MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD
2020 has proved to be a challenging year not only for DAC but for all organisations operating under the new conditions forced upon us by the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, these challenges also present opportunities. For example, throughout the pandemic the DAC Board has been subject to travel restrictions and quarantine arrangements. This has forced us to look at better ways to meet and reduce expenditure on Travel Allowance using Zoom meetings and new technology to ensure we save time and money on travelling.
The Board recently agreed to engage the services of 100-% Aboriginal owned KSJ Consultancy Services to help us revise and refocus the DAC Strategic Plan in light of Covid-19. KSJ is a highly skilled team with demonstrated experience in broad range of strategic planning and communication.
DAC Board Members took part in a Strategic Workshop in Marree on 31 October 2020.
KEY DATES
DAC Annual General Meeting: Saturday 27 February 2021 Port Augusta
The DAC Office in Port Augusta will be closed from Monday 21 December 2020 and open on Monday 4 January 2021
Strategic Plan Face-to-Face Consultation Sessions:
(Details to be confirmed pending Covid-19 Restrictions)
Monday 7 December 2020
Tuesday 8 December 2020
Port Augusta
Wednesday 9 December 2020
Thursday 10 December 2020
Marree
Thursday 10 December 2020
Friday 11 December 2020
Adelaide
Monday 15 December 2020
Tuesday 16 December 2020
Monday 30 November 2020 until Friday 4 December 2020
CONSULTATION ON STRATEGIC PLAN
The consultation will be led by KSJ Consultant Uncle Bill Wilson, a Ngarrindjeri man, who will facilitate sessions in Broken Hill, Port Augusta, Marree, Adelaide and also via Zoom for members across the country. More details and the dates for these consultation sessions will be confirmed in the coming week and provided to members via the next newsletter, the Dieri website and a closed Facebook Group.
AGM
Following the consultation with members, the revised Strategic Plan will be presented at the next AGM.
Due to the travel and venue restrictions plus delays as a result of Covid-19, the AGM has been carried over to 27 February 2021 and will be held in Port Augusta. We will provide more details about this in our next newsletter.
We wish to thank our members for their patience during Covid-19. We are committed to providing better communication to you all,and look forward to your feedback on the Strategic Plan moving forward.
We also wish to congratulate our CEO, Shane Kemp and his management team in securing a contract for traffic management on the Joy Baluch Bridge Duplication project in Port Augusta. This is excellent work and provides opportunities for Dieri people to get jobs, training and qualifications.
UPDATE FROM THE CEO
With COVID-19 slowing down business around the country we have been very busy securing a contract for the new bridge works at Port Augusta with a focus on jobs and business opportunities for Dieri people.
LATEST CONTRACTS
Dieri Operations PTY LTD entered into a joint venture with South Australian family owned Prime Traffic Solutions, this collaboration is known as the Far North Traffic Alliance (FNTA). FNTA was awarded the traffic management contract for the Joy Baluch AM Bridge Duplication Project, with work starting this month securing approximately 25 jobs for Aboriginal people in the region.
A further 12 Dieri people have been identified for training with Prime Traffic Solutions in Adelaide.
If you are interested in working in the Traffic Management workforce and would like to obtain tickets and training, please forward your name and contact details onto the DAC Office.
LAKE EYRE BASIN ALLIANCE GROUP
In late October, I travelled to Longreach in QLD to represent DAC as part of the Lake Eyre Basin Alliance Group. This group represents over 12 language groups connected to Lake Eyre.
The key purpose of the Group is to make sure water in and around the Basin is protected and conservation of land is secured in the face of fracking and activity from mining companies.
The meeting was very successful, with Alliance drafting a terms of reference and coming together as a unified force to negotiate with Government and business for the best interests of all Aboriginal people.
UPDATE FROM THE CEO CONT.
MEETING WITH SA PREMIER
On 19 October, I met with Stephen Marshall, Premier of South Australia and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs at Parliament House in Adelaide.
The meeting focused on securing jobs and business opportunities for Aboriginal people. The Premier was very impressed with the work Dieri are doing in this regard – and our focus on self-determination.
We have been informed through the latest SA Budget announcements that more than $1.3 billion dollars on major infrastructure projects has been secured in SA’s Far North.
This includes:
• $135 million for the Strezelecki Track
• $8 million for the Birdsville Track We will be working hard to secure contracts and business opportunities for Dieri people as part of this work.
STRATEGIC PLAN CONSULTATION
Due to the recent Covid-19 outbreak in SA and other states, we have been advised that numbers are limited for the face-to-face sessions. Meals are provided.
To book your place please contact the Dieri Office on telephone (08) 8641 0092 or email ksjconsult@dieri.org.au
CEO
Dieri Aboriginal Corporation
Our congratulations to Joanne Waye-Hill on her recent appointment at CPB. Well done Jo – we are very proud of your achievements.
STAFF UPDATES
We are very proud of the achievements of Joanne Waye-Hill who recently secured a promotion as a Project Site Administrator at CBP Contractors. CBP are the construction company who are developing the Bridge extension in Port Augusta.
Joanne has been an invaluable team member in the Dieri Office. Her dedication and commitment to her work here at DAC is a testament to her character. I know she will make us all very proud in her new role.
We are working hard to realign our Strategic Plan. As part of this work, we are working through a restructure of our organization to ensure we meet the needs of our members now and in future. We are looking at our current roles, assessing the gaps we have and will be recruiting office positions in the near future. If you are interested in working in an administration role, please contact our office and submit your resume.
I would like to welcome Judy Davies from the KSJ team who is working with the DAC office staff while the restructure occurs.
MEMBER UPDATE
DIERI IN THE NEWS
DAC has recently received some very positive media coverage in the news! Check out the articles below:
Advertiser News Story Saturday 19 September 2020
Transcontinental News Story Wednesday 7 October 2020
Good news for Dieri members! The DAC polo shirts are now available at the following prices:
$20 for adults
$10 for children
Please contact the Dieri Office to place your order or to purchase your shirts.
REMINDERS
Tax invoices/ receipts:
A reminder to all DAC Members that you need to provide copies of your Tax Invoices/ Receipts to the DAC office, so that the Corporation can claim the GST back on goods received.
Change of details
Please don’t forget to notify the DAC Office if you change any of your details such as address, email, telephone number or household members, so that staff can update the register and improve our communication with you.
SPOTLIGHT ON MEMBERS
We are looking to feature stories about Dieri Elders and member’s achievements in each of our newsletters. If you know or hear of Dieri people who are achieving great things, please know by contacting the DAC Office. Don’t forget to include a photo.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
Theodore Roosevelt
NEW FACEBOOK GROUP
We are looking to feature stories about Dieri Elders and member’s achievements in each of our newsletters. If you know or hear of Dieri people who are achieving great things, please know by contacting the DAC Office. Don’t forget to include a photo.
COVID 19 UPDATE
Due to the recent Covid-19 outbreak in SA and Government restrictions that are now in place, please be advised that the DAC Office in Port Augusta is now open but may be subject to closure.
You can submit applications electronically via the Dieri website www.dieri.org.au or via reception@diericorp.com.au.
To make sure your applications are processed quickly please fill in forms 1 and 2. Don’t forget to provide any supporting documentation. You can provide supporting documentation by taking a photo of it on your phone and emailing it to reception@diericorp.com.au.
Please call us if you need help with this on telephone, 08 8641 0010.
Please remain vigilant about protecting yourself and the community from infection. Visit the Department of Health website for updates here: www.health.gov.au/news
6 Tassie Street (PO Box 695)
PORT AUGUSTA SA 5700
Phone: (08) 8641 0092 OR (08) 8686 8556
Fax: (08) 8641 1002
E-mail: reception@diericorp.com.au
Website: dieri.org.au
Office Open Hours 9:00am to 5:00pm – Monday to Friday