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City Celebrates NAIDOC Week

The City of Rockingham will today celebrate National Aborigines and Islanders  Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) Week with a flag raising ceremony, cultural performances, story-telling, and stallholders who will showcase services for local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

NAIDOC week runs from 3 to 10 July this year and celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
In a significant move for the City, the NAIDOC event will also mark the official launch of a 12 month Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). 

City of Rockingham Mayor said of the plan: “It is a formal document that acknowledges the gap in health and well being between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and other Australians.
“It is a starting framework with the aim of making all of the City’s services, facilities and functions inclusive, equitable and accessible to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.  
“Some of the most significant components of the document are an Indigenous Employment Strategy and traineeships specifically for Indigenous people as well as recognising the importance of events like Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week.
”The City’s vision for reconciliation is to help build a community that welcomes diversity and celebrates difference.”
The City is the second Local Government in the Perth Metropolitan area to develop a Reconciliation Action Plan and it heralds an important new beginning for the relationship between the City and local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. 

The plan provides a framework to ensure that all of the City’s services, facilities and functions are inclusive, equitable and accessible to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
In development for two years City staff consulted with local Indigenous groups and individuals, through interviews, workshops and focus groups, which has shaped the plan’s priorities.
The three main aspects of the plan focus on:
Building Relationships; developing and strengthening relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and City Councillors and staff, as well as facilitating and fortifying relationships within its spheres of influence in the community.  

Fostering Respect; fostering mutual respect between City Councillors and staff and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This includes building capacity to provide a culturally secure service, and working together towards a deeper understanding of culture. 
Developing Opportunities; Create, support and facilitate opportunities for, and with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, through joint examination of the existing gaps and advocating for opportunities to close those gaps.
The RAP draft was endorsed by Council in April 2011 and is now subject to final approval and comments from Reconciliation Australia (RA).

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