8.19 Donna Wright, VIC Donna Wright is a proud Gunditjmara woman and sitting member of the First People’s Assembly of Victoria. She is also the Chairperson of her people’s PBC, Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC.90 During her interview, Donna described her family’s deep connection with her Country, including generational stories and cultural knowledge passed on by her Elders, how sacred Lake Condah (Tae Rak) is to her family, and the history of her mother and siblings being stolen from their home on the Lake Condah mission South West Victoria. Donna recounted how her grandmother had been in hospital with tuberculosis and was not expected to live; her grandfather had been away at work, and the children – her mother and siblings – were being cared for on the mission by family. When her grandfather returned from work the children had been removed and he suffered a breakdown. He spent the rest of his life in a psychiatric hospital, ‘he never recovered from having his children taken’. Donna’s grandmother came out of hospital to find her whole family gone and her home burnt down. She ended up hiding in a school building. Donna views native title as part of the overall land justice picture, where Gunditjmara lore, access to Country, and respect for sacred sites are of the highest importance, and she lamented that the governance arrangements were facilitating neither genuine participation of the PBC members nor traditional decision-making. Donna feels that there is a higher proportion of men in executive positions in native title. She feels that the PBC’s traditional decision-making processes and cultural practices have become a ‘tick box’ process, and that Gunditjmara lore (law), representation in decision-making, and self‑determination and free prior informed consent frameworks need to be implemented within the corporation’s Governance structures. Donna talked about when the PBC went into special administration, emphasising that the administrator cannot make decisions on Gunditjmara lore, culture, and practise on behalf of Gunditjmara people. Donna particularly talked about a tourism development which is close to sacred sites and the Mission. Donna was passionate about ensuring that ‘Gunditjmara people have access to those places under Gunditjmara lore, culture and practise for our children’. She said that there was a feasibility study done in 2008 which recommended not to build in that place and provided other recommended sites. Donna was worried that her mother and her family would no longer be able to access the site, which is an important spiritual place for passing on her cultural knowledge and family history, and to her family’s healing. 104 Women in Native Title: Native Title Report 2024