EMPOWERING ABORIGINAL PEOPLE THROUGH A UNIFIED VOICE

B A R A N GC e n t r a l C o a s t A b o r i g i n a l R e g i o n a l

P a r t n e r s h i p A g r e e m e n t

2Barang artwork created by Ammie Howell.

The 4 points indicate our geography and the colours, our lands and ocean. The outer ring is our community and people, the middle ring our Aboriginal organisations and at the heart, Barang. The pathways exhibit the linkages between the 3 and the sharing of knowledge and respect. Barang is our Bora, where we celebrate our achievements and culture. Where we meet as the authority of our community to map our future together as one voice and as one people.

3To these lands that provide for us.

We acknowledge and pay respect to our ancestors that managed these lands for many generations.

We acknowledge all Indigenous people who have come from their own country and now call this country home.

We acknowledge our elders who are our knowledge holders, teachers and pioneers.

We Pay Our Respect

We acknowledge our youth who are our hope for a brighter future and who will be our future leaders.

We acknowledge and pay our respect to our members who have gone before us and recognise their contribution to our people and the Community of the Central Coast Region.

Our Principles...

Indigenous-led responsibility is at the heart of Indigenous reform

Participation in this reform is on an opt-in basis

Design of programs must be site-specific

Innovation is critical and lessons must be learnt

Funding must be based on measurable and trackable outcomes

Outcomes must be measurable with common metrics

Best practices must be shared and leveraged

Significant corporate support is essential

We acknowledge that our Indigenous community is represented by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and those groups will be referred to as Aboriginal for the purposes of this document

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5What is BARANG?

Our Purpose

Our Vision

To create a collective of Aboriginal organisations and enterprises, that will communicate with one voice to Government and other key stakeholders, to lead community prosperity.

BARANG will be the foundation for Empowered Communities and Local Decision Making on the Central Coast.

Empowering Aboriginal people through a unified voice

The founding members of Barang are already achieving positive results in their community

The Glen: 70% of the clients were free of addiction one-month after leaving.

Mingaletta: Survey response (100%) that Mingaletta has had a positive affect on their life and how they feel.

NAISDA: Average attendance his risen dramatically to 91% up from 74% in 2007.

Darkinjung: Returned a profit for the past five financial years into its community operations.

6Organisations

The founding members of Barang provide services to support and empower Aboriginal people from birth through all life stages.

Bungree Aboriginal Association Inc. Secure and affordable housing Assistance accessing services such as health and advocacy Community transport program

Mingaletta Literacy and numeracy programs for youth and young adults Womens and elders crafts and arts group Mentoring services for all ages

Yerin Aboriginal Medical Service Medical services Child services Family support

Bara Barang Opportunities for young Aboriginal people Innovative and culturally inclusive environment

NAISDA - The National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association Registered training association Certificates II,III and IV and Diploma in

careers in Dance Produces graduates that work in the performing arts

Darkinjung - Local Aboriginal Land Council Promote the health and wellbeing of the community Advocacy that inspires and respects Aboriginal tradition

Ngaimpe Aboriginal Corporation (The Glen) Rehabilitation centre for men Holistic drug and alcohol rehabilitation program for men, returning men to

their families and communities as active members of both

7We have immediate challenges that need to be addressed

While progress has been made in some objectives, it is clear that we are still failing in

too many

-Tony Abbott in the Prime Ministers Closing the Gap

Report, 2014

Reading Gap 25%Our year 3 children are less likely to read well. Gap 25% (NAPLAN 2012).

Year 12 Gap 12% Our Indigenous Children are less likely to complete High School. Gap 12% (ABS 2011).

Life Expectancy Gap 9 yearsOur Indigenous Community members live 9 years less than non-Indigenous Community members. (ABS 2011).

Obesity Gap 60%Our Indigenous Community members are 60% more likely to be or become obese (ABS2011).

Rental Stress 48%Almost 1 in every 2 of our Community Households suffer from rental stress (Where rental outgo exceeds 30% of income) (ABS2011).

Teenage pregnancies 18% 18 of our Community young women, un every 100, are likely to have a baby during their teens. Gap 16%. (ABS2011).

Employment Gap 10% 16 of our Community Members in every 100 is actively seeking full time or part time work vs. 6% for non-indigenos Gap 10%. (ABS2011).

The gaps compared to the broader community are still unacceptably large

Aboriginal population growth (40% from 06-11) coupled with reduced funding means our community is not receiving critically needed services

Visibility and focus by government is tilted towards electoral boundaries, remote communities and major cities we need to create a unified voice that will be heard

Aboriginal service providers operating independently, and with varying degrees of maturity and capability, is not sustainable

We have a high-level strategy for Barang and the detailed plan is being defined

Barang will execute a regional strategy that will help achieve the national Five Norms and our regional priorities:

Children go to school, every day Children and those who are vulnerable are cared

for and safe Elders in our community are respected and

cared for Capable adults participate in training or work Housing is affordable and safe and property is

respected and cared for Our communities are healthy and have access

to quality health care Our young peoples aspirations are supported

A regional strategy will help achieve The Five Norms

Barang will have a board made up of directors from its member organisations. Specific roles and functions for Barang will be identified and confirmed over the next several months through the detailed planning phase and are likely to include:

Monitoring and filtering funding opportunities to provide to members

Interface with external stakeholders tables (e.g. Federal, State and Local Government, not-for-profits, etc.)

Set and monitor the community agenda and communications

Centre of excellence for corporate governance

Barang will initially be funded by Prime Minister and Cabinet for the Implementation Period

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9Several conditions must exist for us to be successful

Key success factors

Each Barang member will retain their own autonomy and continue to negotiate their direct contracts with the Australian and NSW Governments, supported by Barang

The Central Coast must be treated as a single region, irrespective of electoral boundaries, and with bipartisan support

Active support and participation by Barang members to promote Barang and execute the key initiatives that will deliver on the agreed objectives

For the initial two-to-three year implementation of Empowered Communities, Barang will be funded directly by Prime Minister and Cabinet

Continuous engagement with and participation of the community when designing and implementing programs and initiatives

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What success will look like?

Achieving our goals will create an Empowered Central Coast community:

Effective, aligned programs Programs matched to align with our growing community needs

Direct access to the Prime Minister and Cabinet Via the new Empowered Community framework

New facilities and greater support Government plans include developments such as our Gulgul Barang Centre to complement the services of our existing centres

Leadership Local Indigenous-led decisions, accountability and structure

Indigenous culture retention Retain our culture for future generations and the wider community

Stronger relationships and leverage From utilising our community network and partners, sharing knowledge and innovating

BARANG.ORG.AU