Kinchela Boys Home Aboriginal Corporation

15/09/2026

And that’s a wrap on COOEE Festival 2026!

A huge thank you to everyone who came along and made this year’s festival so special. We’re a small team, and seeing 12+ months of planning come together on the day makes it all worthwhile.

COOEE continues to grow each year because of the incredible support of our Link-Up NSW staff, Board of Directors, Sponsors, Contributors, Contractors, Suppliers, Performers, Stallholders, Volunteers and most importantly, our community.

A special thank you to Blacktown City Council for supporting us through our first year at Blacktown Showground, and to everyone who helped bring the day to life.

To our deadly entertainment. Our MC Andy Saunders, our dance groups, Djirabitty Dance Group, Djiribba Waguura, Waambul Dancers & Jannawi Dance Clan, and to our incredible artists, Microwave Jenny, Jaymon Bob, Olivia Coe Fox & Neenan Simpson, DJ Donk, Street Warriors, Mi-kaisha, 3% & our headliner Troy Cassar-Daley, we thank you all for sharing stories and culture through music, dance and laughter.

A special thank you to our major sponsors Yarning Crescent and Aboriginal Affairs NSW, alongside all of our sponsors, contributors, workshop providers and suppliers.

And finally, to our community. Thank you for showing up, connecting, celebrating culture and making COOEE what it is.

Thank you for making COOEE Festival 2026 one to remember 🖤💛❤️

We will see you all in 2027!

📸 Ned Mansfield

15/09/2026

We are proud to sponsor the ELDERS Hub at the COOEE Festival

15/09/2026

The Healing Foundation at the weekend COOEE Festival

The Healing Foundation was proud to have a stall at this year’s Cooee Festival in Blacktown.

Our team headed out on Dharug Country to take part in a great celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture organised by Link-Up NSW to connect with the local community.

We had some great conversations at our stall and shared helpful Healing Foundation resources with attendees. Thank you to everyone who chatted with us.

Visit our website's resource hub for valuable information on a variety of topics. Survivors, descendants, and educators will find accessible resources on historical context and advocacy. Policymakers can also gain insights into Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and the experiences of the Stolen Generations, highlighting the need for culturally appropriate services. Link in the comments.

15/09/2026

15/09/2026

An urgent need for Stolen Generations survivors to have access to culturally safe, holistic and trauma‑informed healthcare, aged care and social services has been highlighted in a new report.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare recently released data for 2022-2023 for Stolen Generations survivors and descendants in a report commissioned by The Healing Foundation.

While there are many limitations and gaps in the data, the AIHW says the results “point to priority areas for policy and program response”, noting that survivors have markedly higher rates of disability, psychological distress, and financial insecurity.

The report calls for strong access to quality mental health and social and emotional wellbeing services for Stolen Generations survivors, for efforts to focus on closing “the gap within the gap”, and for financial security for all older Indigenous Australians.

It estimates there were 23,300 Stolen Generations survivors aged 50 and over in 2022-23, although this figure should not be seen as definitive.

Below, Healing Foundation Chair Professor Steve Larkin, a Kungarakan man from Darwin, says the report provides an impetus for governments to finally address the needs of the Stolen Generations, as we approach the 30th anniversary of the landmark Bringing them home report.

Steve Larkin writes:

Updated data revealing the deep harm that Stolen Generations survivors still experience in Australia offers a galvanising opportunity for governments to finally address the landmark Bringing them home report delivered nearly 30 years ago.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s (AIHW) latest national analysis of Stolen Generations survivors aged 50 and over confirms there have been no substantial improvements in their health and wellbeing over the past five years.

Survivors and their descendants continue to face significantly poorer health, wellbeing and socioeconomic outcomes than other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were not removed, even more so compared with non-Indigenous Australians.

Stolen Generations survivors are a top priority group for action, having been affected by Australia’s harshest and most racist policies.

The evidence is indisputable: they experience a ‘gap within a gap’ when it comes to health and wellbeing. Small actions could realise significant benefit.

Meeting survivors’ needs and rights would help honour and heal their experiences and accelerate whole-of-community gains. To do that, survivors and descendants must first be visible (in reporting, programs and funding) for real progress on closing both gaps.

Read Steve’s full editorial in Croakey

https://www.croakey.org/as-we-head-towards-a-key-milestone-for-stolen-generations-survivors-will-governments-finally-act/

Tiffany McComsey
Healing Foundation
AbSec
AH&MRC of NSW
Dave Moore

14/09/2026

DIABETES YARNING..

Join us for a yarn about health, wellbeing and healing at our upcoming Diabetes Yarning Workshop.

This interactive 2-hour workshop is a culturally informed opportunity to come along, have a yarn, learn together and take home useful resources.

13/09/2026

NSW Aboriginal Land Council Today is the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Anniversary

The Declaration is clear. Aboriginal people have the right to culture, Country, dignity, equality, self-determination and a genuine say in decisions affecting our lives.

Yet the NSW Government is pushing through laws that weaken the land rights our warriors fought so hard to secure.

Our rights cannot exist only on paper while governments make decisions without us, weaken our protections, pursue political gains at our expense and treat Aboriginal people as second-class citizens.

UNDRIP requires governments to respect Indigenous rights and involve Indigenous Peoples in decisions affecting them.

We will not stand by while our rights are stripped away.

Today is the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Anniversary

The Declaration is clear. Aboriginal people have the right to culture, Country, dignity, equality, self-determination and a genuine say in decisions affecting our lives.

Yet the NSW Government is pushing through laws that weaken the land rights our warriors fought so hard to secure.

Our rights cannot exist only on paper while governments make decisions without us, weaken our protections, pursue political gains at our expense and treat Aboriginal people as second-class citizens.

UNDRIP requires governments to respect Indigenous rights and involve Indigenous Peoples in decisions affecting them.

We will not stand by while our rights are stripped away.

Our land rights were hard fought. They are not the NSW Government’s to take.

https://www.ohchr.org/en/indigenous-peoples/un-declaration-rights-indigenous-peoples

12/09/2026

If your at the COOEE Festival drop by and say hi to our friends at the AH&MRC of NSW

KBHAC proud sponsors of today’s FESTIVAL ELDERS HUB

11/09/2026

Saturday September 12 KBHAC is proud to sponsor the ELDERS HUB at today’s COOEE Festival noting the Elders lunch is at 1.00 pm today

Tiffany McComsey
AH&MRC of NSW
Healing Foundation

11/09/2026

KBHAC is proud to sponsor the ELDERS HUB at COOEE Festival

🌟 ONE DAY TO GO! 🌟

Just one more sleep until COOEE Festival 2026! Tomorrow, we come together at Blacktown Showground to celebrate culture, community, connection and the incredible voices of our people.

None of this would be possible without the incredible support of our deadly sponsors and contributors.

Thank you for being part of COOEE 2026. We can’t wait to see you all tomorrow! 🖤💛❤️

📍 Blacktown Showground
🗓️ Saturday 12 September 2026
⏰ 10:00am - 6:00pm