On Saturday, 1 March 2008, I had the pleasure of representing the Minister for
Mental Health in the other place, Lisa Neville, at the premiere and launch of
Morphed — The Dance of Life at the Warrnambool entertainment centre. It is a
community arts program about the lives of women in our community. The
performance was a combination of several months of hard work by over 200 people,
mostly women, from towns and small rural communities across south-western
Victoria.
Morphed has probably been one of the biggest women’s health
events ever to be organised in south-west Victoria. It is a demonstration that
art — and in this case, performance art — can be a powerful tool for
engagement, building community skills, identifying issues and activating
empowerment.
Congratulations to the women of the south-west who inspired the
stories, the performers, the crew members and the wonderful team of Noelle
Taylor, Jane Hammond, Julianne O’Brien and Rochelle
Campbell. I take this opportunity to thank them for creating an event that was
skilful and heart-rending, taking the audience on a journey that was nothing
short of an emotional roller-coaster. I will certainly treasure the experience
and consider it to be a highlight since my election to this place. I am
delighted to be part of a government that knows the importance of bringing
people together through art, and so building stronger and healthier communities.