Coordinator General for Remote Indigenous Services released his six monthly report Dec 2009- Aug 2010 for 29 priority communities.

The report outlines the architecture of the new Remote Service Delivery partnerships (including Board of Management, Regional Operations Centres, and Government Business Managers and Indigenous Engagement Officers).

It also outlines an outcome-focused approach contributing to COAG's Closing the Gap targets. It pushes for Local Implementation Planning to achieve COAG targets at the community level.

Issues raised by some of the communities

• Walgett (NSW)
• • need for on-going support for local Men's Group;
  • delays in delivering a program of repoairs and maintance to housing owned by Walgett Local Local Aboriginal Counci.l
• Wilcannia (NSW)
• • Youth engagment stands out as a critical concern for Wilcannia;
  • Housing issues, including shortages of housing stock, the condition and maintenance of housing; lack of air conditioning and issues surrounding the payment of rent.
• Angurugu (NT)
• • The community expressed some frustration with the lack of advice and clarity arund the Shire transitions and the Northern Territory Emergency Response;
  • Lack of policye presence and slow response times of great concern;
  • Poor educational outcomes and how school attendance and enrolments rates are impactee by the rates of bullying and teasing.
  • Limited recreational activities particularly at night for local youth
• Galwini'ku (NT)
• • poor standard and upkeep of roads
  • lack of youth activities
  • lack of pre vocational training
  • No safe house for victims of domestic violence
• Gapuwiyak (NT)
• • Poort school attendnace and underutilised employment and training opportunities
  • Underutilised employment and pre-vocational training places means that there is a persistent lack of suitably qualified trades people and other personnel within the community
  • need to establish youth engagement strategies including sport and recreation activities
  • need for improved morgue facilities
  • support to establish and maintain dog controls
  • improved housing
  • improved roads
• Gaunbalanya (NT)
• • leadership is a central issue for the community
  • need for improved communication with the Shire, clarity of services provided and awarding of local contracts
  • persistent low rates of school attendance
  • lack of rural transaction facilities such as internet, motor vehicle registration, post office and banking
  • longer term sustainability of child care
  • lack of community cemetery and morgue facilities
• Hermannsburg (Ntaria) (NT)
• • desire to establish education continuum
  • lack of progress in securing trade training facilities
  • inability to modify plans to co-locate creche and concerns over creche capacity
  • lack of developmet of advancing adult learning facilities
  • need to upgrade the health clinic, lack of chronic dises workers and lack of health staff accommodation
  • need for more community housing
  • upgrade of the youth and recreation hall
  • there i some confusion over the provision of community dialysis services that were understood to be provided to allow patients to access treatment int he community
• Lajamanu (NT)
• • improvde local governance and engagement with the local shire
  • need for a new culturally appropriate health clinic is a central priority for the community. Funding agreements is being negotiated to extend and upgrade helath clinic and construct staff housing
  • need for improved community facilities including a swimming pool
• Maningrida (NT)
• • Lack of emerging young leaders within the community and longer term implications for community governance and leadership
  • lack of education, training and employment pathways for young people
  • poor school attendance, concerns with the quality of teachers
  • additional government support being sought to fully implement a dog control plan
  • need for a youth strategy
  • need for improved government communication and inclusin of the Shire as a key service delivery agency
  • lack of timely communication from government agencies around the outcome of Shire funding applications and reporting requirements
• Milingimbi (NT)
• • complex local governance and a need to establish effective engagement strategies across stakeholders
  • lack of infrastructure including aged-care, women's and men's centres and safe houses
  • need to improvie the trang eof youth engagement activities

Recommendations

The report recommends that future iterations of Local Implementation Plans address a number of issues including:

• using the baseline mapping more effectively to inform joint planning;
• support for community level efforts to develop a better coordinated response to Early Childhood education and care issues;
• increasing the focus on education, particularly attendance;
• getting better results from youth investments;
• strategies to address identified infrastructure deficits; and
• turning the commitment for Community Safety Plans into real actions on the ground.

The report also recommends:

• any review of COAG National Partnerships should assess how they effectively contribute to Clsoing the Gap in the priority communities;
• review and where necessary revision of agencies' program funding arrangements to ensure they are responsive to Local Implementation Plans, allowing needed flexibility in achieving whole of government outcomes and applying place-based approaches; and
• support by agencies for the complex and difficult work undertake in Regional Operations Centres.

Please click to download a .pdf copy of the Coordinator General for Remote Indigenous Services report Dec 2009- Aug 2010