Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / East Arnhem Regional Council Dale Keehne welcomes the recognition of Indigenous Local Government, also known as Aboriginal Community Controlled Local Government Councils.

Transcript

East Arnhem Regional Council Dale Keehne welcomes the recognition of Indigenous Local Government, also known as Aboriginal Community Controlled Local Government Councils. · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Now the President of the East Arnham Council has welcomed
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  Speaker 1: the genuine recognition of Indigenous local government also known as
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  Speaker 1: Aboriginal community controlled local government councils, and this is something
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  Speaker 1: that's happening right now. Joining us well, I'm joined right
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  Speaker 1: now by the East Arnham Council CEO, Dale Keane. Good
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  Speaker 1: morning to you, Dale.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning Dale.
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  Speaker 1: I apologize that we're running late this morning.
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  Speaker 2: Mate, Thank you.
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  Speaker 1: So much for your time today. Now, why is this
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  Speaker 1: recognition so important?
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  Speaker 2: Look, this is something council has been working on for
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  Speaker 2: at least the last year, but it's really important in
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  Speaker 2: terms of first of all, funding our Aboriginal council. Look,
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  Speaker 2: I'm Balandera, which means Westerner, but all my bosses, the
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  Speaker 2: president of the council, all the local authorities in every
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  Speaker 2: nine community are Aboriginal, and this council the things that
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  Speaker 2: they want to work with community, they can't give one
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  Speaker 2: dollar as an Aboriginal organization. So there's so much new
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  Speaker 2: even so much good work, and council can help do
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  Speaker 2: that work. And that's the first thing.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: The second part of it is really about the voice.
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  Speaker 2: What sort of things that people want in communities want
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  Speaker 2: to make things better and.
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  Speaker 1: So talk us through how like has the process beengun
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  Speaker 1: on the transition or where exactly the things out at
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  Speaker 1: the moment.
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  Speaker 2: Look, you know, it is very much like land rights.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, we know that's a massively significant thing. But
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  Speaker 2: the land rights, you know, people average and people always
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  Speaker 2: had the rights to land, just that recognition of that.
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  Speaker 2: So this has been an Aboriginal Council. We're been here
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  Speaker 2: fourteen years like the other regional big councils, and before
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  Speaker 2: that there were the councils in each community which were
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  Speaker 2: a result. So it's not in terms of the recognition part.
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  Speaker 2: It's been since around June last year. Council put up
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  Speaker 2: in motion down in Canberra and meet with the Minister
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  Speaker 2: as well ken White. But the motion was to Australian
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  Speaker 2: Local Government Association and they got a unanimous support for
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  Speaker 2: the recognition should be recognitioned by every day and Territory
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  Speaker 2: and the Federal Government of the Aboriginal status, the authority
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  Speaker 2: and role of Aboriginal councils around Startia.
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  Speaker 1: And as you said, you know you've obviously everybody on
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  Speaker 1: the on the council, or a lot of the people
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  Speaker 1: on the council are Indigenous, they're local indigenous people. Has
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  Speaker 1: it been like, has it been something that they've been
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  Speaker 1: wanting for quite some time? Has it been frustrating for
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  Speaker 1: them up until this point. Yeah?
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely, you know, I mean I think you all are
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  Speaker 2: very forgiving with government coming in over the years in
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  Speaker 2: different governments and coming in and not necessarily listening as
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  Speaker 2: much as they could or should that they Yeah, they're
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  Speaker 2: absolutely and as you know, people a pretty strong here.
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  Speaker 2: I mean there's definitely strong Aboriginal community across the whole event. Yeah,
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  Speaker 2: but I can speak, you know for the people. I
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  Speaker 2: work for the Yawned people, and yeah, they're very passionate
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  Speaker 2: about this. They want to make sure they're voice. They've
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  Speaker 2: got a voice. They make resolutions every local authority meeting,
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  Speaker 2: every council meeting. But my am Larget not been hurt
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  Speaker 2: by the Balander governments and they're positive. They want to
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  Speaker 2: work and they want to partner with the governments more
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  Speaker 2: and more, and they want to work with all the
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  Speaker 2: other Ravage organizations as we do day and day out,
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  Speaker 2: but just in really pushing to get some more progress
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  Speaker 2: and a lot of social and other issues.
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  Speaker 1: And as that was going to be my next question,
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  Speaker 1: what are the biggest issues that they are really hoping
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  Speaker 1: to get that recognition on and you know, to make
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  Speaker 1: some change.
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  Speaker 2: Look, you know there's so many that's i mean, some
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  Speaker 2: major issues at the moment of youth justice. I'm really
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  Speaker 2: trying to get out of this merry go round where
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  Speaker 2: no one wants kids to go to don Dale and
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  Speaker 2: go down that path. But so on the other how
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  Speaker 2: we want to bring communities together, the clans, to have
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  Speaker 2: that authority work with the police, work and build on
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  Speaker 2: the youth programs. We've got to get kids offer that
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  Speaker 2: track and onto the right track with traditional authority CDP
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  Speaker 2: that's been reviewed and we're real ten to get back
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  Speaker 2: to a real genuine CDP that leads the jobs, roads
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  Speaker 2: and massives across the community into homelands. Carlor is a
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  Speaker 2: big thing in our region and other parts that the
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  Speaker 2: legal sale carver are coming back. So there's quite a
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  Speaker 2: there's a raft of issues and by having engagement and stronger,
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  Speaker 2: real genuine engagement from ground up, we reckon we can
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  Speaker 2: and the councilor is very clear that we have a
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  Speaker 2: practical way forward. Yeah, So rather than having meetings on
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  Speaker 2: these things and people come in and go, we have
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  Speaker 2: the voice of the people who follow through with action
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  Speaker 2: and then working in partnership of government to get real
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  Speaker 2: action because sometimes on these things that things float around
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  Speaker 2: and you can't get the level of action that should happen.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's exactly right. And you know you're talking about
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  Speaker 1: about real people in the community who want to make
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  Speaker 1: that change and those leaders that want to you know,
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  Speaker 1: to be at the fore making sure that they are
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  Speaker 1: part of that change.
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  Speaker 2: By the sounds of it, absolutely and they absolutely are.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, anyone can check our record is the last
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  Speaker 2: few years, all the resolutions of each local authority, whether
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  Speaker 2: it's advocating to get staffing the property, staffing at Milli
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  Speaker 2: across so the clinic can be open off or better
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  Speaker 2: engagement with police, that those things are there. But we're
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  Speaker 2: just not getting enough action on the ground in terms
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  Speaker 2: of response from government. But we really like the long
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  Speaker 2: gum are under our president. He's passionate about engaging and working.
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  Speaker 2: Good government is about coming together. It's just about recognizing
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  Speaker 2: if we come together, we will be able to get
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  Speaker 2: more done. And the federal government is very important as well,
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  Speaker 2: because they've got you know, they've got most of the
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  Speaker 2: repair of the money and you know, with them and
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  Speaker 2: all the key services the NT government to run together,
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  Speaker 2: we could try and get some innovative ways and going
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  Speaker 2: back to culture as well at heart to work through
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  Speaker 2: some social issues and make a better future for the
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  Speaker 2: communititans and only members as well. Well.
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  Speaker 1: As things progress, we'll have to we'll have to get
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  Speaker 1: you back on or if you want to bring a
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  Speaker 1: lab Plung on the show, we'd love to have him
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  Speaker 1: on as well. Yeah, I think it'd be good to
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  Speaker 1: hear how things progress and and you know the change
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  Speaker 1: then that you see in the in the communities and
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  Speaker 1: in the region.
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  Speaker 2: Sure, thanks a lot. And Laplong is leading a meeting
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  Speaker 2: right now in the building. I'm in here at Yrkarla
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  Speaker 2: and he's really keen to talk directly and that's you know,
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  Speaker 2: that's why it should be of course, So he's he's
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  Speaker 2: leading this with the other counselors there in Alas. So
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  Speaker 2: thanks a lot for the opportunity. We're happy to talk again.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, we appreciate it. Good to talk to you and
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  Speaker 1: no doubt we'll talk again in the near future. Dale Keene,
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  Speaker 1: thank you so much for your time.