Gunnedah Shire Council’s longest serving councillor, Gwen Griffen, has been awarded Aboriginal Councillor of the Year at the 2013 Local Government Aboriginal Network Conference dinner in August.
Councillor Griffen previously won this award in 2007. She was first elected to Gunnedah Shire Council in 1995, the first Aboriginal to be elected to Council. She also serves the community as a Justice of the Peace.
Cr Griffen has worked for many years with Aboriginal organisations, including as Chairperson of the Min Min Aboriginal Corporation, dealing with the Aboriginal Housing Office, as Local and Regional President of the NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (AECG) Inc, and as a committee member and Chair of the Aboriginal Local Government Association.
Gunnedah Shire Council Mayor Owen Hasler said that as an Aboriginal woman, Cr Griffen’s success as a councillor served as an inspiration not only to Aboriginal women and girls, but to all women and girls.
“Cr Griffen has also taken the lead in inspiring women on the issue of domestic violence. She has been an advocate for women in the area of domestic violence, particularly young women who are at risk.
“Cr Griffen has also worked tirelessly to promote the interests of women in local government, not only in meeting their needs, but also in encouraging more women, both Aboriginal women and [other] women, to stand for election to represent their communities.”
The New South Wales Local Government Aboriginal Network (LGAN) was established in 1988 as an information exchange and forum to discuss issues related to Aboriginal communities, businesses and the wider community. The organisation is comprised of Aboriginal council staff working in local government and Aboriginal people who have been elected as councillors.
The theme for the 2013 conference, hosted by Blacktown City Council, was ‘hello, come in, sit down, friend’.
The aim of the conference was to provide a forum for enhancing the profile of Aboriginal communities, their skills and their culture.
The conference was an opportunity for elected officials, local government employees, industry representatives and community groups to come together and discuss emerging issues for Aboriginal people in NSW.
