|
Lightning Ridge Australia-Black Opal Country |
Click Here For Black Opal Advocate News Main Index |
Signing the Memorandum of Understanding for the Walgett River Towns Project was - back row: Paul Clark, Acting Assistant Director General of the Premier's Department; Sam Jeffries, Chairperson of the ATSIC Murdi Paaki Regional Council and Alan Friend, President of the Walgett Advancement Association; front row - Peter Waterford, Mayor and George Rose,Chairperson of the Gamilaroi Goondi Working Party. Communities of Bourke, Brewarrina, Wilcannia and Walgett have been experiencing a range of underlying social problems that have impacted on the overall health and well being of the community as well as influencing the level of economic development in the area. In seeking to address this situation a range of initiatives have been commissioned by various community and government stakeholders in the past. However, despite these initiatives, the capacity of various community and individual government stakeholders to address the underlying social problems has been constrained and the effectiveness of many initiatives has often been dissipated. This has been partly due to the diversity and complexity of the issues and the lack of collaboration within the context of the whole of community response. In an attempt to address these important issues the New South Wales Premier's Department has initiated the River Towns Project and in partnership with ATSIC, Attorney General's Department and the Department of Community Services will contribute funds totalling $242,116.00 to Walgett for a two (2) year period (referred to as stage one). A Community Facilitator will be appointed to drive the development and implementation of the Walgett community social plan, crime prevention plan and other community projects. The key objectives of the River Towns Project are:*To develop community processes and instructions that increases the communities capacity to respond to and influence the course of economic and social change in the medium to long term. *To facilitate community and regional based government and non-government services providers adopting common approaches that actively increase the level of community participation in management committees, action strategies and delivering government and non government services. *To gain alignment in the activities and projects of the three (3) tiers of government. *To work in partnership with civic, business and Aboriginal leaders to seek their endorsement and involvement in the project and to achieve a community balance between and internal and external reliance that results in greater community control and ownership. *To provide a strong focus on delivering relevant, culturally appropriate leadership mentoring courses to the youth, women and indigenous sectors within the community. *To build on the work of Barwon Darling Alliance, to capitalise on the commonalities within the four (4) river towns to enable the communities within this sub region to build on each others successes and opportunities. Walgett was the first community to sign off on the Memorandum of Understanding and will commence recruitment of the Community Facilitator in late January 2002. Other communities will follow shortly. The official signing of the Memorandum of Understanding for the Walgett River Towns Project was held in the Walgett Council Chambers on Monday, Monday, January 21 2002. Mr Paul Clark, Acting Assistant Director General of the Premier's Department travelled to Walgett to sign the memorandum of Understanding. Other signatories were the Chairperson of the ATSIC Murdi Paaki Regional Council, Mr Sam Jeffries, the Chairperson of the Gamilaroi Goondi Community Working Party, Mr George Rose, the President of the Walgett Advancement Association, Mr Alan Friend, and the Mayor, Walgett Shire Council, Councillor Peter Waterford. |
Click Here For Black Opal Advocate News Main Index |
