For Wiradjuri woman Donna Jeffries, local government is a place where Indigenous people can help shape their community for the better.
Key points:
- There's a push to increase Indigenous representation in NSW councils ahead of the September local government election
- The Dubbo Regional Council has adopted an Indigenous Engagement Strategy
- Brewarrina's Wiradjuri councillor, Donna Jeffries, says Aboriginal engagement in local government can help communities
"I think it will make a big difference to a lot of councils' focus and the direction in which council will progress," Ms Jeffries said.
Brewarrina Shire, in north-western New South Wales, has a population that is 60 per cent Indigenous but Ms Jeffries is its only Aboriginal councillor.
However, with the state's local government election coming up in September, she is hoping to change that.
"I've actually been contacting a lot of Indigenous people who would be eligible for election," she said.
"They've indicated a strong desire to actually run for council this year.
Ms Jeffries said an increase in the number of Aboriginal people on her shire's council would help empower the local Indigenous population.
"It's really important that your local representatives actually reflect the make up of your town," she said.
Boosting Indigenous engagement
Ms Jeffries' push to increase Aboriginal engagement at her own council comes as the Dubbo Regional Council (DRC) adopts its own Indigenous Engagement Strategy.
ABC Western Plains: Gary-Jon Lysaght
)Under the plan, Dubbo Regional Council's deputy mayor Stephen Lawrence said the council would look to increase Indigenous voter enrolment, as well as encourage Aboriginal locals to put their hand up to run for a councillor position.
"We've certainly had Aboriginal people on council in the past, but we don't at the moment," Cr Lawrence said.
"I hope that this policy assists Aboriginal people out there who might be thinking about it, but haven't taken the plunge yet, in terms of candidacy."
Ms Jefferies said a strategy, similar to DRC's, should be adopted by other local governments.
"All councils should make this part of their core business, particularly for rural and remote regions [such as] Brewarrina, with such high Indigenous populations," she said.
"Our council is putting on a general information session later on this month to inform potential councillors who may be interested."
From grassroots
Wiradjuri woman Lisa Austin was a councillor for the Wellington Shire from 2008 to 2012. That shire was amalgamated with the Dubbo City Council in 2016 to become the Dubbo Regional Council.
Supplied: Lisa Austin
)Ms Austin first became engaged with local government over a desire to help improve the quality of services and programs targeted at Indigenous youth.
"To me, it was more around what were the causes of that and how can we support the kids and the community members to overcome that," she said.
For Ms Austin, local government was the best place to try to fix the issue.
"Having that representation and really having the voice of the Aboriginal community of what needed to be done," she said.
"Councils are not just there for roads, rates and rubbish."
Building trust
Ms Jefferies said local councils were a place where Indigenous people could start to build trust in governments, but state and federal bodies also needed to get on board.
Supplied: Donna Jeffries
)"Federally, Aboriginal people are not very trusting of government, which is understandable given the long history between Indigenous people and government," Ms Jeffries said.
"We need to do a lot of work around educating and reassuring and promoting the good their participation in local government would be able to achieve."
Push to boost Indigenous representation in NSW local government - ABC Message Stick
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