A group of young Indigenous men living hundreds of kilometres away from home in Newcastle to pursue their dreams have been praised by Linda Burney, the Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians.
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Visiting Newcastle last week, Ms Burney joined Shortland MP Pat Conroy at Kirinari Hostel in Garden Suburb, a "home away from home" for Indigenous men pursuing sporting, academic and artistic goals.
Ms Burney, a Wiradjuri woman, told the group that she was proud of them as First Nations people who were so hard to achieve their goals.
"It's important to remember, there are two things that can never be taken away from you - your Aboriginality and your education," Ms Burney said.
She also encouraged the boys to enrol to vote as soon as they were old enough.
"I didn't enrol to vote until I was 28," she said. "You can't complain about the government unless you vote to have your say."
Head of boarding Lehetta Lane-Porter said some boarders travelled nearly 600 kilometres to live at Kirinari and attend Hunter Sports High and Cardiff High School.
Many are aspiring rugby league players, who hope to follow in the footsteps of previous Kirinari residents such as NRL stars Timana Tahu, Greg Inglis, Jesse Ramien, Tyrone Roberts and Ashley Gordon.
Ms Lane-Porter, who lives on site with her own family, tries to make Kirinari a "home away from home", instilling in the young men family values of respect, responsibility and relationships.
Having lived away from her own parents since age 11, she understood how much they missed their families.
There is also an emphasis on culture at Kirinari.
This year the boys helped raise more than $28,000 for charity by painting the boots of players in the NRL Knights Indigenous boots auction.
Mr Conroy said it was a privilege to be invited into the Kirinari home.
"I'm in awe of these young Indigenous men, living so far from home and working so hard, and I wish them all the best in fulfilling their dreams," he said.
Following the visit to Kirinari House on December 10, Ms Burney and Mr Conroy visited the Centre for Hope at Windale.
There, they were treated to a performance by the One Voice Mob Choir.
The choir is an initiative of the Centre for Hope and includes mostly indigenous children and adults.
They have been invited to sing in South Africa next April and are fundraising to go.
They were unable to afford to go this year. To donate, find the 'One Voice Mob - Cultural Exchange to South Africa' online fundraiser on the GoFundMe website.
Ms Burney rounded out her visit to Newcastle by joining federal MP Sharon Claydon in launching a community petition.
The aim of the petition is to put pressure the government into reversing its decision to relocate the Newcastle and Mayfield Centrelink offices into a consolidated space at Newcastle West.
"This plan will undoubtedly mean budget cuts, diminished services and reduced access for Novocastrians," Ms Claydon said.
Minister for Government Services Stuart Robert said five existing tenancies would be consolidated into a single building at a location in Newcastle's central business district with close links to public transport.
