Announced as part of NAIDOC Week celebrations, a vision to respectfully acknowledge and meaningfully engage with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community will be the centre of the Town of Port Hedland’s draft reconciliation action plan.
Following a commitment made at last year’s NAIDOC week, Town of Port Hedland Mayor Kelly Howlett acknowledged that reconciliation played a pivotal role in providing a pathway to build a harmonious and unified community.
“The Town of Port Hedland is committed to reconciliation with its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community and I am pleased to launch our draft reconciliation action plan for community comment.
“This document will shape a way forward for the Town to strengthen its acknowledgment and engagement of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.
“A key focus is to raise awareness within the Town as an organisation, building foundations to pursue meaningful employment, business development and other opportunities in a sustainable manner.
“The proposed targets and actions articulate how we will achieve our vision within set timeframes and defined responsibilities.”
Draft actions include:
- Strengthening key relationships with elders, traditional owners, stakeholders and businesses.
- Including welcome to country and traditional owner acknowledgement at key events, ceremonies and meetings.
- Sharing local dreaming stories, art, culture and history.
- Investigating employment opportunities.
- Creating a visibly inclusive space at Town of Port Hedland facilities – such as flying Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags at the Civic Centre and South Hedland Town Centre.
Mayor Howlett said the draft has been developed in collaboration with key stakeholders including community, local organisations and agencies, Council and Reconciliation Australia.
“The Town acknowledges the openness, honesty and goodwill shown throughout this process; and hopes to continue building mutually beneficial partnerships through the final stages of plan development and into the implementation phase.
“I invite all community members to again offer their feedback on the draft plan prior to finalising the submission to Reconciliation Australia, which will enable the endorsement process to get underway.”
