Brenda Matthews, The Last Daughter

Connection is at the heart of what all young people need

At the age of two, Brenda Matthews and her six siblings were taken from their Aboriginal parents and placed into the foster system. Subsequently adopted by a loving White family, Brenda spent six years knowing nothing of her heritage and the family desperately fighting for her return. Brenda’s journey from being part of the stolen generation to becoming an Author, Speaker, Film Director and Indigenous Director of Learning Circle Australia is an inspiring testament to the power of healing and reconciliation.

Brenda Matthews is a proud Wiradjuri woman living with her husband, Mark, in Bundjalung country, Queensland. Brenda co-directed the feature documentary The Last Daughter, which was released in Australian cinemas and on Netflix in mid-2023 to excellent reviews and critical acclaim. The film is based on her beautifully penned book of the same title, and was also released in 2023 to excellent reviews.

Brenda’s journey from being part of the stolen generation to becoming a Mother, Grandmother, Author, Speaker, Film Director, Storyteller and Co-Founder/Director of Learning Circle is an inspiring testament to the power of healing and reconciliation. Her remarkable story, as eloquently portrayed in her debut book and Netflix documentary feature film, “The Last Daughter,” encapsulates heartbreak, love, forgiveness, hope and bringing the Country together.

Professor Cameron Parsell

Ending homelessness requires societal transformation

If we want to do something significant about homelessness in society, we have to confront the unquestioned marketisation of housing and our deeply held values about what housing means and what all people deserve. This is crucial because the changes required to end and prevent homelessness are at the same time changes that will ensure all people live well, and in societies that are more cohesive. The framing of ending homelessness must not pit one group against another but instead see ending homelessness as something that is unifying. It should therefore be front and centre of a more optimistic conversation about how we want to live together. We can articulate this vision as a means of bringing society together rather than splintering it further, based on wealth and identity claims.

Professor Parsell’s work examines multiple forms of exclusion and social harms. His research focuses on the nature and experience of poverty, homelessness, and domestic and family violence. He is interested in understanding what societies do to respond to these problems, and what societies ought to do differently to address them. In collaboration with researchers and partners from not-for-profit organisations, Cameron’s program of research seeks to identify how citizens experiencing exclusion and practitioners working with them can work with governments to bring about systematic societal change.

Cameron has written several books on homelessness, including his most recent: Homelessness, A Critical Introduction which demonstrates that homelessness is a punishing, predictable, yet solvable social problem.

Professor Silke Meyer

Placing young people front and centre in domestic and family violence prevention and healing

Dr Silke Meyer is a criminologist and social worker by training, bringing practical and theoretical expertise to her research, teaching and writing. Her research centres on different aspects of domestic and family violence, including women and children’s safety, wellbeing and recovery, men’s accountability in their role as perpetrators and fathers, experiences specific to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and the role of domestic and family violence-informed practice in child protection, policing and court proceedings. Silke is a subject matter expert for the Raising Children Network and the 1800RESPECT Clinical Governance Committee.

Rebecca Lang

Reducing harms associated with drugs – opportunities for improved system responses to young people

Rebecca is the CEO of the Qld Network of Alcohol and other Drug Agencies (QNADA), the peak organisation for the non-government alcohol and other drug treatment and harm reduction sector in Queensland.

Rebecca has been a member of principal expert advisory body to the Australian Government, the Australian National Advisory Council on Alcohol and other Drugs (ANACAD) since 2017.  Rebecca is also the Chair of the Australian Alcohol and other Drugs Council (AADC) and a member of the advisory board of the National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research (NCYSUR).

Jennifer Thomas

Strengthening Queensland Community services

Jennifer is the Executive President of The Services Union.  Jennifer is responsible for a union membership of over 13, 000 and the union’s overall function including campaigning, membership and industrial relation activities.  Jennifer has worked in the Union Movement for more than 20 years. She has a Commerce degree and as a TSU leader has skills in education, member advocacy, member benefits and digital services. Jennifer has also had extensive advocacy experience in superannuation having campaigned for better retirement outcomes for Members, all working Australians and closing the superannuation gender gap.

Jennifer has been influential in the following campaigns: Portable Long Service Leave for the Queensland Community and Disability Sector, Equal Pay for Community and Social Workers; We Won’t Wait, Stand Up for Super and Get Super Working for Women, Queensland Assets Not for Sale; Sustainable Councils for our Local Government Members; Investing in Quality Community Services; A Just Transition; 27 Ways and Growing; and Make the NDIS the best it can be. Jennifer has also been influential in many local enterprise-bargaining campaigns across Queensland.

Vai Leavaiseeta

Vai is the Domestic and Family Violence Specialist Solicitor with Youth Advocacy Centre (YAC)

PHOTO and BIO coming soon

James Bloomfield

James is the Alcohol and Other Drug  Case Manager and Young and Proud Youth and Family Connect Worker with Open Doors Youth Service.

PHOTO and BIO coming soon

Making Tracks – Expert Panels Featuring Young People

Is ending youth homelessness a realistic aspiration?

What will it take?