Indigo Shire Council has adopted a Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) in a unanimous vote at its monthly meeting on Tuesday night.
The adoption will see the RAP guide Council’s strategic engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islander groups.
The 12 month plan, developed in partnership with Reconciliation Australia, the lead body for reconciliation in Australia, and with input from traditional owner groups, and other Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islander stakeholders, provides Council with a framework to build its internal capacity and awareness about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.
It also sets out the steps required to prepare Council for specific reconciliation initiatives and projects and sets out an approach to developing relationships with external community groups.
Indigo Shire Mayor, Bernard Gaffney says the adoption of the plan is just the start of Council’s reconciliation journey.
Councillor Larry Goldsworthy, who moved the motion to adopt the plan, said its adoption was a significant step forward for Council.
“This has been a long time coming and it’s so important we acknowledge our relationship with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups.” Councillor Goldsworthy said.
The first steps in implementing the plan, on Reconciliation Australia’s advice, is to capture simple initial priority projects to be completed in the first 12-18 months only, as the work cannot be undertaken authentically without first identifying the appropriate community members to partner with to achieve projects.
These priority projects include Traditional Owner acknowledgement on Council buildings and offices, relationship building, cultural heritage projects, cultural awareness training and NAIDOC and National Reconciliation Week celebrations.
