President’s column – 1 October 2021

Your ALGA published
its Closing the Gap Implementation Plan this week – a proud moment for an
organisation that has long championed strong and sustainable First
Nations communities.

Developed by ALGA with our state and territory association members, the Implementation Plan sets out key actions councils can undertake to meet the priority reforms laid out under the landmark National Agreement on Closing the Gap signed in 2020.

Local
government has already forged close partnerships with local Indigenous peoples to
address our priorities at local and regional levels. 

We are a major
employer of First Nations peoples in many regional and remote areas, and our
procurement practices give us added capacity to empower local communities.

This
Implementation Plan will enable further mutually beneficial outcomes at the
local community level by:

• Supporting
  local governments to harness the opportunities provided by the national Closing
  the Gap Plan;
• assisting
  state and territory governments to work with local governments in the
  implementation of the National Closing the Gap Agreement; and
• supporting
  strengthened shared decision-making at the local level, supporting local
  governments to better partner with the Commonwealth, states and territory
  governments, and local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

On the vital matter of increasing economic opportunities for First Nations people, I attended a Roundtable on Indigenous employment with the Minister for Indigenous Australians, the Hon Ken Wyatt MP last week.

A discussion paper circulated at the meeting set out short, medium, and long-term actions, including reviewing and possibly scaling up initiatives in the Northern Territory and Queensland to recruit and develop Indigenous staff in local government.

To further identify
opportunities for councils to employing indigenous people, your ALGA will be
undertaking a Local Government Sector Workforce and Organisational Capability
Report through surveys of councils.   

These are exciting developments that
will enable local governments to work more effectively at transforming local
lives through providing local jobs and career pathways.

Linda Scott,
ALGA President