Elected Body Member Mr Brendan Church answered: Quite good, think. We always have frank and honest conversations with the strategic board. The unfortunate thing is that there is a genuine commitment from the senior executive, but then it has to go through various levels, and once it hits the ground to the operational staff, we encounter the issues. The government has got great intentions across the board; that has been evident through committing through the whole-of-government agreement. But would be interested to see how that filters down to the ground. That is the concern, I think. The Committee considers meetings between the Elected Body and the Strategic Board to be a very good initiative. Such high level communication is important to ensure the success of the Employment Strategy and the Committee supports their continuance. The Committee hopes such meetings may contribute to mitigating criticisms contained in the Elected Body ’s submission: … the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body is pleased that the ACTPS has an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employment Strategy but know that it has lacked the impetus to make the changes that were envisaged when launch in 2011. The Committee notes that in formulating its submission, the CPSU conducted a survey of its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members. The submission stated: Although the objectives of the Strategy are largely sound, feedback from CPSU members is that the implementation of the strategy is not effective in achieving these objectives. Key areas where improvement needs to be made are: Creation of ongoing secure jobs by reducing the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees engaged on a non-permanent basis; A stronger focus and greater commitment to career development outside of entry level training programs; Extension of mentoring and support arrangements; and Greater cultural awareness training, ensuring that the training is provided in all ACTPS agencies. The evidence before the Committee leads it to conclude that to date the implementation of the Employment Strategy has resulted in some successes but could, and should, have been very much better. References to the ‘ethical imperative’ of United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People and the former Chief Minister’s vision seem remote to the present-day situation. The Committee notes comments by Mr Brendan Church on behalf of the Elected Body at the 11 December 2013 public hearing: I guess first and foremost the Elected Body [members] are concerned about the current status of the strategy and we really want to ask the question: Is the Strategy
Elected Body Member Mr Brendan Church answered: Quite good, think. We always have frank and honest conversations with the strategic board. The unfortunate thing is that there is a genuine commitment from the senior executive, but then it has to go through various levels, and once it hits the ground to the operational staff, we encounter the issues. The government has got great intentions across the board; that has been evident through committing through the whole-of-government agreement. But would be interested to see how that filters down to the ground. That is the concern, I think. The Committee considers meetings between the Elected Body and the Strategic Board to be a very good initiative. Such high level communication is important to ensure the success of the Employment Strategy and the Committee supports their continuance. The Committee hopes such meetings may contribute to mitigating criticisms contained in the Elected Body ’s submission: … the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body is pleased that the ACTPS has an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employment Strategy but know that it has lacked the impetus to make the changes that were envisaged when launch in 2011. The Committee notes that in formulating its submission, the CPSU conducted a survey of its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members. The submission stated: Although the objectives of the Strategy are largely sound, feedback from CPSU members is that the implementation of the strategy is not effective in achieving these objectives. Key areas where improvement needs to be made are: Creation of ongoing secure jobs by reducing the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees engaged on a non-permanent basis; A stronger focus and greater commitment to career development outside of entry level training programs; Extension of mentoring and support arrangements; and Greater cultural awareness training, ensuring that the training is provided in all ACTPS agencies. The evidence before the Committee leads it to conclude that to date the implementation of the Employment Strategy has resulted in some successes but could, and should, have been very much better. References to the ‘ethical imperative’ of United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People and the former Chief Minister’s vision seem remote to the present-day situation. The Committee notes comments by Mr Brendan Church on behalf of the Elected Body at the 11 December 2013 public hearing: I guess first and foremost the Elected Body [members] are concerned about the current status of the strategy and we really want to ask the question: Is the Strategy
8th-HACS-02-ACTPS-ATSI-employment.docx