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GLaWACI s s u e 2 7M e r b u c k

(Winter)E d i t i o n 2 0 1 8

News

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Elders’ Council, Board Members and Staff

Elders’ Council

Aunty Gwen Atkinson Aunty Lena Morris Aunty Deanna Campbell

Aunty Betty Solomon Uncle Colin Thomas Aunty Gwen McGregor Aunty Rachel Mullett

Aunty Margaret Donnelly Aunty Shirley Foster Aunty Glenis Solomon Aunty Fay Voss Aunty Maria

Harrison Aunty Beryl Booth Aunty Charmaine Singleton Aunty Madge Siely Aunty Olive Stevens Aunty

Julie Mongta

GLaWAC Board Members

Chair-Brian Stevens Joanne Brunt Troy McDonald Doris Paton Russell Mullett Glenys Watts

Independent Directors Graeme Dear David Brennan

Administration Staff

Roger Fenwick- Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Daniel Miller- General Manager- On Country Operations

Grattan Mullett- Cultural Hub Manager Mardi Edwards- Human Resources Manager

Ruth Fitzclarence- Marketing and Communications Maureen Penwill- Finance

Joe Rettino-Business Management Coordinator Fleur Hawke- Employment and Development

Receptionist- Bianca Baxter and Michelle Mongta

RAP Cultural Heritage Assessment Team

Joanna Freslov- Assessment Technical Specialist Casual RAP Monitors-Paul Harrison Tim Paton

Cedric Parsons Doug Harrison Steven Hood

Patrick Mullett -Cultural Heritage Crew Leader Nicky Moffat Paula Martin- Cultural Heritage Officers

Joint Management Ranger Team

Grattan Mullett Jnr - JM Crew Leader JM Rangers- Bradley Hood Dylan Davies-Hood

Shay Terrick Kobi Cook Kobi Hood Jia Nelson

Natural Resource Management Team

Andy Booth- NRM Project Coordinator Geoff McHugh- NRM Mentor Matt Kennedy-NRM Mentor

Nigel Pearce- Team Leader NRM crew- Mick Farnham Corey Jack Bronson Ritchie Darren Allen

Max Solomon Mark Kenny Ashley Hood Kealey Ratzmann

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This Issue

4 Corporate Update- Report from the Chair and the CEO

6 GLaWAC 2018-2019 Business Plan on a page

7 Calendar of Events

8 Joint Management (JM) Rangers Report

10 Natural Resource Management (NRM)

Report

12 Registered Aboriginal Party (RAP) Report

14 Cultural Hub Report

16 Partnerships

20 Community Connections

28 Get to know the GLaWAC Staff members

30 Whose track is that?

31 GunaiKurnai Traditional Owners Land Management Board (GKTOLMB) Report

32 Disclaimer -

Back page -

Invitation to Cultural Event

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Update from the GLaWAC Board and the CEO

Wunman Njinde

We wish to pass on our sincere condolences to community members and their families for those who we have lost recently.

We wish everyone our very best through these tough times of sorry business.

As we all work through our chilly winter our organisation has been continuing to strengthen our cultural and community connections and our financial and governance processes.

We place our workforce and members as our highest priority and our board has made sure we continue to focus on the positive outcomes our efforts can achieve on your behalf.

This edition has some wonderful examples of these efforts and activities, in particular

• Recognition and Celebration of NAIDOC week, the theme was “Because of her we can” We hosted a Ladies’ day at Forestec with Elders and boat trip on the Gippsland Lakes to visit Sperm Whale Head

• A strong end of year financial position that sets us up to increase employment opportunities for our community.

• Securing agreements with the State around Joint Management that will bring with it a huge range of opportunities for our people including employment.

• The progression of the Café project at Forestec

• Partnerships that help us do our business in the spirit of cooperation

• Focus on two of our staff who work tirelessly to support our team in doing great work.

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Please note and keep on your fridge the Calendar of Events in this addition for the rest of the

year. Our Elders Council are meeting on Friday 31 August and all are invited to the Knob reserve

on Saturday 1 September to celebrate the next stage in Joint Management. We will send out

specific information as dates get closer.

Our Workforce review and Strategy is nearing completion and we will commence delivering this exiting initiative from September. It will include a range of new positions to enhance our community and cultural engagement, cultural tourism and development of the Cultural Hub.

We are also seeking support from community members to assist us with Cultural event planning in partnership with the Local Aboriginal Network staff. GLaWAC will apply its normal selection process and fees schedule to support. If interested in expressing interest, please contact Grattan or Ruth at GLaWAC or your LAN contact.

We are also convening a funded two-day “Running your corporation” and Governance workshop for interested members 25 and 26 September that will focus on explaining what GLaWAC’s functions are and training for anyone interested now or later being involved as a

company Director (Board Member).

We have also included our 2018-19 Business plan on the next page for you to see what your corporation is focused on for the coming year.

Finally, and importantly, we will be working with your applicants and the Elders to organise group discussion regarding a range of Native Title Matters, supported by First Nations Legal and research services. Please keep an eye on our website as we post all information on this as we receive it. We are working to FNLRS to get the information available in plain English to help us all understand these complex matters.

We look forward to seeing you at our meetings and events in the future.

Yours sincerely,

Brian Stevens Roger Fenwick

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GLaWAC 2018-19 Business Plan on a Page

Our Community

1. Celebrate our successes with our membership through our regular newsletter, media coverage and special events

2. Plan to set up a temporary Latrobe Valley office while finalising options for permanent site.

3. Provide increased communication through improved web and social media portal

Our Culture

1. Increase involvement of community in our cultural sub-committee2. Ensure the elders council meet at least twice per year and are also

supported to assist the NTCH subcommittee to exchange information3. Ensure we continue our cultural training calendar for all staff4. Support Gunaikurnai people and families to connect with culture and

country through on country events

Our Country

1. Implement the first stages of the new Joint Management Plan for our ten parks and reserves

2. Develop a GLaWAC position regarding the TOLMB role and structure3. Negotiate a revised RSA with government, including negotiating

ownership of Forestec and surrounds4. Develop GLaWAC position statements on Cultural Awareness training,

Cultural burning, Mining, Marine and Water. 5. Investigate Land and Business Acquisition strategies

Our Organisation

1. Commence implementing the new GLaWAC Workforce Strategy 2. Effectively Deliver on our core business and contracted requirements3. Establish annual calendars and agendas for the board and all sub-

committees4. Complete Director training and succession5. Advertise and grow scholarships and education support for community

Our Economy

1. Grow and consolidate partnerships with government and other service providers2. Start-up the Forestec Café for both training and employment creation

3. Focus on Cultural Hub business functions

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GLaWAC 2018-19 Business Plan on a Page

C a l e n d a r o f E v e n t s

Elders’ Council Meeting

Thursday 30 and Friday 31 August 2018 - Sale

Community cultural event - Saturday 1 September

10:30am-2:00pm

The Knob Reserve Stratford -

Invitation on the back page of this newsletter

Governance Workshop at Forestec

25 - 26 September 8.30 am– 4.30pm

Elders’ Council Meeting

21 - 22 November 2018

Annual General Meeting

23 November 2018 -To be confirmed

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Joint Management (JM) Rangers Report

• The GK Rangers have been at the Buchan Caves Reserve and working on a wall project with PV Staff to deliver those works. The rangers have also been resurfacing the walking tracks with Power Barras towards Soring Creek.

• Bradley Hood, Jai Nelson and Doug Harrison, Matt Holland, Andy Booth (NRM Manager) all went on to New Guinea Cave 2 for a site visit with Parks Vic, where a fence will go up around the cave, the works will start after Winter.

• We have also been up at Corringle and some of our works have been around planting trees, putting in new BBQs and mulching around plants. We did have a problem with some cattle in the Reserve and up to 7 were impounded.

• GLaWAC also has young Harley Finn doing work experience for two weeks with JM and NRM. Harold Hood started work experience with us on 23 July.

• Bradley Hood has been working over and around Bunga Arm with Parks Vic, he has been over there three times on the boat and enjoyed every minute of it, putting in new BBQ’s and cleaning up camp sites.

• Kobi Cook and Jai Nelson stayed down at Traralgon to work up at Tarra Bulga for two nights and got things done with the walking tracks and culverts (gutters).

• Kobi Cook and Jai Nelson were down at Loch Sport to help Parks Vic to clean out their yard, this went on for two days and there were around 16 rangers helping.

• The JM Rangers have been helping out the NRM team in the last couple of weeks planting out different sites. It’s great to work together as part of the whole of country team. The teams have been planting up to 1,200 plants a day which is working out well. We would also like to welcome back Max Solomon.

• Shay Terrick and Grattan Jnr have been working with Matt Holland from Parks Vic and with consultants Annemarie and Nicole for the Lake Tyers Camping and Access strategy plan. The draft strategy is coming along really well. Some of the places they have visited are Mor-well, Orbost, Sale and Drouin for community members to have a say about the Park.

• Shay Terrick has stepped up a lot taking on some work in most of our Parks which is good to see.

• Kobi Cook, Kobi Hood, Mick Farnham and Jai Nelson also attended Nowra for the Fire Sticks Forum, they had a great time and enjoyed being on country

• Dylan Davies-Hood and Shay Terrick are continuing to work on the Buchan Caves Reserves projects

Thank you, Grattan Mullett Jnr (JM Crew Leader)

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Natural Resource Management (NRM) Report

It’s been a chilly winter for the NRM teams. Getting out there on these cold winter mornings and planting thousands of trees day after day. It is a true credit to the lads. After a big year meeting budgets and bring-ing in record amounts of funds for GLaWAC, the NRM teams have done very well and I’m sure GLaWAC management and Board would agree that this is a fantastic achievement.

Bet the hard work doesn’t stop there, on top of the 35,000 plants already planted this winter we have another 40,000 plants to go. We have 5000 plants to go into Ensay, 9500 plants to Ellenbank, 9000 plants to Skull Creek and 7,500 to wetlands around the Wellington Shire to name a few.

Interspersed with the planting there has been weed control and preparation for planting some Cubby house demolition along the Tambo and a Greening Australia education program in Johnsonville with the Kids of Swan Reach Primary school.

Left Nigel Pearce GLaWAC , Martin Potts ( event organiser)-Greening Australia, Alfie Hudson- Footprintz Cultural Experience, Erin Nowak- Bug Blitz.

Several weeks ago we had members of the NRM team visit Nowra for attend the Firesticks traditional fire workshop. The workshop were held at the Bundanon Trust Reserve in the south coast of NSW and hosted by the Mudjingaalbarage fire sticks team. The site is a beautiful property that was owned by the famous Australian artist the late Arthur Boyd.. The Bundanon Trust and Traditional Owners host this amazing event to help improve the health and culture of their area and for communities abroad.

The team came back full of knowledge and enthusiasm ready for cultural burns that are currently being planned around many of the Parks and Reserves in the Gunaikurnai RAP area.

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Recently, all GLaWAC staff had the opportunity to participate in a Health Check

program. We were helped by members of the Bung Yarnda Community Emergency Response

Team, Orbost Paramedics, Ambulance Community Officers, the Diabetes Victoria Aboriginal Liaison

Officer and nutritionist and Andy Booth from GLaWAC/Ambulance Victoria. All facilitators were giving

presentations and monitoring the health of the GLaWAC employees. This program will continue on a

bi-yearly basis and monitor different aspects of GLaWAC Employees health with the aim of keeping our

employees as safe and as healthy as we can.

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Registered Aboriginal Party (RAP) Report

We have a had a couple of slower months however the RAP work has picked up

which is great, and more to come over the next couple of months. The guys have

been to Traralgon doing a salvage for Gippsland water earlier in the month. We

have also participated in a survey for Telstra laying fibre optic cable between Tambo

Crossing and Swifts Creek for improved communications for Mt Hotham. Some of

our RAP team have completed the necessary training to begin working on a major

project with Rail Projects Victoria, doing a large assessment for a new railway bridge

to be built over the Avon River at Stratford.

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A media event was held in June to promote the cultural heritage work being undertaken on the

outskirts of Traralgon as part of a Gippsland Water and GLaWAC sewer mains program. The cultural

heritage work is being carried out by the GLaWAC RAP team. There was considerable media

interest with journalists attending from the Latrobe Valley Express, WIN TV, Nine regional TV and

ABC Gippsland. Nicky Moffat from GLaWAC and Deb Archer from Gippsland Water did a fantastic

job as spokespersons.The story has been reported across press, TV, social media and radio. ABC

Gippsland ran a 6 minute pre-recorded interview as part of the morning program. Attached are

some examples of the media stories from last night and this morning.

• Latrobe Valley Express online

• ABC Gippsland Facebook video

• 9 News Gippsland video clip

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Cultural Hub Report

The Cultural Hub program supports the Corporation’s activities through community engagement with Government agencies, key stakeholder groups and education service providers. We have continued to work and develop meaningful and respectful relationships with all groups we work with, whilst still supporting the important work of Joint Management.

We recently hosted and delivered a number of cultural awareness and education sessions with staff from Gippsland East Local Learning & Employment Network (GELLEN) West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority (WGCMA) VicRoads and Fulton Hogan. These sessions provided an opportunity to promote and showcase the important work GLaWAC undertakes within all our program areas relating to the Registered Aboriginal Party(RAP) Joint Management Rangers and Natural Resource Management (NRM).

All of GLaWAC staff participated in a variety of NAIDOC Week events that were held in early July starting with a Welcome to Country, Flag raising ceremony and morning tea hosted by the East Gippsland Shire Council to formally launch NAIDOC Week and the significance of the theme “Because of Her We Can” which acknowledged all Aboriginal women who have contributed significantly to the advancement of our local Aboriginal communities development and progression.

A huge crowd attended the annual GEGAC street march and community day at Bairnsdale which was well supported by the broader community to celebrate NAIDOC Week with local shops decorated with balloons and Koorie flags. This event seems to get bigger each year which is great to see.

GLaWAC NAIDOC boat trip was also a highlight and success with an excellent turn out from community which saw the boat trip travel to one of our Joint Managed parks at Sperm Whale Head on the Lakes National Park where our Rangers had completed a full upgrade to the site with new interpretation signs telling our story of this area.

There have been quite a number of requests for Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremonies through GLaWAC from a range of agencies which were delivered by staff and respected community members over the past month.

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AGL Loy Yang held a staff luncheon for NAIDOC Week at their site in

Traralgon. Aunty Eileen Harrison had one of her artworks projected

onto one of the cooling towers which could been seen at night from the

Traralgon township. A Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony was

conducted and Aunty Eileen spoke about the significance of her art and the

theme of “Because of Her We Can”.

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P a r t n e r s h i p s

The Forestec Café project relates to reopening this facility to create an economic

opportunity in hospitality for GLaWAC. This facility will also support training initiatives in hospitality for

our Gunaikurnai people and will support the initiative of creating a cultural Hub/Centre at Forestec. The

Cultural Hub will attract visiting tourists and will form a significant part/attraction of the East Gippsland

visitor economy. The Café will support needs of the visiting tourists.

The kitchen was fully renovated and the training participants were pleasantly surprised with the fully

compliant, bright and state of the art Café/Kitchen. All that is missing now is the flair and talent of our

hospitality participants in creating some great food and coffee.

This project is an opportunity to get traction on the Gunaikurnai Whole of Country Plan it touches the

following elements of the plan:

o Cultural Heritage Hub at Forestec – This project will support the hospitality aspects of creating

the Cultural Hub

o Cultural protocols, tourism and economic development

o Training and employment opportunities for our people. In conjunction with Karen Fleischer

Paynesville Neighbourhood Centre (PNC) training providers. Training could commence early in the new

financial year, but the only proviso is that the Café/Kitchen must be compliant for food safety and work

place safety.

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P a r t n e r s h i p s

Chief Executive Officers and Managing Directors from a number of key organisations met at the

Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation (GLaWAC) offices recently as part of their schedule of

quarterly meetings. Mr Roger Fenwick, the GLaWAC CEO hosted a tour of the facilities before the meeting

began and emphasised the importance of partnerships with the agencies and the Gunaikurnai community.

Part of the meeting involved cultural training by Grattan Mullett, the Cultural Hub Manager for GLaWAC.

Grattan provided insights into Gunaikurnai culture and history and described the reasons behind the

Traditional Owner acknowledgement given before each meeting. In attendance at the meeting were; Clinton

Rodda, MD for Southern Rural Water (SRW), Graeme Dear, CEO for East Gippsland Catchment Management

Authority (EGCMA), Roger Fenwick, CEO for Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation (GLaWAC),

Gary Gaffney, CEO for East Gippsland Shire Council (EGSC), Tim Bull, Shadow Minister for Aboriginal Affairs,

Grattan Mullett, Manager Cultural Hub GLaWAC, Bruce Hammond, Managing Director for East Gippsland

Water (EGW), Sue Medson, CEO of Gippsland Lakes Community Health (GLCH) and Nick Murray, CEO of

Gippsland Ports.

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Community connections

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Community connections

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Community connections

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On Saturday 14 July in the Strzelecki Ranges of South Gippsland, Dr Doris Paton, joined The

Hon. Lily D’Ambrosio, the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change and many local

community members in opening the new Brataualung Forest Park.

This is part of the ongoing process of high value forest handback being negotiated between the

state and Melbourne-based HVP . HVP Plantations is one of Australia’s largest private timber

plantation companies.

Dr Doris Paton welcomed the group to the lands of the Brataualung clan of the Gunaikurnai

and spoke proudly about the history of these lands. She was also pleased that the Gippsland

community voted for the new park to be named after the Clan for the area.

Community connections

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The NAIDOC Week Boat Cruise to Sperm Whale Head was filmed and the end result is a wonderful representation of the community coming together to celebrate.

We will be releasing the final draft of the video soon on the GLaWAC website www.gunaikurnai.org

The above images are screenshots from the video. As you can see, the day was definitely given the ‘thumbs up’.

Community connections

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Community connections

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G e t t i n g t o k n o w t h e G L a WA C S t a f f M e m b e r s

Maureen Penwill - Finance

Why did you want to work for GLaWAC?

To make a difference in the successful growth of an Indigenous, Not for Profit Organisation

What skills do you bring to GLaWAC?

Accounting qualifications and knowledge.

What is your favourite thing about your career?

I have enjoyed working with numbers since a young age. (A bit of a nerd really!!)

What three items would you take with you on a deserted island?

My husband, his guitar and a never ending pack of Tim Tams!!

If you had to describe yourself as an animal, which one would it be?

A Jack Russell – Loyal, loving, and with an attitude that defies my size!!

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Daniel Miller - On Country General Manager

G e t t i n g t o k n o w t h e G L a WA C S t a f f M e m b e r s

What skills do you bring to GLaWAC? I think that I bring life experience and organisational leadership to GLaWAC. I have worked for 20 years in leadership roles with various organisations in NSW and Victoria, and I hope that this has made me well placed to support Gunaikurnai people and GLaWAC fulfil aspirations and protect culture.

What motivates you to work hard?Two things motivate me the most, the first is lessons learnt from watching family members, particularly my dad, work hard for their family. Watching the pride they took in everything they did, and taking the time to talk and share this with me.

The second is to try and create this same positive experience for others who may not have had that opportunity. I really want young Aboriginal people to understand where they fit and to have the right tools to make decisions that are best for themselves and their family.

If you could choose to do anything for a day, what would it be?Go back to when my kids were little, and enjoy their company again. I guess I may have a similar opportunity in the future if I am ever blessed with grandkids

What was your first job? My first job was washing dishes at Coolangatta Historic Village near Nowra in NSW. My family are from this area and its traditional name is Cullungutty. Alexander Berry settled the area around 1822 and named it Coolangatta, which then gave its name to the city of Coolangatta on the NSW and Qld border, when a ship built by Alexander Berry was wrecked on that area of the coast.

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Whose track is it?The track below was photographed on the beach at Lakes Tyers.Can you guess which animal made this track? Hint: A large animal that is not native to Australia

The answer will be in the next edition of the GLaWAC News.

Last edition, the animal that made the track was the Soldier Crab. Did you guess it correctly?

Soldier Crabs move in large groups across exposed sand flats at low tide, looking for plant and animal matter left by the retreating water. They walk forwards, instead of sideways like other crabs. When disturbed they quickly burrow under the surface, corkscrewing into an instantly made shallow cavity in the sand.

Crab with spherical blue body with a red-purple patch on side. Observed in large dense ‘armies’ at low tide.

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Traditional Owner Land Management Board (TOLMB) Report

I am pleased to report that the Joint Management Plan is now close to being finalised with the Secretary of DELWP formally approving the Plan on the 23rd July. The last hurdle is to get approval from the Minister which should happen some-time over the next week or two. This is a momentous occasion as it will be the first Joint Management Plan developed and approved in Victoria and it means that all the hard work and input of everyone involved over the last five years can now be used to further the land management aspirations of the Gunaikurnai.

The Joint Management Plan contains a range of strategies and actions that when implemented will increase employment and training opportunities for our rangers, support cultural activities in the parks and provide ongoing opportunities for economic and cultural development while ensuring Gunaikurnai have a strong voice in ensuring our parks are healthy and Gunaikurnai culture is promoted to the broader public. It means we will also be able to continue to develop key projects that will strengthen our working relationship with Parks Vic and provide ongoing opportunities for our rangers to continue to build on and broaden their cultural knowledge by working with our Elders and other Gunaikurnai community members.

I would like to extend my appreciation to all those that came along to our workshops and provided their views and feedback over the years to help us reach this milestone. I would also like to thank my fellow Board members, the GLaWAC Board and its staff, and our Executive Officer and Project Officer for their endeavours over the last year which enabled us to finalise the JMP development journey. I would also like to acknowledge the importance of our partner agencies who continue to embrace the opportunity to work collaboratively with the Board and GLaWAC to ensure this will be a true success. I look forward to further developing these unique partnerships as we move ahead with priority implementation actions for the ongoing benefit of all Gunaikurnai people and all Victorians now and into the future.

In the mean-time we are currently working with our joint management partners to have a formal launch of the plan by the Minister at the Knob Reserve in Stratford on Saturday 1st September between 10:00am and 2pm. This is shaping up to be a great event and we are looking forward to seeing everybody there to join in the celebrations. There will be live music, cultural activities and food and drinks provided, so we encourage anyone who requires transport to contact GLaWAC for bookings.

There will be copies of the plan and other material available on the day or you can visit our website and social media pages to get more information.

Yours sincerely,

Grattan Mullett

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Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation (GLaWAC) News content Disclaimer

Opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation. We do not guarantee the accuracy or accept any responsibility for the statements or comments made by the contributors in articles

submitted. GLaWAC reserves the right to amend, alter or delete any items, statements or articles which it feels is not in the best interest of Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation or its members.

Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation- Forestec, 27 Scriveners Road, Kalimna West, Victoria 3909

Ph: 03 5152 5100 Fax: 03 51521666Email: reception@glawac.com.au

www.gunaikurnai.org Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation supports the preservation of land, water and environment.

This newsletter has been printed on recycled paper, using non toxic inks and solar power.

Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation (GLaWAC) warmly invites community members to a cultural celebration of caring for country, which will be recognised by the commitment of a formal partnership

between GLaWAC and the State Government of Victoria

Saturday 1 September10:30-2:00pm

The Knob Reserve- StratfordLunch provided

Live music by Black SatinDance groups

YarningDue to the special nature of the location, vehicles will not be permitted on-site. Parking and shuttle buses will run from the

Stratford Recreation Reserve from 9:30am-10:15amIf you require transport to Stratford, please phone GLaWAC on 51525100

This is a culturally safe event - Artwork by Alice Pepper-Hughes