Prepared by Grant Sarra
Grant Sarra Consultancy Services
5 Patricia Street
KARALEE QLD 4306
ABN 19492 613 302
Telephone: 07 3294 6096
Mobile: 0417 502 049
Email:
Contents
Executive Summary 4
Introduction 5
Gnaala Karla Booja Workshop in Context 6
Methodology 7
Workshop Participation 7
Purpose of Report 7
Pre-Workshop Cultural Tour – Pinjarra Massacre Site 8
Workshop Overview 9
Welcome to Country 9
Introductions and Scene Setting 9
Working In Partnership Program Overview 10
Gnaala Karla Booja – Demographics and Statistics 11
Minerals Council of Australia 14
Chamber of Minerals and Energy, Western Australia 15
Western Australian Indigenous Tourism Operators Council 20
South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council 20
Overview of Australian Government in the South West WA Region 22
Gnaala Karla Booja - Our land, Our people and Our environment 23
Mining Sector Panel 26
Industry Service Related Sector Panel 28
Government Sector Panel 34
Additional Presentations 37
Break-Out Group Discussions 40
Workshop Summary and Close - Where to from here? 43
Appendix A - Workshop Participants 45
Appendix B - Participant Evaluations 48
Appendix C - Participant Comments 49
Executive Summary
The Gnaala Karla Booja (GKB) workshop was held over two days, and was preceded by a half day cultural tour of the Pinjarra Massacre site. The Pinjarra site is the actual location of a massacre that occurred in 1834, and is a place that is significant in the history of the Noongar people of the region. The visit served to educate workshop participants of the long local history of suffering, despair, dispossession and lack of opportunity but also inform participants of the future plans for the development and promotion the site.
One of the many strengths of the Working in Partnership workshop process is that it affords an opportunity to acknowledge our nation’s past and move beyond fear, denial or blame. They provide an opportunity to develop a generosity of spirit and intent in which to identify and grasp positive opportunities (in the case of this workshop, within Australia’s mining and tourism sectors) to engage with Indigenous people and communities at the local and regional level. The GKB workshop attracted over 100 participants from Indigenous communities (mostly Noongar), peak industry bodies, private businesses and government and non-government agencies.
This workshop was a departure from previous WIP workshops in that the GKB co-funded elements of the event, including the publication of this report and the GKB Strategic Plan; and the production of a DVD. The DVD is the main archival account of proceedings and will also enable community members and industry who could not attend the opportunity to understand how agreements were reached and what presentations were made. The Strategic Plan will be designed to provide a strategic vision, foundation and framework to allow Noongar people living in the South West of WA to take advantage of development opportunities that occur within their region.
This report outlines two days of activities, together with outcomes which will support the Gnaala Karla Booja Employment and Enterprise Development Agreement - which was signed at this workshop. The first day was opened by a traditional welcome to country address, after which several speakers from Government and industry made presentations. These varied from statistical and demographic lectures to company profiles and overviews of challenges and possible solutions faced by the community and industry – particularly in the mining and tourism sectors.
Speakers from peak bodies such as the Minerals Council of Australia and the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia gave an overview of the industry profile in the region and the scope for Indigenous employment. These were followed by presentations from the WA Indigenous Tourism Operators Council and the South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council. Individual mining companies such as Griffin Coal, Newmont Asia Pacific and Premier Coal also presented their respective company profiles and how they dealt with Indigenous employment. These activities met a key objective of the workshop, namely for GKB People and government to meet and talk with mining companies and other service industries in the region.
The employment focus continued on the second day, which involved more community discussion and debate interspersed with several moving addresses. Panels and robust group discussions worked on regional-specific solutions across a range of issues identified by the GKB Elders. The day provided industry and government with a greater awareness and understanding of the GKB people, their culture and their social, economic and educational achievements and aspirations.
While the Employment and Enterprise Development Agreement is now in place, the GKB’s Strategic Plan has yet to be endorsed. Typically solid statements of intent such as these form the outcomes from WIP workshops. It will now be for the GKB community and others who attended this event to help shape it and make its aims and aspirations a reality. All parties – from the mining and tourism industries, government and non-government bodies, but critically the GKB people themselves, have given this commitment.
Introduction
The Working in Partnership – the Mining Industry and Indigenous Communities Program was launched by the Australian Government on 3 August 2001. The initiative is administered by the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism (DRET) and seeks to promote long-term partnerships between Indigenous communities and the exploration and mining industry.
In addition to promoting long term partnerships, the program supports and encourages ongoing cultural change between the exploration and mining industry and Indigenous communities throughout Australia. In so doing, it builds on relevant research which has been conducted in relation to sustainable mining practices.
Since the program’s inception, the Department has developed an information kit which:
§ presents selected case studies of successful partnership relationships between mining companies and Indigenous communities throughout Australia, showing a variety of approaches and outcomes;
§ reflects the diverse experiences of many of those involved in the partnership process;
§ illustrates the achievements of particular Indigenous communities and companies; and
§ provides information on the relevant government and industry programs that may provide support for partnership initiatives.
Information kits can be accessed by contacting the Department directly or through its Indigenous Partnerships initiative website, at: http://www.industry.gov.au/indigenouspartnerships.
The program has included a series of regionally based workshops in key areas of mining interest throughout Australia.
Previous workshops have conducted in the series include:
§ Alice Springs, Northern Territory
§ Kalgoorlie, Port Hedland, and Geraldton, Western Australia
§ Rockhampton, Townsville and Cloncurry, QLD
§ Muswellbrook, Wollongong, Cobar, Condobolin and Orange, NSW
§ Gippsland and Horsham, Victoria
§ Burnie, Tasmania
All workshops have served to bring together interested parties in significant regional centres of mining activity to discuss local issues to achieve local employment outcomes for Indigenous communities. These forums have brought together representatives from many Indigenous and industry groups, who had participated in workshops to formalise regional action planning priorities and actions that could deliver outcomes identified and agreed upon in those workshops.
Gnaala Karla Booja Workshop in Context
The Gnaala Karla Booja (GKB) - Working in Partnership with Industry and Government Workshop was conducted over 27 -29 March 2012 at the Quay Resort, Mandurah, Western Australia. Unlike previous workshops in this series, this activity was initiated and jointly funded by the GKB People in collaboration and partnership with DRET and the Commonwealth Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA).
The GKB People were keen to meet with representatives of the mining industry and government agencies within their region to discuss ways in which to deliver better outcomes in accordance with the Council of Australian Government’s (COAG) Closing the Gap agenda and the GKB’s Employment and Enterprise Development Agreement (EEDA).
Toward the latter part of 2011 the GKB, DRET and Fahcsia commenced discussions and agreed that a Working in Partnership workshop in the South West region of WA would provide opportunities:
1. for GKB People and government to meet with mining companies and businesses from associated service industries in the region;
2. to give industry and government a greater awareness and understanding of the GKB People, their culture and engagement protocols, and the community’s social, cultural, economic and educational achievements and future aspirations;
3. to inform industry of Commonwealth and WA State government programs and partnership arrangements with the GKB People;
4. for GKB to engage key Commonwealth and State government agencies in a dialogue with local mining, tourism and other support industries and to establish long term links with the GKB EEDA;
5. to establish GKB-specific linkages with the Australian Minerals Council’s Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Indigenous Employment and Enterprise Development, the Chamber of Minerals and Energy Western Australia Indigenous employment and enterprise development initiatives; and the COAG Closing the Gap initiatives; and
6. for the GKB People to promote the development of their own strategic plan.
The workshop’s central aim was to provide a neutral environment in which all stakeholders could meet to discuss problems and issues and consider regional-specific solutions relevant to the development of a regional multi-industry partnership approach.
Participants were encouraged to:
§ identify with other stakeholders to gain an understanding of their respective issues and to better appreciate their aspirations and priorities; and
§ not try to Close the Gap for Aboriginal Peoples throughout Australia.
Rather, participants were encouraged to move beyond general problems and issues, often discussed in the national context of Closing the Gap, and focus on the long-term mutual benefits that could be generated through an effective regional partnership approach specific to the South West region of WA, particularly for the GKB People.
The workshop initiated a constructive regional-specific dialogue relevant to the region and the main themes of the Working in Partnership initiative: Employment; Education and Training; Business Opportunities’ Cultural Awareness; Capacity Building; Economic Empowerment.
Methodology
In keeping with the WIP philosophy, the Gnaala Karla Booja Workshop made best use of the time available for participant discussion of key issues of interest and relevance.
The agenda included the following sessions:
Sessions were designed to encourage discussion and debate, both of which were channeled to focus on achieving the agreed workshop aims. Flexibility was central to this process and strict adherence to the agenda was never an imperative over the two-day program.
Workshop Participation
Before the workshop, extensive consultation with a broad cross section of industry, government and community stakeholder groups across South West region of WA was conducted by the DRET’s Coordinator for the Working in Partnership Program, Mr Michael Tyquin, FaHCSIA’s Field Officer, Mr Michael Carter and Mr Grant Sarra from Grant Sarra Consultancy Services.
More than 110 participants attended the workshop - A list is provided in Appendix A to this Report.
Purpose of Report
This report provides an overview the GKB Working in Partnership with Industry and Government Workshop, a summary of presentations and details of actions arising from the workshop.
Pre-Workshop Cultural Tour – Pinjarra Massacre Site
The Pinjarra Massacre, otherwise known as the Battle of Pinjarra, was one of Western Australia's bloodiest and darkest days. On 28 October, 1834, a party of men, led by Governor James Stirling, surrounded the camp of the Bindjareb Bilyidar Nyungars in Pinjarra and opened fired, killing up to 30 tribesmen as they fled for cover.[1]
The Story of - The Bindjareb Nyungars
At the time of white settlement, the Bilyidar ('river') Bindjareb Nyungars were made up of three family groups with main camps in what are now the Mandurah, Pinjarra and North Dandalup areas. They were part of a broader network of Nyungar people who had lived across the Southwest corner of Western Australia from at least 40,000BC, connected to one another by ceremony, trade and social relationships.
The Bindjareb Nyungars, like their neighbours, were responsible for ritually significant places, rights of access, knowledge and ceremonial duties within their country. They also had sophisticated land management practices such as fire-stick farming methods which, together with other hunting and food gathering techniques, enabled them to maximise their access to a vast range of material resources while ensuring their sustainability. Visitors to Bindjareb Nyungar boodjar (land) were required to announce their arrival, bring enough daadja (meat), mereny (food) and goods for exchange for their travels, and to observe local obligations and regulations such as being introduced to country by their hosts.
With the river at the heart of their country, the Bindjareb Nyungars were accomplished fishing peoples, using gidgees, nets and mungahs (traps made of stone and wicker), to secure their catches. They hosted an annual gathering of hundreds of people from surrounding areas, centred around the Barragup fish mungah. Ceremony and rituals performed in the lead up to each harvest would ensure a plentiful catch. Other ceremonies also occurred during these gatherings, including the exchange of karla (fire), ‘marriage’ preparation and betrothal observance, initiation ceremonies, education exchange, recreational activities and other public demonstrations of etiquette which cemented social bonds and conferred status and responsibility. The Bindjareb Nyungars would also trade hunting and ceremonial items such as the strong and straight throwing gidgee-borryl (quartz edged spear).
Due to the abundance of fish and the prolonged periods of social interaction, sites in Bindjareb Nyungar country were important centres of communication. Message sticks would invariably travel though Bindjareb Nyungar boodjar on their way to other parts of Nyungar country.[2]
Further information relating to the Pinjarra Massacre Site can be accessed via: or PO BOX 39 PINJARRA WA 6208.
Workshop Overview
Welcome to Country
Mrs Janet Hayden, a respected Gnaala Karla Booja Elder, welcomed participants to country. As part of her welcome, Mrs Hayden called upon other Noongar Elders to join her in the process.
Mrs Hayden explained that when you get to the age that she, and other Elders were now at, you feel more at home with the land, you know that it belongs to you and you know that somewhere, it doesn’t matter about the Wedjellah (white fulla) environment, this is your country, this is your land and that Kep (water) that’s Gnaala Kep - this is our country, regardless of who owns it now, or say they own it, this is Noongar Booja – and that’s what it is all about. Noongar Booja consists of fourteen clans, those fourteen clans come under Noongar land – that’s one country, one tribe, one language, one culture - not 14 tribes - one tribe. The fourteen clans come under the Noongar headline and all of these clans speak the Noongar language and practice the Noongar custom.