Queensland Reconciliation Awards 2023

AMS Group and Minjerribah-Moorgumpin Elders-in-Council designed a reconciliation initiative to employ 40 young people throughout the waterways of Moreton Bay and around the coast of Australia to maintain lighthouses, navigation aids, protect ports and shipping lanes and support Australia’s search and rescue operations.

Employees of this initiative are provided with a range of benefits including subsidised housing, non-financial welfare support to ensure their success – both personally and professionally. The initiative includes a dedicated nine-week induction program, with continuous support to mentor the employees as they navigate their way through accredited training regimes away from their traditional support base. The new challenges of learning, working and being away from home are empowering for all participants.

The first group of Quandamooka employees commenced this initiative in June 2022 and have now completed their national maritime accreditations, with some already promoted into leadership roles. AMS Group is excited to build upon their initiative, “a beacon of reconciliation”, by creating opportunities to employ young Quandamooka ladies in 2023 and 2024.

weavr. is a world first diversity management system focused on managing diversity, Indigenous engagement and reconciliation. Proudly created by Australia's leading Indigenous software company – LOGiT with support from CSIRO, Advance Queensland’s Deadly Innovation Strategy, and MEGT.

weavr. is the first Indigenous developed software designed to capture, track, manage and bring to life the reconciliation journey. The system has been designed to help organisations create, manage and harness the implementation of their strategy to achieve desired outcomes.

It has helped staff understand the impact of individual and organisational level reconciliation; increase transparency across organisations; improve engagement of staff in reconciliation activities; and enables users to see data and progress in real time.

Community Enterprise Queensland’s (CEQ) core business is to provide essential goods and services to remote Indigenous communities in Far North Queensland. CEQ operates 28 outlets in the Torres Strait, Northern Peninsula Area and remote Aboriginal communities.

The CEQ Management Development Model is an initiative providing an educational process whereby a culturally supportive network of mentors and trainers provide the tools and training to ensure aspiring Indigenous supervisors and managers have the confidence to perform management roles.

To date 16 of the 28 CEQ stores located in remote locations of Far North Queensland are currently being managed and totally operated by Indigenous team members, with arrangements currently underway for other remote agencies to have access to development opportunities to be delivered by the training team in remote communities.

One Business is an initiative of the Queensland Government to support leading Indigenous businesses to teach and train other Indigenous businesses across Queensland. Iscariot Media were awarded the project through a competitive tender, taking the initial concept and creating a legacy of business knowledge sharing.

Iscariot's approach was to build and share knowledge with the community through a train-the-trainer program. This ensured a local Indigenous person was trained and supported to deliver business building services, with their knowledge and expertise supporting their local community, long after the project had finished.

Since its launch in 2020, the One Business Program has supported more than 250 First Nation businesses, creating more pathways for increased participation in Queensland’s economy.

In 2022, Bellbird Park State Secondary College established its first Reconciliation Committee. A diverse team of teaching and support staff committed to promoting opportunities to achieve reconciliation through equity and unity. The college’s Reconciliation Action Plan continuously guides the review of whole college systems and processes, ensuring equitable access and success for First Nations students.

Bellbird Park State Secondary College’s reconciliation journey has led to the establishment of the culturally safe Culture Hub, Yakka Study Centre, Yarning Circle, Community Bush Tucker Garden and the launch of a First Nations Dance Troupe, connecting students to culture through dance.

In 2022, The Yakka Study Centre successfully supported all First Nations students to achieve their Queensland Certificate of Education. Bellbird Park State Secondary College actively links with community to work towards healing and a bright future for children in the area.

The life of an inspiring Wakka Wakka woman, Janet Daisy, will be influencing early childhood educators and their students for generations to come thanks to an authentic and thought-provoking core study unit developed by TAFE Queensland.

Early Childhood Education and Care students are encouraged to immerse themselves in Janet’s story, to develop an understanding of how her experience affected her opinions and behaviours. The curriculum in the core unit aims to encourage understanding of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples' cultures and is designed to trigger a response of cultural understanding and acceptance.

TAFE Queensland students began enrolling in the new core unit in mid-2022, with both educators and students expressing gratitude for the genuine and personal content. The initiative is also being rolled out into other TAFE Queensland programs, with hundreds of students expected to enrol in the unit each year.

In 2021, after significant planning, St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School launched a formal Reconciliation Action Plan providing a framework to drive important change in the classroom, around the school, and within the community, based around relationships, respect and opportunities.

Along with expanded celebrations of larger national events and significant days – such as National Reconciliation Week, NAIDOC Week, Sorry Day and Mabo Day – the school has shaped its own form of reconciliation through initiatives such as First Nation themed prayer spaces, specific boarding house activities, and the publication of two significant anthologies “Ghidal” and “Mulu Maguydan”, authored by the school’s First Nations students.

The researching and writing process of the anthologies uncovered many stories that empowered First Nations students and allowed them a greater voice to share their stories across the school community. Through the school’s Reconciliation Action Plan, and the publication of the anthologies, the culture and identity of the First Nations students is being nurtured and affirmed within the school community.

Sunshine Beach State High School continues to support a First Nations connections program initiated and run by teachers and local Elders. Through connections with the Gubbi Gubbi / Kabi Kabi Elders of the region, teachers aim to organise cultural activities to engage students at all levels, with the song lines of the country, fostering an understanding of the local culture and respect of the land.

Kabi Kabi Elder, Uncle Ken Jones has been integral to the success of the program as he has been discussing with the students the upkeep of the area surrounding the school and engaging with students on understanding the importance of the land, as well as creating initiatives with land-upkeep.

Students have also worked with Uncle Tais K’Reala Randanpi to build a yarning circle in the school grounds and participated in traditional games and creation of their own artwork.

This connections program contributes to protection of the environment and enhances the heritage for future generations. It has enabled the school community to have a greater understanding of the environment and of the history of the area.

The Darumbal Trainee Ranger and mentoring program is a partnership between the Department of Defence, Darumbal Enterprises, Downer Defence, Ecosure and CQUniversity. Together, they have initiated a program to build capability and employ eight Darumbal Trainee Rangers to work on Country at Shoalwater Bay Training Area in Central Queensland – one of the Australian Defence Force’s prime training areas.

The program is designed to provide training and opportunities for young Darumbal people as the Traditional Custodians of the land, by integrating traditional and cultural knowledge sharing by Darumbal Elders to focus on caring for Country.

All Darumbal Trainee Rangers achieved their Certificate III in Conservation and Ecosystem Management, with a graduation ceremony on Country alongside Elders and family. The young men have subsequently found employment with partner organisations and other Darumbal partner businesses in the region.

Queensland State Archives’ (QSA) First Wars project is the foundation of QSA’s journey to be an archive that supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander self-determination and embraces First Nations’ worldviews, knowledge and culture.

This project represents the first large scale research project to find archival records to illustrate the impact of colonisation on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The Australian Wars: Evidence from Queensland’s panel event coincided with the release of Blackfella Films ‘The Australian Wars’ on SBS in September and October 2022.

The panel event exposed Queensland’s dark history and used archival records to share that history to audiences nationwide, inserting the topic into the national conversation about truth-telling. For QSA, this project is a foundational step to further raise public awareness, inform and develop shared understandings of First Nations cultures, histories, languages and traditions for all Queenslanders.

Othello is a fusion of two powerful artistic cultures – Shakespeare and Wagadagam. It is a tri-lingual production (Kala Lagaw Ya, Yumpla Tok and English) re-imagined by Jimi Bani and Jason Klarwein. Set between Cairns and the Torres Strait, Othello illuminates the vital role of the Torres Strait Light Infantry Battalion during World War II as they successfully protected the northern tip of Australia.

The production increased knowledge of Torres Strait Islander language, song and dance, and showcased the work of outstanding Torres Strait Islander artists. Othello premiered at Bulmba-Ja in partnership with the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair, followed by a successful season at the Bille Brown Theatre as part of Brisbane Festival. The show was seen by more than 8,000 people and received widespread publicity and critical acclaim.

This partnership was assisted by the Australian Government through the Indigenous Languages and Arts Program, with community engagement supported by the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation.

In Wakka Wakka Country in the Aboriginal community of Cherbourg, the Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire Council, in partnership with Fujitsu Australia, the Queensland Department of Innovation, Tourism and Sport, TAFE Queensland, and the Cherbourg community developed and opened a First Nations Service Centre to support the community’s digital transformation.

The centre is part of a three-year program to boost economic development through digital skills training and local long-term employment opportunities. This is a place-based inclusion model, which maps a new way forward to how corporate Australia can work in collaboration with First Nations communities to foster reconciliation and create social impact through digital inclusion.

This partnership has created a local, sustainable industry that contributes to the economy of the community and to long-term reconciliation by bridging the significant digital divide. It has created local digital jobs, career pathways and long-term career opportunities.