Thursday Three - 10 JULY 2025 

Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are warned that this edition contains an image of a deceased person.

 

  • Vale Professor GA (Tony) Broe AM
  • Flourishing in Later Life: Promoting older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ mental health and suicide prevention
  • #AAGConf25 Conference Workshop featuring the Good Spirit Good Life (GSGL), Centre for Research Excellence (CRE)

 

NAIDOC Week: 6 to 13 July 2025

This week, NAIDOC Week 2025 marks 50 years of celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, resilience, and leadership.

The theme, The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy, honours past achievements and looks ahead to a future led by empowered youth. It emphasises the key tenets of community, self-determination, and the enduring legacy of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Ngarbal Gamilaraay artist, Jeremy Morgan Worrall, describes his artwork and image of NAIDOC Week 2025, Ancestral Lines, as a ‘visual representation of the lines and ties that follow a generation and the songs that come with it.’ 

Find out more about NAIDOC Week events happening in your area at the Celebrating NAIDOC Week website.

Vale Professor GA (Tony) Broe AM

Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are warned that this article contains an image of a deceased person.

As some AAG members, including those on the AAG Community platform, will know, foundational member of the AAG community, Life Member and Past President of AAG, Professor Tony Broe AM, passed away recently after a long battle with cancer.

Professor Broe (Tony) was key in securing funding for the AAG Secretariat, now AAG National Office, from the then Department of Ageing through Minister Julie Bishop. Tony was also a driving force behind what is now the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ageing Advisory Group (ATSIAAG), passionately championing respect and rights for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Tony’s life was characterised by curiosity, compassion, and courage. He started as a student at Sydney University studying anthropology, medicine, and geography before working at several hospitals in Sydney, which nurtured his passion for geriatric medicine and neurology. While actively involved with AAG and the Australian & New Zealand Society for Geriatric Medicine (ANZGSM), Tony also collaborated with the World Health Organization and the Mayo Clinic before spending the final years of his career at Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) and UNSW.

We extend our condolences to Tony’s family. He was a friend and mentor to many. As we mourn the loss of a giant at AAG, we feel grateful for having known him.

Pictured: Professor Tony Broe AM with his Australian Association of Gerontology Life Member Award

Flourishing in Later Life: Promoting older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ mental health and suicide prevention

The AIHW has released a new report: Flourishing in later life: promoting older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ mental health and suicide prevention.

Led and co-authored by AAG members Dr Chontel Gibson (Gamilaraay) and Associate Professor Kylie Radford, as well as Shirley Godwin (Badimaya Yamatji) and Donna Stanley (Gunggari), the report emphasises how Elders and older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people play vital roles in community wellbeing but face complex health and social challenges rooted in colonisation and systemic racism. The report specifically highlights that despite valuable insights shared through living experiences, there is limited action to implement culturally safe, responsive care.

AAG supports the report’s call for more commitment and translational research in this space.

#AAGConf25 Conference Workshop featuring the Good Spirit Good Life (GSGL), Centre for Research Excellence (CRE)

The Good Spirit Good Life (GSGL) framework supports older Aboriginal Australians by measuring wellbeing through 12 culturally significant factors to improve quality of life. Last year’s #AAGConf24 in Hobart featured some fantastic presentations from the GSGL team.

AAG is honoured to announce that the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander conference workshop program will feature GSGL team members presenting the Good Spirit Good Life CRE outcomes regarding wellbeing and spirit for older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The workshop will include an interactive session facilitated by AAG member Professor Dawn Bessarab.

Register today for the AAG 58th Conference in breathtaking Mparntwe / Alice Springs!

Watch this space for more information about #AAGConf25 conference workshops coming soon.