Council meeting 11089 Questions

FROM Mr John Robertson

Mr. Robertson has not spoken and this topic has not been previously addressed at Public Forum.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) Advisory Committee of Council has for many years had as part of it’s structure an Executive Committee. This has been included in numerous reviews of the Terms of Reference covering several years. However this structural component has not been included in the proposed Terms of Reference for the new committee as endorsed by Council and is considered to have been an administrative oversight.

The draft terms of reference were not tabled at any ATSI Committee meeting prior to being referred to Council for endorsement. If they had have been, this oversight would have been identified and the current unusual action would not be necessary.

The proposed changes to the “Terms of Reference-ATSI Advisory Committee June 09” support and reinforce any general policy of Council. They compliment and strengthen the Core Terms by a specific change to the individual terms of reference. The proposal is that an additional Clause numbered 7 be added to the ATSI terms.

There is nothing within the proposed terms that has not already been included in previous terms or are agreed procedures.

The additional Clause simply allows matters of a culturally sensitive nature to be dealt with in a culturally appropriate way ie. by elected Aboriginal and Torres Strait members only.

I understand that this is a most unusual request; however the reason for bringing this matter to the Public Forum is that the first meeting of the new Committee is scheduled for Tuesday 24 November and it is hoped that the new Executive Committee would be elected that night. If this is not the case, assuming there will be no Committee meeting in December; any recommendations from the new Committee including this change could not be dealt with by Council until February.

Would Council therefore consider an amendment to the “Terms of Reference-ATSI Advisory Committee June 09” by the addition of the attached Clause 7?

7. Chairperson/Deputy Chairperson and Executive Committee

In addition to Core Terms of Reference Clause 6, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Committee has adopted additional structural and procedural components in an attempt to ensure that the business of the Advisory Committee is managed in a culturally sensitive way.

The Executive Committee mechanism allows for issues identified as culturally sensitive to be discussed and resolved according to cultural practice i.e. with only Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people present at the time of discussion.

7.1 The Advisory Committee will vote annually to determine its Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson and Executive Committee.

7.2 The Executive Committee will consist of seven (7) Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander members elected from the Committee. The Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson will be elected from the members of the Executive.

7.3 The Chairperson will chair the entire meeting to ensure consistency.

7.4 If the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson are absent from the meeting the Committee will nominate a Chairperson for the meeting.

7.5 Duties of the Chairperson or Deputy are to:

(i) Chair meetings according to Council’s Code of Conduct, the Terms of Reference and Guidelines and meeting agenda

(ii) Liaise with the Council Officer Convening the Committee to determine the Agenda for each meeting

(iii) Facilitate the discussion of items on the agenda in a timely manner

(iv) Facilitate the moving of recommendations and voting by Committee members

(v) Ensure all committee members have the opportunity to participate

7.6 The role of the Executive Committee is to discuss sensitive issues relating to local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders when the Advisory Committee feels that it is inappropriate for a particular matter to be discussed and voted on by the Committee as a whole.

7.7 If at least five (5) members of the Advisory Committee believe a matter should be dealt with by the Executive, it will be referred to the Executive for decision.

7.8 When the Executive are to discuss a sensitive issue during the course of a normal meeting, non-executive members will be required to leave the room.

7.9 All decisions of the Executive arising from Sub-clauses 7.7 and 7.8 will be relayed to the Advisory Committee or the individual/s concerned as appropriate.

7.10 Where the behaviour of any committee member is of concern, the matter will be referred to the Executive in the first instance. If the matter cannot be satisfactorily resolved by the Executive, or if they consider it is sufficiently serious, the matter will be referred to the Chief Executive Officer of Council for appropriate action.