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The Miriuwung Gajerrong People are signatories to the Ord Final Agreement, a broad package of measures which implements a platform for future partnerships between the Miriuwung Gajerrong People, WA State Government, industry and developers for the benefit of the wider community and the East Kimberley Region.
Initially, the MG People instructed the MG Global Negotiations Steering Committee to advise the WA State Government that they had no interest in negotiating on any development of the Ord Irrigation Project Stage 2 until such time that the impacts of Ord Irrigation Project Stage 1, caused by the building of Lake Kununurra and Lake Argyle dams, were addressed. In response to this the WA State Government funded the Kimberley Land Council (KLC) to initiate a consultation process whereby the impacts of Ord Stage 1 could be addressed. In June 2004 the Aboriginal Social and Economic Impacts Assessment (ASEIA) Report was produced and, under the auspices of the Ord Enhancement Scheme (OES), is now being used to address those impacts.
The Agreement now recognises, through the ASEIA Report, the injustices of the past, in particular the ongoing impact of the flooding of Lake Argyle, whilst structurally shifting the MG People's social, economic and political position for the future.
The Agreement provides that this structural shift is to be achieved by the creation of a resourced corporation, Yawoorroong Miriuwung Gajerrong Yirrgeb Noong Dawang Aboriginal Corporation (MG Corp), which is to receive and manage the benefits to be transferred under the Agreement, under which there is to be established an Economic Development Unit. Flowing from this is the potential for future crucial jobs and training and a better more self sufficient standard of living for the community. MG Corp’s mission is to improve the social, cultural and economic well-being of the Miriuwung Gajerrong people. In this context, over the past 2 years, MG people have established a complex new governance structure and, aside from the main MG Corporation, there are 3 trustee subsidiary companies that will hold on trust the benefits of OFA. The representative nature of the Corporation is shaped by a traditional cultural structure. The 32-member Governing Committee is comprised of 2 representatives from each of the 16 dawang, or traditional land areas, which make up the Miriuwung Gajerrong native title lands. The benefits are to be shared by all MG People for community purposes. No individual payments can be made.
The MG Corp Economic Development Unit has been established to provide economic development service and advice at both micro and macro levels. This is to be achieved by:
- assisting MG People to obtain more local employment opportunities in existing and new developments occurring in the region, including identifying and facilitating relevant training;
- assisting MG People to establish small business enterprises, including facilitating relevant training, mentoring, business planning and management;
- liaising with local employers to encourage greater MG participation in the local labour force;
- identifying commercial business opportunities;
- sourcing high level expertise;
- sourcing alternative means of finance;
- assisting MG Corp in making sound financial decisions; and
- supporting MG Development Trust and MG Community Foundation in making sound investment and economic development decisions.
A central feature of the Agreement requires that the developer of the Ord Stage 2 area must negotiate an Aboriginal Development Package (ADP) with MG Corp prior to commencing any development. Such an ADP must include:
- an Aboriginal Employment Strategy;
- reasonable Aboriginal employment targets;
- opportunities for businesses owned or operated by MG People to provide goods and services for the development;
- consultation with MG People about the design of the project to minimise negative social and cultural impacts; and
- procedures for the protection of Aboriginal heritage in the development process developed in consultation with the MG People.
MG Corp has now reached the point where it has its structure and governance firmly in place and has many projects and opportunities before it. To date MG Corp, via the Economic Development Unit, has received a number of ADP proposals from proponent developers and is currently involved in an ongoing process of negotiation with each proponent in order to achieve the best possible outcomes (according to the above criteria) for MG People. The Economic Development Unit has also received a number of proposals relating to possible developments outside of the Ord Stage 2 Area.
As awareness is now increasing, MG People are requesting MG Corp Economic Development Unit to provide assistance with developing ideas for enterprises. The Economic Development Unit is being approached to consider many and various ventures and is the conduit through which MG People, government, industry and the private sector will form relationships both commercial and non commercial for the benefit of the MG People and the community at large. |
