COAG Indigenous Trials
News
Page Summary
This page contains news stories related to the COAG Indigenous Trials and the individual Trial Sites. Story headlines are featured in the page contents list below and will link to the main story.
If you are looking for old news items visit our archived news page.
Three new SRAs for Murdi Paaki Region
On 6 April 2005 three new Shared Responsibility Agreements (SRAs) were entered into in the NSW COAG trial site of Murdi Paaki. The three new SRAs add substantially to the momentum being built in the Murdi Paaki region, and include:
- an agreement to trial air cooling in the region through the retrospective installation of evaporative air cooling units in community owned Indigenous housing;
- a local agreement to establish an Aboriginal Women’s Homemaker Programme which will allow the Ngemba women of Brewarrina to contribute to the overall wellbeing of the Brewarrina community; and
- a local agreement signed with the Enngonia Community Working Party to support the continued engagement of local secondary students by providing distance education up to Year 10, where previously students have had to travel long distances to access high school.
More information:
Community consultation officers in Halls Creek
DOTARS has recently appointed two new community consultation officers who will be based out of Halls Creek. These officers will work with communities on the ground to develop and implement projects, shared responsibility agreements, and to undertake other activities as required.
Additional staff appointed to the Tasmanian COAG Trial team - April 2005
The Australian Government has appointed two additional staff to the Tasmanian COAG Trial team: two Aboriginal men will be closely involved with Trial site communities in developing Shared Responsibility Agreements. To facilitate closer day-to-day working within the Trial site, an office has been established in Launceston where one of the newly appointed Community Project Workers will be based, with other team members also strengthening links through working together on site with communities.
Indigenous Community Volunteers- Secondee Program
Indigenous Community Volunteers (ICV) is an independent, not for profit organisation originally established by the Australian Government and supported by State Governments to provide Indigenous communities with improved access to business, trade and professional skills. ICV assists Indigenous communities to gain these skills by linking volunteers to the communities so that they are able to pursue their own community goals and objectives.
Communities choose the most suitable volunteers for their projects. Volunteers transfer skills directly to community members and the skills are retained and grow within the community.
ICV facilitates a national mentoring program in the COAG Trials sites through which senior Australian Public Service staff (SES Band 1 or EL2) can work as mentors on projects designed to enhance community governance skills and/or improve community capacity to develop stronger working relationships with government or the private sector.
If you would to volunteer or for further information see: www.volindigenous.org.au
Indigenous Leaders from Murdi Paaki Region sign SRAs
On 3 December 2004, Indigenous leaders from the Western New South Wales region of Murdi Paaki signed Shared Responsibility Agreements (SRAs) with Australian, State and Local Government representatives. The Murdi Paaki region is the NSW site for the COAG Indigenous Whole of Government initiative. The Department of Education, Science and Training is the Australian Government lead agency.
The five SRAs which were signed committed trial partners to agreed community and regional initiatives including:
- an Indigenous community night patrol to work with ‘at risk’ people on the streets of Bourke;
- re-engaging Indigenous students in education and training to improve attendance, retention and educational attainment in the Bourke and Ngemba (Brewarrina) communities; and
- developing sustainable Community Working Parties (CWPs) through the ongoing employment of administrative trainees and the provision of computers and software.
More information:
Grog and Justice Summit held in East Kimberley
The communities in the east Kimberley held a grog and justice summit in September 2004, looking to address alcohol-related issues. The summit was very useful in determining the priorities for each community and in informing future directions.