Greater Shepparton City Council adopted its second Reconciliation Action Plan, Innovate July 2023 to July 2025, at the June Council Meeting on Tuesday.
The adoption comes following Council's formalised commitment to reconciliation via the development of its first Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) Reflect in 2019. Since this time, Council has worked closely with Reconciliation Australia on the development of its second plan which aims to further advance and develop collaborative relations with First Nations People and the broader community.
To inform the development of Council's second RAP, an extensive two-phase consultation process was undertaken from September 2021 to September 2022, with more than 380 community members, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal organisations providing feedback throughout this period.
The Innovate RAP is structured under the three themes of Acceptance and Acknowledgement, Cultural Safety, Freedom and Equality, and Education and Employment. These themes highlight Council's desire to create genuine acceptance and acknowledgement of First Nations People history, to ensure First Nations People feel culturally safe and free from barriers, and to increase education and employment opportunities which embed our First Nations People culture and history.
These themes align with Reconciliation Australia's four pillars of Relationships, Respect, Opportunities and Governance. These pillars have been used to guide the Innovate RAP's key actions, with each of these supported by measurable timelines and deliverable outcomes. Some of these actions include:
- Building relationships by celebrating National Reconciliation Week
- Increasing understanding, value and recognition of First Nations People cultures, histories, knowledge and rights through cultural learning
- Using key Council strategies and action plans as tools to work with First Nations People artists and community/arts groups to promote and support First Nations People arts and culture
- Advocating, celebrating and recognising First Nations People dates of significance
- Increasing First Nations People supplier diversity to support improved economic and social outcomes
- Establish and maintain an effective RAP Working Group to drive governance of the RAP
Mayor, Councillor Shane Sali, acknowledged the tireless work which went into compiling Council's second RAP, saying its endorsement proved Council's commitment to continuing on its reconciliation journey.
"Council has made considerable progress from the first Reconciliation Action Plan, Reflect 2019 to 2020, with several achievements completed to date including the Healing the Spirit Cultural Awareness Training for staff and the achievement of our agreement to employ two per sent First Nations People by 2020," he said.
"This second RAP aims to empower our First Nations community through self-determination, equality and acknowledgement of their full history. We look forward to seeing the actions in this second RAP achieved over the coming years."
The Innovate RAP will now be sent to Reconciliation Australia for its final endorsement, before it is officially launched and ready for public display next month.
