Page 1 of 2 RUSI of Australia Website Presentation Transcript
Gender in Defence and Security Leadership:
Welcome to Country
Aunty Jannette Philips of the Ngunnawal people spoke to the Gender in
Defence and Security Leadership Conference in Canberra on 12 March 2013.
The Department of Defence and the Royal United Services Institute of Australia jointly hosted a
conference on Gender in Defence and Security Leadership. Ms Philips’ presentation is captured below in
this transcript.
saw the gentleman in the black, greenish type kilt,
I thought to myself, I wonder if he’s part of Black
Watch? Because apparently part of my people
were crazy Jacobites, and the Camerons, who
were smart enough to get out of the place before
the after-effects of the Battle of Culloden set in?
The other is a … I always say insane Irishman,
but he wasn’t. He was clever, and he lent some
pretty gorgeous genes to our family, particularly
those amazing blue eyes that the Irish have from
time to time.
Defence Photo: Ms Philips)
“One of us lost is all of us lost, and I hope the
Great Spirit blesses their souls and protects their
families from this point onwards.“
I honour my ancient ancestors, the Ngunnawal
people. For tens of thousands of generations, our
people have walked this country. In the last 240
years, we have survived. We did have war
declared against us. We went defeated, like the
Great Chief Joseph of the Americas. He stood up
and he said, I will fight no more forever. And our
people did the same. So for me to be standing
here in front of you as a descendant of my ancient
ancestors, I don’t stand here for myself, but rather
all those that have gone before me, specifically
my parents, both of whom are of Ngunnawal
descent, my grandparents, my great-grandparents.
I tell people I acknowledge these gorgeous pink
cheeks of mine, Highland Catholic Scot. When I
Women in the service, this is what it’s about. I
tell people - I’m hitting the wrong side of 60 young Aboriginal women such as myself, very
few of us escaped from being sexually harassed. I
worked with women in domestic violence and
children and I know the best and the worst. I used
to say to women, in order for us to survive as a
group, just remember men, they’ve got an
overload of testosterone. Bless them, but that’s
part of who they are, and sometimes they lose it,
and we as women, we’re strong. We are brave
and we are courageous, and we are proud to stand
next to our men, and it’s obvious by all the
females in this audience that stand here with
uniforms on. I think that any person that puts on a
uniform that protects me, I’m an ordinary person,
I never get to see people like you, I never get to
meet people like you, so it is such an honour to
stand here and do this welcome for you.
Welcome in a sense is like a blessing, that those
of you who have travelled, whether it’s interstate,
or whether it’s across the oceans, that while you
The aims of the RUSI of Australia are to promote informed debate, and to improve public awareness and understanding, of defence and national security. The views
expressed by speakers are not to be regarded as being endorsed by the RUSI of Australia or its Constituent Bodies. © Copyright by RUSI Australia Inc 2013. Page 2 of 2 are in this amazing country of ours. And it is an
amazing country. It has a spirit that I almost
guarantee that when you leave, there will be a
tear in your eye, because such is the power and
the spirit of this amazing land of ours. I simply
want to say to each and every one of you, thank
you so much.
I have four generations of my family. I have a
granduncle who was in the First World War. My
daddy and his brother were in the 39th Division of
the Second World War. My uncle saw action in
the Korean action and my brother was a Vietnam
conscript. His was one of the first numbers to
come out. All my life I have stood my ground and
have said, no, I’m going to do it properly. I may
not have the money or the resources, but I will do
whatever I can. So for me at this stage to be
standing here is such an overwhelming honour.
A great chieftain once said at a youth conference,
men, I charge you with the responsibility of
caring for yourselves, for you are the father of
nations. And to the women, he said the same
thing, young girls they were. Look after
yourselves, for you are the mother of nations.
And I know that the Defence community is a
family, a very powerful, strong family. The price
of peace at the moment is too high. Someone
once said, if you really want to understand peace,
ask a soldier, and I faithfully believe that.
Thank you so much for this invitation. I see
Welcome to Country also as being part of the
National Apology that took place five years ago,
and I also see it as part of reconciliation for
modern-day Indigenous persons. Having said
that, I want to conclude with these words. For
those of you who have travelled, maybe here for
the first time, Canberrans, we’re wonderful
people. Generous, gregarious, and we did top the
intelligence test when it was run. But, hey, if we
belong to Mensa, I don’t care. But something
happens to us when we get in a car. We actually
lose our freaking minds. I think it’s to do with the
roads. We do have wonderful roads here, and we
call this certain hour that just passed, the public
service rush. Public servants truly believe that
when they walk out their door, jump in their car,
hit that road, that lane is theirs. They own it. They
will not give up for anybody, including crossings.
Don’t think the crossings are safe here in
Canberra - they’re not. We will run over you. As
for lights, you know the famous thing abut
orange, red lights? We run red lights. I really
don’t know what it’s about. I think they are so
far, like all plans that they have. But do be careful
on the road, and I don’t say this lightly.
There was a beautiful Aboriginal woman,
approximately eight years ago, who came to
Canberra from Western Australia, and she wasn’t
even in Canberra half an hour after arrival, she
went downstairs, after the Bringing Them Home
report, I think it was, and within a half an hour,
she’d been run over at Manuka. So don’t go to
Manuka, irrespective of the gorgeous cafes
they’ve got there. I do mean that, they do have
wonderful cafes.
Please, I hope that you all come to a successful
outcome, successful conclusion. I know in the
‘80s, the big word was empowerment and
networking, so while you all have the
opportunity. I can look out amongst you and
there’s very few of you who are older than my
eldest son, who turned 50 yesterday.
From my heart, absolutely from the bottom of my
heart, all those who stand on watch to protect me
and people like me, I thank you. I thank you, I
thank you. Have a wonderful symposium,
conference, talk-fest, network like mad. Because
you’ll be amazed - there might be a lifelong
friend just hidden around the room here
somewhere for you. I say openly and honestly
with all my heart to welcome you and to give you
a blessing, welcome, welcome, welcome and
thank you.
Biography: Aunty Jannette Philips is an elder of the Ngunnawal People. The aims of the RUSI of Australia are to promote informed debate, and to improve public awareness and understanding, of defence and national security. The views
expressed by speakers are not to be regarded as being endorsed by the RUSI of Australia or its Constituent Bodies. © Copyright by RUSI Australia Inc 2013.