Item 11.2 - Attachment 1 |
Minutes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Advisory Committee Meeting 20 April 2010 |
MINUTES OF THE ABORIGINAL
AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING HELD IN ROOM C LEVEL
2, COUNCIL CHAMBER, PARRAMATTA ON TUESDAY, 20 APRIL 2010 AT 6.11 PM.
__________________________________________________________________________
PRESENT
Bruce
Gale in the Chair, Donna-Lee Astill, Bruce Astill, Phil Bradley, Doug
Desjardines, Marcia Donovan, Lyn Leerson, Councillor Chiang Lim, Linda
McDonald, Annie Nielsen, Jay Palmer, Gilson Saunders, John Robertson, Anne
Stonham and Greg Stonham.
IN ATTENDANCE
Robin Bradfield – Convenor,
1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF TRADITIONAL OWNERS THE DHARUG
PEOPLE
Gilson Saunders made a Welcome to
Country, recognising that the land upon which the meeting was being held is
Dharug and paying respect to Elders past and present.
2 WELCOME & INTRODUCTIONS
Ian Fitzgerald, Manager Human
Resources, introduced himself to the Committee as did John McInerney, Service
Manager –
Human Resource Issues
Mr Fitzgerald advised that he was
in attendance at tonight’s meeting at the invitation of the Committee to
discuss the following issues:-
1. The Local
Government target for Aboriginal employment;
2. Staff participation
in the Advisory Committee; and
3. Staff
cultural awareness training.
Target for Aboriginal Employment
Mr Fitzgerald advised that there
was a 3% national and 2.6% NSW target for Aboriginal employment, however, this
target was not mandatory for local government. He added that there were a
number of options available to Council to increase opportunities for Aboriginal
persons including the advertising of job vacancies with agencies with an
Aboriginal specialisation.
Linda McDonald commented that the
Elsa Dickson Programme may be of assistance and was of the opinion that the
Federal Government had legislated the Aboriginal employment target through this
programme.
Councillor Lim noted that the Elsa
Dickson Programme had 5 different categories, not all of which contained
permanent positions.
Mr Bradley advised that the
Committee would like to be informed how Council was performing against this
guideline. Mr Robertson added that whether the percentage was mandatory was not
significant as Council should be aiming higher in any event. He further
expressed his frustration at the Committee being unable to obtain EEO figures
from Council and questioned whether Council was meeting its obligations in this
regard.
Mrs Stonham spoke passionately in
relation to the need for 2.6% of positions within Council needing to be
reserved for Aboriginal employment.
Councillor Lim cautioned that any
resolution by the Committee to reserve 2.6% of positions at Council for
Aboriginal persons could be misinterpreted or ignored.
Mr Fitzgerald indicated that the
Council should not be limited by any target and suggested that the issue could
be dealt with via an Aboriginal Employment Strategy.
The apparent problem of retention
and subsequent replacement of Aboriginal workers was also discussed together
with the possible introduction of mentor/apprenticeship schemes. Mr Gale
particularly expressed concern that the Committee were never advised when and
why staff had left Council’s employ.
Staff Participation in Aboriginal and
In relation to ensuring attendance
by relevant staff at Committee Meetings, Mr Fitzgerald suggested that invitations
and articles could be included in Council newsletters.
Mr Gale noted that the requirement
for the Aboriginal Community Worker to attend Committee meetings had been
deleted from the relevant job description.
Staff Cultural Awareness Training
Mr Fitzgerald advised that such
training could be provided and suggested the possible introduction of a pilot
programme.
Mr Bradley noted that the TAFE ran
a satisfactory, though basic, awareness course.
Mr Robertson expressed concern
that a consultant had previously been engaged in relation to this issue without
reference to the Committee for advice as to what type of training needed to be
provided and on the areas that needed addressing. He noted that there appeared
to be a communication breakdown between Council and the Committee and stressed
that culturally sensitive issues should be referred to the Committee.
Ms Stonham noted that any training
would be beneficial for Committee members as well as staff.
Aboriginal Employment Strategy
Mr Gale noted Mr Fitzgerald’s
comments in relation to the creation of an Aboriginal Employment Strategy and
advised that Ms Pinckham had previously undertaken the strategy.
Mr Fitzgerald advised that he
would be delivering a Human Resources Strategic Plan which would include a
workforce plan and the issue of Aboriginal Employment would be addressed in
this document.
Mr Robertson commented that there
was no need to ‘reinvent the wheel’ and suggested that the Committee be
provided with advice on works previously undertaken for discussion purposes.
Mr Desjardines requested that
David Gray from the NSW Fire Brigades also be approached to provide information
or a presentation on Aboriginal Employment.
The Committee thanked Mr
Fitzgerald for his attendance.
3 APOLOGIES
An apology was received and accepted for the absence of Phil
Russo and Doug Wilson.
4 CONFLICT OF
INTERESTS
There were
no conflicts of interest at this meeting.
5 LGAN 2010 PLANNING – Theme – Supporting
Young Leaders
Mr
McInerney advised that Council Staff had met with LGAN Executives to discuss
the issues raised at the previous Committee Meeting.
The LGAN
Committee was pleased with the information provided and stressed that “quality
rather than quantity” was desired at the conference and asked that focus be
placed on those workshops and services most desired.
Accordingly,
invitation letters had been drafted to VIPs, presenters and sponsors and would
be forwarded in the near future.
In
relation to site visits, the Executive had suggested that these occur on the
Tuesday afternoon with Wednesday and Thursday to be left for the actual
conference. The Chairman, Mr Towney, had also requested that site inspections
be limited to
RECOMMENDATION (McDonald/Robertson)
Bearing in mind the significance and respect held for
the Prospect Hill site and its association with Pemulwuy, that this site be
retained for a site visit.
Mr
McInerney then asked for the Committee’s preference to carry out the Welcome to
Country and to open the Conference.
The
Committee agreed that Aunty Edna carry out the Welcome to Country (or provide
an appropriate nominee) with Uncle Wes to carry out the Smoking Ceremony.
The
Committee also asked that attendance invitations be extended to Brian from
Rotary and Marie Wilson from the Oral Health Centre.
Mr
McInerney advised that he would be meeting with Epic on Thursday, 22 April 2010
to provide an update and to further discuss scheduling issues.
Councillor
Lim noted that the General Manager for the Western Sydney Region, HousingNSW,
had expressed an interest in being involved with both NAIDOC and the
conference.
6. CONFIRMATION
OF MINUTES
A copy of
the minutes of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Committee
Meeting held on 23 March 2010 had previously been forwarded to each member.
RECOMMENDATION (Bradley/McDonald)
That the minutes of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Advisory Committee Meeting held on 23 March 2010 be taken as a true
record of the meeting subject to the following alterations:-
1. Mr John Robertson had submitted an
apology for his non attendance at this meeting.
2. The words ‘asked whether’ are
duplicated on page 4, second last paragraph.
3. The word ‘sit it on’ on page 5 under
the heading Aboriginal Employment Strategy should read ‘sit in on’.
7. BUSINESS
ARISING
Railcorp
Mr
McInerney advised that no response had been received from RailCorp as yet. He
added that a recommendation had been placed on the agenda for the Council
Meeting to be held on 27 April 2010 requesting that a letter be forwarded to
the Minister for Transport seeking support for the advertising of NAIDOC Week.
Subject to adoption by Council of the recommendation, the letter would be
forwarded shortly thereafter.
Aboriginal Employment Strategy
Linda
McDonald noted Councillors Lim’s request at the previous meeting for the
Committee to prepare a ‘wish list’ of items the Committee wished to achieve.
Ms
McDonald tabled previous minutes of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Advisory Committee which provided details on this issue.
Mr
Robertson noted that Committee members had also presented to the Council at the
Councillor
Lim noted that he was just seeking a simple dot point list of items the
Committee wished to achieve.
Greek Flag Raising Ceremony
Mr Gale advised
that the Aboriginal Flag had not been flown at the recent Greek Flag Raising
Ceremony and he had subsequently been advised that it will not be flown for any
future events with the exception of NAIDOC Week.
Councillor
Lim advised that in his experience, the Aboriginal Flag had not been raised at
ceremonies for other cultures.
Mr Gale
was of the opinion that the Aboriginal Flag had been flown at many similar
ceremonies over the past 3 years.
Domestic Violence Against Kids Campaign
Mr
Bradfield advised that the Eels were unaware of the campaign when contacted by
Council recently.
Mr
McInerney noted that Council would be engaging with the Eels in relation to
LGAN, NAIDOC and Closing the Gap and accordingly, the matter would be raised at
that time.
Mr
Saunders advised that he had held extensive conversations with an Eels
representative on this issue and the only reason the campaign had not proceeded
previously was due to the overseas commitments of certain players. He added
that he would pursue the matter.
Mr
McInerney advised that correspondence had now been received from the General
Manager of the Parramatta Correctional Centre and further, that letters had
been signed and forwarded to WorkCover as requested.
Executive Committee
The issue
of membership of the Executive Committee had been deferred pending the
attendance of both the Chair and Deputy Chair of the Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander Advisory Committee.
Mr
Robertson provided a background on this issue and added that he had spoken at a
recent Council Meeting and outlined the sections he would like to see
reinstated into the Terms of Reference for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Advisory Committee.
The
Committee discussed the intent of the recent resolution by Council pertaining
to this issue and reiterated its desire to see the Executive Team reinstated.
RECOMMENDATION (Desjardines/Robertson)
That the following addition to the Terms of Reference
for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Committee relating to
the Executive Committee, as proposed by Mr Robertson at the Council Meeting
held on 9 November 2009 , be adopted:-
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
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
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:
1 Chair meetings according to
Council’s Code of Conduct, the Terms of Reference and Guidelines and meeting
agenda
2 Liaise with the Council
Officer Convening the Committee to determine the Agenda for each meeting
3 Facilitate the discussion
of items on the agenda in a timely manner
4 Facilitate the moving of
recommendations and voting by Committee members
5 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
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.
Note
Names of the Executive Committee will be forthcoming
subject to the adoption of the above clause.
8. NAIDOC
Planning Committee
Mr Gale
noted that the NAIDOC Sub Committee had met on Tuesday 13 April 2010 and
provided details on the issues discussed. A copy of the minutes taken at that
meeting will be circulated to members under separate cover.
Mr Geoff
Miller will advise members of the Sub Committee’s next meeting date, such date
likely to be on the Tuesday preceding the next meeting of the Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander Advisory Committee.
9. General
Business and Information Sharing
The Aged Rights Service (TARS)
Mr
Saunders tabled a brochure for TARS – a specialist community legal centre
providing advocacy in NSW for the residents of Commonwealth subsidised nursing
homes and hostels and recipients of community aged care packages.
Community Grant
Ms Neilson
advised that Reconciliation of Western Sydney had applied for community grant
funding in the amount of $3100 on behalf of
Ms Leerson
noted that the proposal related to a longer term mural project. Ms McDonald
noted that she had acted as an education consultant in relation to this
project.
Acknowledgement to Country at The Hills Shire
Meetings
Ms Leerson
noted that The Hills Shire Council had voted to carry out the Acknowledgement
to Country at its Council Meetings. Apparently a notice of rescission had been
lodged in an attempt to overturn this decision.
Channel 7 Site at
Mr Wilson
asked that Mr Gale prepare another letter in association with the Channel 7
site at
Aboriginal Artefacts at Meriton Site
Mr Bradley
noted that some 20,000 Aboriginal artefacts had been found at the Meriton
Apartments site in
Reconciliation Walk and Conference
Mr Bradley
advised that a reconciliation walk and concert would be held on Saturday 22 May
2010 at 12 noon at the
Success Stories in Indigenous Health
Mr Bradley
donated a book entitled ‘Success Stories in Indigenous Health’ for the
Parramatta Library and commended the book to all.
Communication between Aboriginal and
Councillor
Lim questioned whether the minutes of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Advisory Committee were unwittingly altered by staff to convey a different
message to Council and suggested that it may be beneficial for the minutes to
adopted by the Advisory Committee prior to being forwarded to Council.
Mr
Robertson advised that the issue was not with the minutes and added that they
were not endorsed minutes until adopted by the Committee in any event. He
suggested, however, that the covering report may not reflect the issues important
to the Committee.
Councillor
Lim suggested that he could approach the CEO with a view to the endorsing
report being signed off by the Committee.
Mr
Robertson indicated such action could result in delays due to the timing of
Council and Committee meetings.
Mr
McInerney added that the covering report was not an interpretation of what
happened at meetings but rather a simple summary of what was discussed.
Mr
Robertson further added that there appeared to be a breakdown between the
minutes being adopted and action being taken on the resolutions. He referred to
previous requests for EEO statistics and cross cultural training which seem to
have been ignored.
Great North Walk
Ms Neilson
advised that approval had been given to extend the Great North Walk to include
Photographs for Inclusion in NAIDOC Flyers
Ms
McDonald tabled photographs of Aboriginal dancers for use in NAIDOC flyers and
requested that they be provided to Geoff Miller.
John
McInerney requested that the issue of
Flying of Aboriginal Flag Upside Down
Mr
Desjardines expressed his disappointment at the Aboriginal Flag having been
flown upside at a recent Torch Relay function.
The
meeting terminated at 8.35 pm.