltd would like to acknowledge the legacy of trauma and grief in Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander communities and the path our people have and continue to walk their journey
of healing.
Minister Jenny Macklin’s announcement on 13 February 2009, that the Australian Government would
invest $26.6 million over four years to establish the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healing
Foundation Ltd to address the healing needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was an
announcement welcomed by many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and non Aboriginal
Australians.
The Board of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healing Foundation Ltd was inaugurated on the 14
December 2009. Its objective is to build capacity and support the development of successful models for
healing. To achieve this goal, the Foundation will focus its interests on the following three areas:
Support and Capacity Building;
Healing Promotion, Education and Training; and
Research & Evaluation.
Since our appointment on the 14 December 2009, we have worked fervently to establish the Foundation to
begin the process of supporting healing initiatives for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the first
people of this land. We look forward to announcing the release of funding applications to community in
the near future.
The Board of the Foundation acknowledges the support given to us by the Australian Indigenous Doctors
Association in particular the CEO, Mr Romlie Mokak and staff for their commitment in establishing the
Foundation and look forward to a continuing a positive partnership as a friend of the Foundation into the
future. We would also like to thank the Minister for Families, Housing, Communities Services and
Indigenous Affairs, Jenny Macklin, MP for her ongoing support in assisting the Foundation in its early
development.
Finally, we look forward to moving beyond the Apology and celebrating the Vision of the Foundation:
Strong Spirit, Strong Culture and Strong People.
The Foundation would also take this opportunity to announce the opening of our Secretariat office in
Canberra.
Secretariat phone number is (02) 62730722 / Media Contact – Ms Florence Onus (Chair) - 0406452337
NEWS 
