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Steering Committee expands to welcome regional community members

Planning for the Aboriginal Cultural Centre (ACC) project has reached another exciting milestone with 8 experienced Aboriginal community members joining the project’s Phase 2 Steering Committee.

Recognised for their experience working in a partnership approach with government and Aboriginal communities on major projects, the Aboriginal appointees to the Steering Committee are:

• Ms Lorraine Coppin
• Mr Peter Jeffries
• Mr Anthony (Tony) Lee
• Ms Carol Martin OAM
• Ms Cheryl Martin
• Mr John McGuire
• Ms Taliah Payne
• Mr Barry Winmar.

The Phase 2 Steering Committee will oversee the next stage of project development, which includes recommendation of the business case, the preparation of the project definition plan and continued community engagement.  

The first meeting of the Phase 2 Steering Committee was held on 9 August 2023 where agenda items focused on establishment and governance matters. Outcomes of the first meeting of the Phase 2 Steering Committee include:

Steering Committee establishment and foundational documents

The Steering Committee were presented with a suite of establishment and foundational documents to consider.

The following foundational documents were endorsed by the Steering Committee:

• Code of Conduct: guides the Steering Committee members’ personal behaviour; communication and official information; record keeping and use of information; conflicts of interest; and reporting suspected breaches of the code. 
• Declaration of Interest and Confidentiality: allows members to manage any potential, perceived or actual conflict of interest. The Declaration of Interest is a standing agenda item at each meeting of the Steering Committee and its sub-committees.  
• Statement of Respect and Commitment: guides all aspects of the project to ensure it operates in a culturally safe way and provides fundamental principles to ensure stakeholder consultation acknowledges, recognises and respects Aboriginal culture.
• The Steering Committee then considered its terms of reference, charter and proposed sub-committees. It was agreed by the members that further refinement and amendments to these documents would be made and brought back to the Steering Committee at its next meeting.
  

Project update

The Steering Committee was provided an overview of the ACC business case, including:

• Integration of the State Governments Major Project Strategic Asset Management Framework (SAMF) with the Noongar 6 season framework established by Dr Richard Walley OAM.
  
• Overview of the Business Case (Djilba) and Project Definition Plan (Kambarang) phases.
  
• The 6 functional spaces of the ACC as identified in the business case, including:
  • community 
  • hosting
  • gallery/exhibition
  • commercial
  • education/research
  • performance.

• Information was also provided on the proposed benefits that the project will generate once built and operational. The Steering Committee was provided with a timeline for finalising and recommending the business case to the State Government for approval.
  

The next Aboriginal Cultural Centre Steering Committee meeting is to be held on 18 October 2023.