Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — This week my office has had the pleasure of hosting the lovely Alishia Mason from Portland Secondary College. Alishia has made a large effort to stay in Melbourne with some friends for her week with us, which is great. Alishia is a year 10 student and has interests in economic development, women’s rights and equality, to name just a few, and she has been a real benefit to our office this week. So thank you for working with us, and congratulations on working out how to get out of Parliament station this morning!
Ms PATTEN — Last Friday I had the privilege of attending the closing night of the annual theatre production at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre. It was called The Storyteller, and it featured the women performing songs, dances, poems and raps, with many of them telling how their lives led them to prison. There was some great humour but also some really tragic stories of mental health, abuse and homelessness. Most of the women have suffered substance abuse, and it was somewhat confronting to hear their stories of home life and incarceration. Thank you to Somebody’s Daughter Theatre Company for working with the women to create yet another successful play and art exhibition. Women I spoke to after the show all acknowledged the amazing healing benefits of creatively exploring their stories.
