News in brief

Can-do girls aiming for construction jobs

A team of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women has restored a run-down community house in Woodridge.

The restoration was run as a state government-funded jobs project, allowing the women to learn work skills while doing their bit to improve emergency housing for Indigenous families.

The house is owned by the Black Community Housing Service and is used as a home for families in need.

Under the supervision of a qualified builder, the women fixed its floors, widened doorways, replaced walls, repainted inside and out, installed a new fence and fitted new kitchen cabinets.

Aside from the hands-on experience, their work counted towards a Certificate I in General Construction.

Participant Reynae Singleton said she was proud of her accomplishments on the project.

“Thanks to this program I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty and could give the guys a run for their money. The theory work is very educational and the trainers are always there to help you,” she said.

The project was run by The Construction Training Centre with funding from the government’s Skilling Queenslanders for Work program.

For further information, visit: www.employment.qld.gov.au

Resources jobs

Governments and the resources industry have formally committed to giving jobs to more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers in Queensland’s north-west and Bowen Basin.

The commitment was formalised in a memorandum of understanding, signed last month by the Queensland Resources Council and state and federal governments.

Juru People’s native title win

The Federal Court of Australia has recognised the Juru People as native title holders of 86 square kilometres of land and waters in Cape Upstart National Park, near Bowen.

A state government spokeswoman said it was the result of a claim first made in 1997 and covered the park’s northern and southern mainland parcels and most of Camp Island in Abbott Bay.

The Juru People and the Kyburra Munda Yalga Aboriginal Corporation signed an Indigenous land use agreement that lets the state government maintain the park’s natural values.

The Native Title Tribunal said it was the 58th native title determination in Queensland, 53 of which have been resolved by consent.

Queensland also has 267 registered Indigenous land use agreements.

Mental health online

The Mental Health Review Tribunal now has online information for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, patients and their families.

To find out about the rights of patients, what happens at hearings and how to get in touch with the tribunal visit www.mhrt.qld.gov.au

Project 2800

There has been an enthusiastic take-up of Project 2800 – the state government’s push to provide government jobs for 2800 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

The Public Service Commission reports the project’s database is likely to have more than 2000 candidates by the end of this month.

The database is the best way for candidates to link up with government jobs. They can list their work experience, qualifications, skills and interests for potential employers.

Government employers then use the database to search for potential employees based on the specific skills they require.

For more information, call (07) 3227 8152 or send your contact details to project2800@psc.qld.gov.au

Extra help for chronic diseases

Work has started on a new, $39 million chronic disease centre on Thursday Island, expected to open late next year.

A government spokesman said the Torres Strait and Northern Peninsula Area had about 3000 chronic disease patients.

Diabetes and renal disease are significant health problems and almost 400 people in the Torres Strait have varying stages of kidney disease.

“The new centre will mean patients can access their treatment close to home for the first time,” the spokesman said.

It will include a new nine-chair satellite dialysis unit, which can be expanded in the future, as well as a specialists’ clinic, eight consulting rooms, clinical procedure rooms and a therapy and rehabilitation area.

Trial extended

The Australian Government has extended Queensland’s Cape York Welfare Reform trial.

May’s federal budget included $16.1 million to extend and expand the trial until 31 December 2012.

Of that amount, $2.7 million will go toward home ownership – connecting new blocks to water, sewerage and electricity, developing land administration systems for secure land tenure and helping local Indigenous people obtain a mortgage.

The trial has operated in Aurukun, Coen, Hope Vale and Mossman Gorge since July 2008 to improve school attendance, children’s care and protection and community safety.

It is a partnership between the communities, the Australian and Queensland governments, the Cape York Institute for Policy and Leadership and regional organisations.

Indigenous guide for schools

The state government has issued a guide that promotes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in state schools.

The guide has a broad thrust, from helping teachers to support Indigenous students to adding Indigenous perspectives into curriculums and school cultures.

“It will help schools develop a culturally appropriate strategy that reflects on the past, responds to the present and fosters change for the future,” a government spokeswoman said.

“It also aims to strengthen partnerships between schools and local Indigenous communities to support inclusive education and help Indigenous students succeed.”

The guide is part of a three- pronged approach which also involves online learning materials and face-to-face workshops.

Embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Perspectives in Schools: A guide for school learning communities is available at: www.deta.qld.gov.au/indigenous

Extra support

The federal government has committed an extra $3.2 million to supporting Indigenous Australians in the criminal justice system.

The one-off funding followed the House of Representative Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs’ Doing Time – Time for Doing report into rates of Indigenous incarceration, and includes:

• $1.6 million extra to divert offenders or rehabilitate those in prison or juvenile detention, to reduce re-offending
• an extra $850,000 for Indigenous Legal Aid to increase legal assistance, early intervention, community legal education, use of interpreter services, community support and training.

Doing Time found Indigenous young people accounted for 59 per cent of the total juvenile detention population, and the detention rate for Indigenous young people was 28 times higher than the rate for non-Indigenous young people.

For further information on the report, visit: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/atsia

Business careers in Brisbane

Up to 50 Indigenous Australians in southern Brisbane are being prepared for jobs in administration, horticulture and retail under the ‘Gulgan Yanbi — Walking a Different Path’ Indigenous employment project.

The project is being run by Civic Solutions in Mount Gravatt and funded by the Australian Government.

After 12 months, the participants will earn a Certificate II in Business that covers customer service, workplace communication and business technology.

Local Indigenous mentors will help them with pre- employment and on-the-job training to prepare them for full-time work.

Digital television

Analogue television signals will be turned off in large areas of eastern Queensland on December 6.

Thirteen Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are working in regional Queensland to get Aboriginal households ready for switch to digital signals.

“It’s important community members know about buying the right equipment and, if eligible, accessing government assistance schemes,” said part-time community liaison officer Brenda-Lee Anson, who is working in Sarina and Mackay.

For more information visit www.digitalready.gov.au or call 1800 20 10 13.

Fitness jobs

A group of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is training to work in Australia’s fitness industry.

Twenty people from Brisbane, Ipswich, Cherbourg and the Sunshine Coast are receiving accredited training in Certificate III or IV in Fitness, as well as pre-employment training, business mentoring and individual future job plans.

The goal is to help them find work in the industry and, ultimately, to become business owners.

The project is funded by the Australian Government and is being run by White Beech Consulting Pty Ltd, Fitnance, Fitness Education and Training and the Australian Indigenous Youth Academy.

Bush tucker in Redcliffe

Redcliffe’s Bush Tucker Day 2011 has been expanded into a two-day event by popular demand.

“There is a lot of gourmet food and the people are interested,” said Michael Connolly, from event organisers Dreamtime Kullilla Art.

“They wanted more time, so we’ve changed it to two days.”

Michael said last year’s event drew people from NSW, west to Roma and north to Gladstone.

This year, chef Dale Chapman will be back with cooking demonstrations and workshops. Dale is one of the faces of the state government’s deadly stories campaign.

Michael also promises a program of cultural entertainment, arts and crafts. “It will be a full cultural presentation,” he said. There will be workshops on establishing a bush tucker garden with Witjuti Grub Bush Food Nursery; cooking demos on native herbs, meats and spices; and, after lunch each day, question time about bush tucker cooking with Dale and other experts like Bryant Wells (Tukka Restaurant), Samantha Martin (Sacred Oz Productions), and John and Mary King (Rainforest Liqueurs).

Bush Tucker Day 2011 will be held in Webb Hall, Redcliffe Showgrounds, on 12 and 13 November. For further information, visit: www.dreamtime.auz.net

CQ training

A pre-employment program in central Queensland is helping 125 local Indigenous people towards jobs in mining, construction and aged care.

The project, run by Salvation Army Employment Plus and supported by the state and federal governments, aims to match people with jobs in the region’s skill shortage industries.

“We know that mining, construction and aged care are industries looking for workers and we want to be sure Indigenous people have the skills to meet those needs,” a government spokesman said.

“The project employs a full-time mentor and trainer to … support the participants as well as working with employers to deliver cultural awareness training.”

Early in the project, some participants had begun working as either civil construction trainees with a road-building company or as dump truck operators with a large mining contractor.

Fractured footy fun

Children at Cherbourg State School were the first in the South Burnett district to receive a book set of fractured fairy tales with footy stars in the role of princes.

The books are fictional stories about players’ holidays and other entertaining prose, intended to boost reading skills while giving the kids a laugh.

University research shows they get children, teenagers and parents engaged in books.

The first Tarong Energy NRL Readers Program books arrived at Cherbourg in late July, with the district’s other schools receiving them over the next month.

“The literacy program is designed to get students more involved in reading books in a fun, active way that can be done in the classroom or at home,” said Steve Belsham, from the Australian Rugby League.

The program is also attached to a new activity-based NRL backyard league program which “… involves students participating in, and abiding to, in-class and on-field game rules that support better behaviour, self-confidence and working in a team environment,” Steve said.

Rail company signs covenant

Australia’s largest rail freight company has signed up to the Australian Employment Covenant, to provide sustainable job opportunities for Indigenous Australians.

QR National managing director and chief executive Lance Hockridge said he wanted “Indigenous people to be part of QR National’s growth story going forward”.

Victim assistance

Victim Assist Queensland has a fact sheet to help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims of crime.

“(We want to) help victims of crime better identify their situation and take action towards receiving the help they are entitled to,” said Department of Justice and Attorney-General Deputy Director-General Terry Ryan.

“The (fact sheet) spells out various scenarios a person may find themselves in situations where they need assistance and then points them in the right direction for help.

“The new fact sheet has been tailored to meet the cultural needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims of crime, whether they live in urban, rural or remote communities.”

It is also available in Torres Strait Islander Creole.

For further information, call Victim Assist on 1300 546 587 or visit www.justice.qld.gov.au

Animal conference

The Animal Management in Rural and Remote Indigenous Communities organisation is holding a one-day conference in Townsville next month.

There will be a theme for veterinarians and a concurrent theme for animal management and environmental health workers.

The conference will be held at Rydges Southbank on 11 October 2011.

For further information, visit: www.amrric.org

AMRRIC is an independent group of vets, academics, health professionals and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It works to improve the health and wellbeing of companion animals and improve the overall health and wellbeing of remote Indigenous communities.

Reconnecting children with their culture

Cherbourg’s first “culturally connecting communities” day might become a model for promoting Indigenous cultural education throughout Queensland’s state schools.

Cherbourg State School principal Peter Sansby said the day grew from a general community desire to re- create the huge celebrations that Cherbourg used to stage for NAIDOC Day.

But when principals from schools in the surrounding Barambah Education Cluster became interested, the celebrations grew into a combined cultural day to help Aboriginal children to reconnect with their culture.

About 500 pupils from six schools attended the inaugural event on August 8. Those in years 7 to 10 visited the Ration Shed Museum to learn the history of Cherbourg. Other age groups rotated through other activities, from face and boomerang painting to traditional dance, food and games.

This year’s success has encouraged Peter to consider developing the Cherbourg cultural experience into a teaching package that can be used in schools everywhere.

He sees it as an employment opportunity as well, with locals employed to deliver it to all Queensland’s schools.

Peter is planning to explore the idea with Education Queensland.

If it gets up, the program will be run for just Cherbourg State School in 2012.

“We plan to take it out slowly because we want to get it right,” he said.

After that, it could expand to include schools in the Barambah Education Cluster and, eventually, to the entire state.

Peter said they were looking at the same model as Education Queensland’s outdoor and environmental education centres, which are scattered around the state.

“It would be great if Woorabinda, Palm (Island) and so-on could get involved,” he said.

Palm mechanics

Fourteen people have an opportunity to become mechanics through a new, federally-funded employment project on Palm Island.

Each will spend six months working for the Coolgaree Aboriginal Corporation while completing four days a fortnight study through the MTA Institute of Technology.

At the end of the six months, they will receive a Certificate II in Automotive Mechanical, an advantage if they decide to seek apprenticeships.

All work experience and study will happen on the island.