Working together with the Aboriginal communities
Fred Dangar, Director of Strategic Business Programs, is the lead negotiator for the whole of Government Local Decision Making initiative for Transport.
Learn about this collaborative initiative as Fred shares how it places Aboriginal people and their communities at the centre of what we do.
What is Local Decision Making?
Local Decision Making is an initiative under OCHRE (Opportunity; Choice; Healing; Responsibility; and Empowerment) the Government’s community-focused plan for Aboriginal Affairs.
Local Decision Making ensures Aboriginal communities have a genuine voice in determining what and how Government services are delivered to their communities.
It enables the staged delegation of decision-making and accountability to the regional level and seeks to place Aboriginal people at the centre of Government service design, planning and delivery.
Local Decision Making helps to deliver the right services
It’s about doing business in a new way with a new approach. The development and delivery of services are tailored to suit the local Aboriginal needs.
It’s not about predetermining the outcomes, but rather to willingly participate in true co-design which delivers the right solution for the regional Aboriginal community’s needs and aspirations.
In doing so, Government services take off the bureaucratic hat and walk together with the Aboriginal communities to ensure the services meet their community priorities.
Why is Local Decision Making important to Transport?
It’s critically important for Transport to be involved in the Local Decision Making process and negotiation, as it places the customer at the centre.
In this case, it places Aboriginal people and their communities at the centre of what we do. By walking beside, understanding, appreciating and acknowledging the aspirations and needs of local Aboriginal communities and the unique environment of each regional area - only then can we truly co-design the services and service delivery which is both culturally safe, appropriate and regionally driven.
What’s your roles?
My role is as the lead negotiator for Transport as part of the cross-Government negotiation team.
Our role as a team is to listen, learn and develop innovative solutions for the proposals put forward by the local Aboriginal representatives (Aboriginal Regional Alliances) on behalf of their communities.
What’s the Local Decision Making process?
Through Local Decision Making, Government agencies and the Aboriginal Regional Alliances enter into agreements (Accords), committing parties to jointly address agreed priorities.
If you’ve heard the term ‘co-design’ this is where it originated from. Government sitting down with Aboriginal community’s to meet the needs of Aboriginal people.
The Aboriginal Regional Alliance are progressively delegated greater responsibilities and budgetary control once capacity is demonstrated.
There are three stages of delegation: advisory, planning and implementation. And with each stage comes a greater level of local decision-making.
How is Transport involved in Local Decision Making?
Transport is currently engaged in two Local Decision Making negotiations. One with the Barang Aboriginal Regional Alliance which represents the Aboriginal people and communities on the Central Coast. The other is with the Riverina Murray Aboriginal Regional Alliance.
Once we have a signed Accord for these negotiations, I’ll work with the appropriate Division to ensure the agreement is successfully delivered. This is uncharted waters for us, and we are currently finalising a formal process on how this is managed.
As more Aboriginal Regional Alliance are formed across regional NSW and the Greater Sydney area, Transport will increase our involvement in the Local Decision Making negotiations.
More information
Further communications will be shared as we progress through the negotiations.
For more information about the Local Decision Making, visit the Aboriginal Affairs website, or for information about Transport’s involvement, please email Fred Dangar: Fred.Dangar@transport.nsw.gov.au
