Reconciliation Australia has officially endorsed environmental peak group, Healthy Land & Water’s comprehensive Reconciliation Action Plan, which is a practical guide to how the organisation will deliver meaningful changes across the business in support of reconciliation.

Healthy Land & Water CEO Julie McLellan says she is looking forward to bringing Healthy Land & Water’s commitments to life.

How we're bringing our Reconciliation Action Plan to life

“This is a major milestone in Healthy Land & Water’s journey of reconciliation with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community and bolstering our ability to support further empowerment of First Nation’s peoples across South East Queensland,” says Ms McLellan.

“We’ve had a long-standing appreciation for the role of Traditional Owners in managing Country, and now have a living document detailing a comprehensive range of actions that we commit to progressing to enable increased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership in managing the region’s cultural landscapes.”

She says the comprehensive range of actions is expected to lead to increased employment and investment in projects that involve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander priorities relating to issues such as fire management, wildlife protection, cultural heritage, and land restoration.

The approach from Healthy Land & Water also supports a statewide Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Participation Principles of Practice framework that has been cooperatively developed by all 12 Regional Natural Resource Management Groups in Queensland.

A novel call for expressions of interest in employment with Healthy Land & Water opened this month.

Ms McLellan says that an example of the proactive actions that are part of the plan include Healthy Land & Water’s commitment to hiring and contracting work to people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent. “This month we’ve put out a call inviting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to express their interest in working with Healthy Land & Water,” she said. “This approach will allow us to proactively engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people when filling new positions or undertaking recruitment activities,” she says.

The types of roles across the business that might come up in the future include everything from administration to fieldwork, undertaking restoration and monitoring, science, and management positions.

Ms McLellan says this initiative is one of the many practical ways the Healthy Land & Water team is demonstrating a commitment to reconciliation through their values and actions.