Download: From the Presidents Desk – December 2023

To our Local and Regional AECG’s,

Please be advised that the Consultations relating to the Independent Review PwC Indigenous Consulting have been postponed until December 2023.

We note the feedback received regarding October and November are busy times due to AGM’s and we will be sending the network the new consultation schedule once PwC Indigenous Consulting confirms their availability.

I thank you for your patience and apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Raymond Ingrey
Interim President, NSW AECG Inc.

The Youth Development Scholarships helps young people to finish their education and reach their full potential.
 
Students can use their scholarship for educational, support related or living expenses in the 2024 academic year. This can include text books, tutoring, laptops, iPads or transport costs – among other things.
 
Spread the word
If you work with a young person living in social housing or out-of-home care who could benefit from a scholarship, please let them know that the program is available.
 
Young people who previously received a scholarship may be eligible to re-apply for a scholarship in 2024 if they are still at school or engaged in post-school education and are still a social housing client.
 
Important changes to the 2024 program
The application period will revert back to 18 weeks including over the school holidays.

Three online application programs will run simultaneously:

• New High School
• Returning High School
• Returning Tertiary

There will be different application closing dates for high school and tertiary students.

What are the application dates?
Applications for all high school students will open at 9.00am on Monday, 16 October 2023 and close at 5.00pm on Friday, 16 February 2024.

Applications for returning tertiary students will open at 9.00am on Monday, 16 October 2023 and close at 5.00pm on Friday, 8 March 2024.

For more info head to: https://www.dcj.nsw.gov.au/children-and-families/children-and-young-people/youth-development-scholarships.html

Betashares have completed the development of their RAP and have received conditional endorsement from Reconciliation Australia. They are now looking for a Gadigal artist or Aboriginal artist with strong connections to Gadigal Country, to create a unique artwork for their RAP, that reflects their reconciliation journey, values, and identity. Please download the PDF below for the full brief and more info

Download EOI & brief

Recognising First Nations Peoples – Australia’s date with history

Reconciliation Australia welcomes the announcement today that the Voice to Parliament referendum will be held on Saturday 14 October.

The question the Australian people will decide in the referendum is a simple proposition, a matter from the heart.

The question reads “A Proposed Law: to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. Do you approve this proposed alteration?”

The Voice is not Anthony Albanese’s idea. The Voice did not come from any politician. It is the result of many years of deep thinking and consultation within widely diverse Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities from across this continent.

It is, as many have described it, a modest proposal from First Nations people to improve their circumstances by providing input into policy and other deliberations in Parliament and by the Australian Government.

The need for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to have a say in their own lives has been at the heart of reconciliation for decades.

A recent report from the Productivity Commission found that the gap in social and economic indicators between First Nations and other Australians is not closing, with only four of the 19 targets on track to be met.

The Commission identified Governments appearing to have not “grasped the nature and scale of change required to accelerate improvements in life outcomes” as a key reason for the lack of success.

A Voice to Parliament would alter this equation and allow for the opinions of ordinary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and communities to be properly heard, resulting in better policies and better outcomes.

Listening to those on the ground, in the cities, the towns and remote communities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia as Governments formulate laws and policies that affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia is a matter of common sense.

We can no longer have business as usual because the business is not working.

With a Voice the conversation between First Nations peoples and the rest of the country continues.

Reconciliation Australia urges all Australians of goodwill to inform themselves, to find out the facts and not be swayed by the misinformation and lies being spread in the lead up to 14 October.

We urge supporters of the Voice to get active, speak to your neighbours, your family, friends and work colleagues. Call out misinformation and racism when you see it.

We call on all community leaders, including politicians, to approach the debate in a respectful and truthful way, and above all else avoid stoking the sort of vitriolic racism that has defined much of the debate thus far.

The reemergence, in this debate, of racist stereotypes about First Nations peoples is causing damage to Australia’s fabric.

Over the next few weeks of the campaign, we urge unity before division, respect before abuse and truth above misinformation.

This is a chance to uplift Australia, a chance for Australians to feel proud that we are a nation ready for reconciliation and justice for the First Peoples of this land.

Vote Yes for Australia’s future.

Source: https://www.reconciliation.org.au/referendum-2023-australias-date-with-history/