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Editors --- "Regional Partnership Agreement on Indigenous Employment in the East Kimberley - Digest" [2006] AUIndigLawRpr 89; (2006) 10(4) Australian Indigenous Law Reporter 103

Regional Partnership Agreement on Indigenous Employment in the East Kimberley

WA State Government, Federal Government, East Kimberley CDEP, Ngoojuwah Council Corporation, Kununurra Waringarri Aboriginal Council Et al.

7 November 2006

1 Overview

1.1 Parties

The parties to this Agreement are:

• Indigenous organisations;
• employers;
• Local Government;
• the Commonwealth of Australia (Australian Government); and
• the State Government of Western Australia (WA Government).

1.2 Purpose

This Agreement sets out strategic and innovative approaches and projects for joint action by Indigenous organisations and individuals, Industry and Governments to address the unacceptably high levels of unemployment experienced by young Indigenous people in the East Kimberley. In doing so, the parties to this Agreement seek to build sustainable, prosperous communities to maximize opportunities for individuals to:

• gain and create employment in mining and other industries;
• seek and engage in training and education; and
• share in the wealth created by the presence of the mining industry in the region and that arises from engagement in mainstream employment.

The parties share a vision for the region which aims to address Indigenous disadvantage and supports Indigenous people to take up opportunities in the mainstream economy.

The Agreement is made in a spirit of partnership and shared responsibility and with the understanding that this work benefits the whole community of the East Kimberley. (Throughout this document ‘community’ is intended to cover discrete Indigenous communities and towns.)

This Agreement is intended to be a statement of the mutual intentions of the parties and is not intended to give rise to any enforceable rights or binding obligations on the part of any party.

This Agreement has no effect on native title agreements currently in place in the region. Projects under this Agreement may complement activity undertaken in accordance with other arrangements or agreements.

1.3 Targets

The 2001 Census data indicated that only 13.6% of the Indigenous population aged 15 years and above was employed compared with 66.1% of the non-Indigenous population aged 15 years and above. The parties to the Agreement are committed to ambitious targets to address this inequity.

The key targets are:

• to place at least 300 additional Indigenous people in jobs in the East Kimberley on an annual basis over the next five years, as a significant step towards achieving equity in rates of Indigenous and non-Indigenous employment;
• to reduce to the rate of Indigenous unemployment in the East Kimberley by 50% within five years; and
• to equalise the rates of Indigenous and non-Indigenous employment in the region within ten years.

1.4 Geographic Scope

The geographic scope of the Agreement will initially cover the towns of Kununurra, Halls Creek, Wyndham and the Warmun Indigenous Community and outstations. Actions will extend further through the East Kimberley during the next five years. It is recognised that initial projects or actions within this scope will also provide some services to those who generally live elsewhere in the region.

1.5 Key Principles

The National Framework Principles for Service Delivery to Indigenous Australians, endorsed at the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting on 25 June 2004, underpin the approach that the WA and Australian Governments wish to take. These principles are:

• Sharing responsibility;
• Harnessing the mainstream;
• Streamlining service delivery;
• Establishing transparency and accountability;
• Developing a learning framework; and
• Focusing on priority areas.

These are:

• Early childhood development and growth;
• Early school engagement and performance;
• Positive childhood and transition to adulthood;
• Substance use and misuse;
• Functional and resilient families and communities;
• Effective environmental health systems; and
• Economic participation and development.

Further, this Agreement is founded on the following principles agreed to in the Minerals Council of Australia and Australian Government Memorandum of Understanding (MCA MOU):

• Collaboration and partnership between the parties based on mutual respect;
• Collaboration and partnership between the parties based on shared responsibilities and respect for culture, customs and values;
• The integration of sustainable development considerations within the MOU partnership decision-making process; and
• Joint commitment to social, economic and institutional development of the communities with which the parties engage.

1.6 Roles and Responsibilities

All parties to the Agreement will contribute to achieving the desired outcomes, at a level determined by the capacity of each party.

Indigenous Organisations

Indigenous organisations provide an important coordinating and promotional function in encouraging Indigenous individuals and communities to participate in the economic pathways to Indigenous prosperity. Indigenous organisations will contribute to the coordination of local efforts to inform and engage community members in the opportunities that this RPA will present.

Government

Australian Government

The Australian Government will coordinate service delivery and development of actions, including those under Shared Responsibility Agreements (SRAs), with identified communities through the Kununurra Indigenous Coordination Centre (Kununurra ICC). The Kununurra ICC will provide:

• a point of contact for Australian Government programs and services and resources to the Indigenous people and communities of the East Kimberley; and
• a primary contact point for the development and implementation of SRAs and RPAs with the communities on behalf of the Australian Government.

The Government of Western Australia

The WA Government will coordinate service delivery and contribute to the development of project plans under this Agreement through the East Kimberley office of the Department of Indigenous Affairs (East Kimberley DIA). East Kimberley DIA will provide:

• a point of contact for WA Government programs, services and resources.

The Australian Government, the WA Government and Local Government, represented by the Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley agree to:

• provide efficient and effective Government services;
• provide maximum opportunities for employment of Indigenous people;
• encourage individual and community participation in its initiatives; and
• pursue new opportunities for enhancing cooperative approaches.

Industry and Employers

Industry and employers will work within the spirit and principles outlined in the MCA MOU with the Australian Government. Industry will:

• work together to support local businesses that are committed to expanding and employing more Indigenous people; and
• participate in a leadership group of East Kimberley businesses to support actions that will increase employment of Indigenous people.

This is the second Regional Partnership Agreement in Australia. The West Australian Government recently signed a third agreement with parties in the Port Hedland area. The Agreements are available online at the Commonwealth Government’s Indigenous Portal website at <www.indigenous.gov.au>.