Item 9.2 - Attachment 1 |
Minutes Special Meeting
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Committee |
MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL
ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING HELD IN
THE DAN MAHONEY MEETING ROOM ON THE 2ND FLOOR OF THE COUNCIL CHAMBER
BUILDING, PARRAMATTA ON WEDNESDAY, 30 MARCH 2011 AT 6:16PM
______________________________________________________________
PRESENT
John
Robertson in the Chair, Bruce Astill, Donna-Lee Astill, Doug Dejardines, Marcia
Donovan, Councillor Mark Lack, Phil
Russo, Anne Stonham and Douglas Wilson.
IN ATTENDANCE
1 APOLOGIES
An apology was received and
accepted for the absence of Greg Stonham.
2 NAIDOC 2011
PROGRAM
A copy of information pertaining to the NAIDOC 2011
Program Proposal had previously been circulated to members. A copy of the
information is appended as Attachment 1.
The proposal included:-
1. The
expansion of the Flag Raising and the Library workshop program;
2. The replacement of Burramatta Family
Fun Day with a Fellowships Program for young achievers in schools and other
educational settings;
3. An annual formal reception hosted by
the Lord Mayor for individuals and organisations who contribute to the
promotion and appreciation of Indigenous culture with the LGA;
4. Annually recorded video interviews with
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders.
Maggie Kyle advised that the matter was listed for
discussion at this meeting, following which a report would be prepared for
consideration at the Council Meeting to be held on 27 April 2011.
Mr Kevin Brennan, Acting Manager Major Events
introduced himself, provided his background and noted that his team was
responsible for logistics and funding of major events.
Mr Brennan advised the strategic intent behind
Council’s Major Events including increasing visitation to
Mr Brennan added that the Burramatta Family Fun Day
was not delivering on the strategic intent of Major Events. He added that this
was not to say the event was not a good event, just that it was not meeting the
Council’s strategic goals for Major Events.
Accordingly, an alternative NAIDOC 2011 proposal had
been prepared (as distributed earlier) for discussion by the Committee. The
NAIDOC budget would remain the same as in previous years.
Kerry Nettle then provided a framework on each of the
4 proposals and sought comment from the Committee on the suggestions. Ms Nettle
added that the proposals had been devised following discussion with other
NAIDOC Committees and other councils.
DISCUSSION
Members of the Committee advised/commented as
follows:-
· Who had prepared the Program Proposal? (Response from Staff: A joint effort between Community
Capacity and Major Events).
· The Advisory Committee and the NAIDOC Committee had never
been notified that the event was required to meet stipulated strategic intents;
· Feedback on the past 4 NAIDOC celebrations had been
provided to Council. (Response from Staff: Whilst
feedback had been provided, a formal review of the celebrations as a Major
Event had never been undertaken. All Major Events were subject to review.)
· The content of Item 3 of the distributed documented
(which indicated the Burramatta Fun Day had ‘achieved low attendance and
numbers and has failed to deliver on stipulated strategic social, community and
economic outcomes for the city’) was strongly disputed.
Members considered the day had been well
attended, successful, had proven an excellent opportunity for networking and
provided an opportunity for all members of the community to learn about
Aboriginal culture.
· Plenty of fellowships were already available in the
Aboriginal Community but were not utilised due to the lack of information on
their existence. Council would be better served by employing an Aboriginal
Project Officer who could help the community access already available funding
and scholarships.
· Parramatta has a strong and historic association with
Aboriginals including the first public apology to Aboriginals and even
Council’s logo. An action to remove the Burramatta Fun Day would be a
retrograde step and would have a detrimental effect on the wider Aboriginal
community and on Council’s reputation in relation to reconciliation.
· It was raised that a change of classification from
Major Event would then require the event not to meet the stipulated strategic
intent.
· A comparison of NAIDOC with Australia Day and
Parramasalla was inappropriate on funding grounds (with the latter noted as being
State assisted).
· The limited time frame adopted between notifying the
Committee and reporting to Council could not be termed ‘consultation’.
· The Committee as its first preference wishes to
retain the Burramatta Family Fun Day.
Ms Kyle noted the Committee’s strong desire to retain
the Burramatta Fun Day and asked if the Committee wanted to propose that the
day could/should be improved rather than dropped.
The Committee emphasised its preference for the Day
to be retained as is, but suggested that better advertising and a focus on
workshops may be beneficial.
The Committee suggested that better advertising of
the day and a focus on workshops may be beneficial.
Kerry Nettle advised the Committee that, given their
response, she was not sure of the process needed regarding submitting the
Council report for the April meeting and would seek advice from Senior
Management.
Maggie Kyle advised the Committee she would contact
them as soon as possible to let them know the next steps in the process and to
organise another meeting if necessary or if members requested one.
RECOMMENDATION (Robertson/A Stonham)
That the
Aboriginal and
1. The
cultural and historical importance of the Day to the Aboriginal Community and
the reconciliation process;
2. The
reasons for not proceeding with the Day are based on falsehoods as contained in
Item 3 of Attachment 1 especially in relation to low attendance numbers;
3. The
organisers of the Day had never been notified of the stipulated criteria for a
Major Event;
4. Monies
were already available in the Aboriginal Community for fellowships and
scholarships but were not being utilised due to lack of communication on their
existence;
5. Last
year’s NAIDOC celebrations were the most successful to date;
6. NAIDOC
should be judged on Community Capacity criteria rather than criteria
established for the holding of a Major Event;
7. Cancellation
of this Day would have a negative impact on Council’s strong reconciliation
reputation; and
8. The
consultation timeframe for the possible cancellation of the Burramatta Family
Fund Day had been extremely minimal.
The meeting
terminated at 7.43pm.