Message from the Secretary
Reconciliation Week in 2007 begins with the 40th Anniversary of the 1967 Referendum. In 1967, more than 90 per cent of Australians voted to give the Australian Government the power to make laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and to ensure they were counted in the census. It was one of the nation's most significant steps on the road to reconciliation between Indigenous people and the wider Australian community.
To celebrate this achievement, the Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaCSIA) has developed an action plan that places on the public record its strong commitment and actions to progress reconciliation. It is not a new commitment. It is a longstanding, growing and ongoing commitment. It is a commitment about which the staff of the department and I are very proud. FaCSIA is an employer of choice: around eight per cent of our staff is Indigenous.
As the government's lead agency for Indigenous affairs, FaCSIA is working with other departments to overcome Indigenous disadvantage and close the gap in the outcomes between Indigenous and other Australians - particularly in the areas of health, housing, education and employment. This work is central to the government's reconciliation effort to improve outcomes for Indigenous people. For some time now in FaCSIA, Indigenous business has been and will continue to be everyone's business. Under Priority Business Result 3 in our Strategic Plan, we are progressively redesigning our mainstream programs to be more responsive to the needs of Indigenous Australians.
This Reconciliation Action Plan focuses on the steps the department is taking to better deliver the government's policies and programs, and better engage with Indigenous Australians. It is about the department being a responsible and culturally aware corporate citizen, in respect of those things over which it has control. The plan outlines what we are doing to promote reconciliation in the way we:
- provide whole-of-government leadership
- deliver programs and services
- work with clients, communities and other stakeholders
- manage our organisation.
The plan is not a long, comprehensive list of everything the department does in respect of Indigenous Australians. Rather, it highlights our key ongoing activities and initiatives, and a range of new reconciliation activities across the department. I have asked all departmental managers to also consider what they can do to further reconciliation when they develop their business plans.
To keep it real, this plan sets out concrete actions with measurable performance indicators. A report against those indicators will be considered by the department's executive each year in the lead up to Reconciliation Week. I will publicly report back to staff on our performance in Reconciliation Week 2008.
Dr Jeff Harmer
Secretary
21 May 2007