News – Page 2 – Black & More

Paanja Festival

In the pristine top end town of Mapoon, The Paanja Festival was held in September 2018. This wonderful festival was proudly sponsored by Black & More and supported by Mapoon Aboriginal Shire Council.

Over four days, more than 3000 festival goers rocked out to local and national bands at the 55th anniversary which includes; Artists displays and demonstrations, Performing Arts & Cultural displays, Traditional food and a range of sports and recreational activities.

The festival commemorates the forced removal of Indigenous people from Mapoon in 1963, and currently sits right up there amongst the best events in the Cape York peninsula area, along with Laura Aboriginal Dance Festival and Cooktown Discovery Festival.

Paanja Festival 2023 aims to be even bigger and better, visit www.mapoon.qld.gov.au for more information.

Cairns Ironman

Senior Project Manager, Mark St Amand (center) recently competed in the Cairns 2019 Ironman. As part of team “Couch Pirates”, Mark completed the 21.1K run.

The Couch Pirates have participated in this event for the last 5 years and will continue to do so in the future.

This is a great achievement by Mark!

Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea

On the 23 of May, the staff at Black & More hosted an event for Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea to raise vital funds for those that have been affected by cancer. Staff members contributed by bringing in a plate to share and also donated $82.50 towards the event.

Black & More have participated in this event and other charity fundraisers for several years and will continue to hold these fundraisers in the future.

The Cancer Council is the only charity that works across every area of cancer, from research to prevention and support.

To find out more or to register for their next event please visit their website https://www.biggestmorningtea.com.au/

Melbourne Cup Day

The staff along with a few of our valued sub consultants had the pleasure of attending the Melbourne Cup Day at Salt House. The day consisted of fashion, horse racing, sweepstakes, live music and beautiful food. It was a great opportunity for staff to socialize outside of the work environment and also network with our sub consultants.

Pormpuraaw Cultural Festival and Bull Ride

Held over three days on the 21st to 23rd of September 2018.

Pormpuraaw is on the west coast of Cape York about 500kms from the tip of Australia, just south of the Edward River. It is home of the Thaayore, Wik, Bakanh and Yir Yoront People. Pormpuraaw is a beautiful community that is well known for its coastal location, magnificent sunsets and abundant fishing experiences.

The community event was held to promote;

• Community and Cultural Empowerment – maintain and strengthen Indigenous Cultural Expression and Conversation.

• Social Inclusion and Community Well Being – Promote Australia’s valuable Indigenous heritage and the unique place of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and cultures in Australian society.

Pormpuraaw Aboriginal Shire Council are planning to build onto this event every year and attract tourists to the Pormpuraaw Community for further economic development opportunities.

Cape York community partnering with corporate world to develop home-grown entrepreneurs

New businesses are starting up in the remote Cape York community of Lockhart River as part of the local council’s push to empower home-grown entrepreneurship. Mayor Wayne Butcher said building a private sector and supporting a local economy was key to changing the dynamics in remote Aboriginal communities where employment and economic opportunities were limited. “That’s always going to be the challenge but what we’ve managed to do well is scope what business opportunities [exist] in our community,” Cr Butcher said. “They’ve always been there, it’s just a matter of bringing them to the surface.” Lockhart River Aboriginal Shire Council will tender out works including garbage collection, parks and gardens maintenance and catering services to support the establishment of local businesses. Cr Butcher said Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA) funding had already provided opportunity for delivering local projects by local people. “The policy at the national scale actually supports local businesses … so three local people have gone out and leased machinery to deliver the projects for us, established their own business and also employed skilled Indigenous machinery operators,” Cr Butcher said. “Eighty per cent of the work will be delivered by 100 per cent owned Lockhart businesses that have 100 per cent Indigenous-skilled workforce.” Working with the private sector to deliver positive outcomes Lockhart River has also partnered with Bond University to create better educational pathways for children from the Cape York community, a program that has helped support council’s economic vision. The university has made two visits in three years, bringing education and business leaders to Lockhart River to get a first-hand understanding of the social issues in remote communities. Andrew Weaver, executive general manager of ISS Facility Services, a global facility management company delivering cleaning, catering and property services, visited Lockhart River through the program in July. A man stands in front of a large tree in a park. PHOTO: Andrew Weaver, executive general manager of ISS Facility Services Australia, visited Lockhart River and helped pilot a locally owned and operated cleaning business. (ABC Far North: Brendan Mounter) “I was pretty naive about the Aboriginal community until I went to Lockhart, I was like a duck out of water,” Mr Weaver said. “I listened and listened and I thought ‘Here’s an opportunity’.” Mr Weaver has since lent his expertise to help pilot a locally owned and operated cleaning business under a not-for-profit model, which will reinvest money back into community pursuits. Four community members have been employed to deliver the first contract at Lockhart River School from January 2017. Mr Weaver was confident the model Lockhart River had established could be successful in other remote communities. “We’ll take ownership of the start-up so we can set-up a company that’s not driven by financial impact straightaway, we realised the value of that, our friends in Pathways will support the labour hire model and keep people at work,” Mr Weaver said. “We’ve got an ability now to branch out to Weipa and a place in WA, now we’ve got over the big speed hump [establishing the model].” The target is to employ 25 local people across three communities in the new year. ‘Something that’s been missing’ Cr Butcher welcomed the input from the private sector and believed there was great scope for cross-cultural learning. “It’s something that’s been missing for a long time, in Lockhart in particular, because of the norm of the welfare cycle, the norm of government control and before that religious control,” Mr Butcher said. “The private sector, it’s different, and I think that’s what’s going to change the whole social fabric of our community. “Once people start earning proper money, then they can afford to buy assets, vehicles, boats and home ownership might finally become a reality.” Source: abc.net.au

Black & More recognised for project management of Atherton SHS Independent Learning Hub

The people behind the construction of “The Hub”, managers Tony and David Black of Black and More (a Cairns-based engineering and project company), project co-ordinator John Darbyshire of the Department of Education and Training’s infrastructure section and Cairns builder Luke Vis of Vis Constructions. ATHERTON State High School’s special education unit has been renamed the Individualized Learning Centre to better “capture the essence” of what it is about. Principal Helen Carne said all students would be involved in learning at “The Hub”. “Our values at Atherton High are to cater for all students,” Ms Carne said. “The Hub has been established in the centre of the school.” She commended the proactive parent Diana Reda who shot off letters to the minister and achieved an incredible outcome. “We needed a modern facility with the appropriate standards and equipment,” Ms Carne said. She commended students with disabilities teacher Charlene Reedman who undertook research and visited other “hubs” to ensure the Individualized Learning Hub would meet the needs of the school. Among the others she thanked, Ms Carne singled out Atherton State School. During construction, the primary school shared its facilities with the high school students. “I thank all the other Tablelands schools in the local cluster who supported us,” she said.

“We all know the strength of our community is our youth.” While most speakers at the opening of “The Hub” lavished praise on the woman in the pyjamas, Diana Reda was grateful to all those who made the new facility a reality. “You opened the door for not just these students today but those students and their families in the future,” she said. Ms Reda thanked Education Minister Kate Jones for fast-tracking the project in a matter of 12 months and the Member for Dalrymple, Shane Knuth. “Mr K, thank you for listening to the crazy lady in her pyjamas in the street. I saw my chance and I took it.” She thanked Atherton State High School principal Tony Whybird, who was on leave, for supporting the project as did the P&C. “Mr Whybird and staff made Atherton High a place of inclusion and provided opportunities for all students to achieve their academic, social and emotional goals. “You have given families hope and security that their children can participate in educational programs. “Our children can get the education and training they need to receive. “You have given hope to a wonderful group of students.” Source: Table Lander

Black & More provides oversight of Army Engineers on Laura Infrastructure Project

The town of Laura, 200 kilometres northwest of Cairns, recorded a population of just 82 in the 2011 Census. Since April, however, more than 150 Australian Army personnel have been living and working in the town as part of the Army Aboriginal Community Assistance Program (AACAP). The troops’ commanding officer, Major Jack Plimmer said they were working on four major projects including construction of a wastewater treatment plant, a multi-purpose community centre and the erection of a roof over the community’s existing outdoor multi-purpose court. “The final big project we’ve got is [constructing] about 1,000 metres of footpath down the Peninsula Development road,” he said. “The purpose of that is really to get the kids to stop walking on the road to and from school and get them walking on the footpath.”

A win-win situation

Now in its 20th year, the AACAP takes army personnel from all over the country to a different regional Australian town each year to deliver infrastructure, health and training. This year the majority of the boots on the ground are those of soldiers usually based in Sydney. “Most of the engineers that are part of our contingent are from Holsworthy Barracks, based in Sydney, however we’ve got hospital personnel based out of Enoggera Barracks in Brisbane and logistics and catering personnel from as far away as Perth and Darwin,” Major Plimmer said.

Preparations for the arrival of 150 Army personnel in such a small town began in 2014. “That was one of our challenges right from the start, to break the ice,” Major Plimmer said. “We understand we’re quite intimidating, the Army, in our green uniforms, especially coming in such a big number. “So we did a lot of pre-engagement with the Laura residents, over a period of about two years, where we established what projects we’d be doing in collaboration with them.” While stationed in Laura, some soldiers have also volunteered their down-time to assist local veterans building a memorial at the nearby Pandanus Park War Veterans Retreat. He said amongst the many personnel based in Laura were electricians, plumbers, dental and medical staff, vehicle mechanics, fitter and turners, educators, metal workers and cooks. “It’s a really diverse team which makes it really rewarding to lead. “Everyone’s working hard, and being soldiers they love working hard and that makes them happy.” According to Major Plimmer setting up a camp big enough to accommodate so many people is one of the reasons the AACAP is so important to the Army. “This is really similar to what we have to do if we were to do operations overseas, or a humanitarian or disaster response type scenario in the southwest Pacific,” he said.

“We supply our own water from the Laura River, which we purify and use for drinking, we provide all our own electricity, we’ve got our own stand-alone communication system and we also treat all our own waste-water on site. “But also for our soldiers to be able to use their skills and their specialities to help the Australian community is brilliant.” AACAP operations in Laura are due to be completed in late September 2016. Source: abc.net.au

Black & More assisting Lockhart River to roll out Roads and Indigenous Role Models

A group of Lockhart River roadworkers have formed their own business and tendered for work that would otherwise go to a fly-in fly-out workforce. Councillor Paul Piva, responsible for economic development in the community, said some 70 kilometres of roadworks around the community provided council with a chance to build local capacity. “It’s given us the opportunity to get 100 per cent Indigenous boys to go out there and work on the roads,” Cr Piva said. “Last year we gave it a go with two machines and then the local boys [saw] me and said ‘Paul, we’d like to give it a go as well’ and I said ‘Well, the opportunity’s there, the money’s there — why don’t we keep the money in the community?’ “That’s basically when the penny dropped and everybody said ‘Let’s do the same thing, let’s lease our own machines’ and that’s what we’ve done this year.”

Keeping the money within community and creating jobs ‘on country’

The $2 million worth of contracts have employed eight young men including 35-year-old Kanthanumpu man Wilfred Accoom who commutes two hours between site and home each day. “We’ve just been working on the formation of the road, putting re-sheet on the road,” Mr Accoom said. “Yeah, hard work getting up at four o’clock in the morning, driving out there … finishing off at six.” Mr Accoom said the long days and hard work would pay off, for both him and his people. “The money stays in the community amongst all the locals and more employment for the young people,” he said. “[We’re] trying to get them out there working on their country, giving it a go.” Darren Macumboy, aged 38, is a new trainee. He worked as a groundsman at the local school for about six years but saw the roadworks as a chance to learn new skills and earn more money for his family. “It’s time for me to seek different jobs. I’m doing my training on a roller and it’s definitely been a different experience from other jobs that I do,” Mr Macumboy said. The Wuthathi man said he was proud to be building roads on his country and wanted to set a path for his people.

“When I’m working in community it feels good, you know you’re not away from your family and you’re right here working, you’re surrounded by families too,” he said.

“Not only for my family but for the younger generation, I’m trying to be a role model — to show them that it’s not hard to get up and try different stuff and when you do, at the end of the day you’ll reach your goal.”

A role model for remote Indigenous business

Lockhart River’s goal is to build local entrepreneurs and Cr Piva said he hoped his shire’s early success could pave the way for other Indigenous business opportunities. “I hope that there are companies out there willing to give us a go like Tutt Bryant’s done, giving us the faith to lease their machines,” Cr Piva said. “There are opportunities out there, just get out there and give it a go. “Try and empower your own people, get them involved as well so they understand the day-to-day running of businesses.” The Pascoe Farm roadworks will be completed by the end of August. Source: abc.net.au