CENTRAL Highlands Water have released the organisation\u2019s Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan.<\/p>\n
To mark the occasion the staff from the utility held an event, including smoking ceremony and welcome to county, in conjunction with members of the Wadawurrung and Dja Dja Wurrung peoples at White Swan Reservoir on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The launch was held at White Swan because it\u2019s near the boundary of Wadawurrung and Dja Dja Wurrung lands.<\/p>\n
Chair of the CHW board, Jeremy Johnson, said he\u2019s worked with members of the Wadawurrung community before and it\u2019s that experience that help guide him through the organisation\u2019s RAP development process.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a deep understanding and links there. At board level that plays out in the development of strategies to put in place and then deliver against it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a very important day for us and a very proud day.\u201d<\/p>\n
The reconciliation plan outlines the reasoning behind Central Highlands Water development of the document and a range of actionable items.<\/p>\n
They include staff and board members taking part in cultural leaders training, strengthening cultural connection to land administrated by CHW through signage updates and traditional owner engagement and increasing employment opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.<\/p>\n
Wadawurrung leader, Bonnie Chew, has been involved with the development of the plan since early in its inception after being approached by CHW.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s helped guide the organisation\u2019s approach to the document and suggested to them which stakeholders to engage with.<\/p>\n
She was positive about the plan.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s definitely a meaningful document,\u201d Ms Chew said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir people are really on board with wanting to reconcile. It\u2019s not about a document that\u2019s going to be a shelf sitter. That was something we had a conversation we had from the very get-go.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Central Highlands Water\u2019s Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan has a list of actionable items, Ms Chew was confident the organisation\u2019s desire to achieve them was real.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s now become part of their business planning and it\u2019s in each of them management areas are writing it into their business planning to make sure people are on top of things,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have to go through an internal process to make sure and their board is on board to make sure everything is smooth sailing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
CENTRAL Highlands Water have released the organisation\u2019s Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan. To mark the occasion the staff from the utility held an event, including smoking ceremony and welcome to county, in conjunction with members of the Wadawurrung and Dja Dja Wurrung peoples at White Swan Reservoir on Tuesday. The launch was held at White Swan […]<\/p>\n