Page 3935 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 25 November 2014
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I particularly acknowledge the workload of the recently elected members of the elected body and recognise their significant contribution on this and other major pieces of collaborative work over the past few months. In March and April this year the members of the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body facilitated two community forums on behalf of the ACT government. These forums brought together Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members to identify the key focus areas for their community and discuss issues such as reconciliation, self-determination and the attributes of positive relationships between the community and government.
The ACT Office for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs also hosted four workshops for internal and external stakeholders, which included representatives from a number of peak services and organisations working with the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. These workshops generated quality feedback and advice that helps build and support positive working relationships between the community, government and stakeholders.
During this consultation process we canvassed many different stakeholders, including presentations to and discussions with the United Ngunnawal Elders Council and community leaders. As Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, I also hosted a ministerial roundtable that brought together different stakeholders from the community, service partners and ACT government for a dynamic collaboration on the whole-of-government agreement.
Through this comprehensive process the community and stakeholders articulated a strong shared vision of equitable outcomes for individuals and a commitment to supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, the community and their organisations to develop the opportunities, knowledge and skills to build an empowered, resilient and sustainable future.
I have been impressed by the interest that has been expressed by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peak organisations to support the agreement and the level of community ownership that has been achieved to date. It has been positive for members of the community to see their words and feelings incorporated into the body of the agreement and for their visions of the future to be reflected in the statement of commitment to reconciliation.
The agreement has been built around the community and stakeholder feedback that strong families are key to improving the resilience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and supporting the shared vision of equitable outcomes for members of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community in the ACT. The community feedback identified a number of focus areas that impact on the resilience of families.
During consultation, community members spoke about the need to develop positive cultural identity among children, young people and young adults so that young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Canberrans have the positive self-esteem to aspire to their personal life goals. Community members and stakeholders spoke about the need to ensure that all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the ACT
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