NAIDOC Week kicks off with new flag at police station

On Monday, as part of the city's NAIDOC Week celebrations, the Aboriginal Flag was flown outside the station on a new flag pole built specifically for the flag, and Indigenous artwork was hung inside the building.

Bathurst Aboriginal Land Council's Toni-Lee Scott, was among the crowd watching the flag raising ceremony, said it was a special day.

"Today, I believe is a significant day moving forward between police and the Aboriginal community.

"It's about the collaboration and working together and building relationships within the community," she said.

Ms Scott said she commissioned the artwork, which will hang in the foyer of the police station through a friend Victoria Fing.

"I knew the police station was under refurbishment, and I thought it would be nice to have a bit of Aboriginal art within the foyer to make the police station more culturally sensitive and culturally appropriate for Aboriginal people," she said.

The artwork features 17 circles which represents the 17 police stations within the Chifley LAC.

"Victoria did a bit of research and found the 17 police stations, and the idea is we have different nations living here and throughout the Central West, to bring those in as a collaboration."

Chifley's Aboriginal Community Liaison officer, Percy Raveneau said he has been talking about getting the Aboriginal Flag outside the station with the police for a while.

"I said there is the Australian Flag and state flag, we need the Aboriginal flag .

"Bathurst has a big Indigenous population here in the community, we need the flag up to recognise that," he said.

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Superintendent Bob Noble agreed, saying it was symbolic to fly the Aboriginal Flag with the state and national flags.

"It's important recognition of the Aboriginal people, their sovereignty. We also recognise the struggle of Aboriginal people and it's also an acknowledgement the relationship between police and Aboriginal people has, at times been very bad in the past."

He said Chifley Police and Indigenous communities fortunately had a very positive relationship, thanks to the work of the station's Aboriginal Community Liaison Officer Percy Raveneau.

"That's why he's here to help us, and in some cases to help mend fences from previous history and relationships.

"So its great to have members of the community here with police, and I'm thrilled by the art work, which was done by my old friend Victoria Fing from Walgett."

Supt Noble said policing quite often intercepts with people who are suffering.... people who are victims or people coming into the criminal justice system.

He said police also acknowledge many people in Aboriginal communities do it hard.

"We want to try and be part of the process that makes things better for them, I think this recognition is part of that," he said.

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