Department of Primary Industries: Bigger And Better NRE Centre For Traralgon

The involvement of all sectors of the community and in particular the indigenous community, in managing Gippsland’s natural resources, has been recognised through the extended and refurbished NRE centre in Traralgon.

The centre was opened by the Minister for Agriculture and Aboriginal Affairs, Keith Hamilton on Friday October 25.

Local Indigenous Elders were invited to conduct a traditional welcoming ceremony before the Minister officially opened the new centre. The Minister acknowledged the traditional owners of the land, the Gunai-Kurnai tribe and complimented Indigenous artist, Eileen Harrison, whose artwork has provided the theme for the new facilities.

All the conference rooms in the centre are named after local indigenous clans of the Gunai Kurnai tribe:

‘Kroatungoloong’, ‘Briakoloong’, ‘Tatungoloong’, Bratauoloong’ and ‘Brabroloong’

Minister Hamilton said that the Department of Natural Resources and Environment is recognising the long history of the Gunai-Kurnai people in managing this land before us.

"This work recognises the link between the traditional owners and ourselves as managers and caretakers of our fragile environment," he said.

The overall theme of the new centre is of One NRE, with all the Department’s businesses working together to provide the best delivery of services.

The new and improved information centre will give the community access to books, posters, maps and other resources, including computer access to NRE services on the Web.

It also provides more conference rooms, amenities and facilities for both staff and the community.

"NRE has built strong relationships with the community over many years and facilities like this are an important part of government working in partnership with communities," Mr Hamilton said.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com