Online Forums see greater member involvement

Celeste Liddle, National A&TSI Organiser

This year, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (A&TSI) National Forum was held online due to COVID-19. With about 40 registrations, some of which turned up for all four of the sessions, it was a successful couple of days of discussion.

Forum was held on 27-28 August and, for the first time ever, was thrown open to all NTEU Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members, rather than just elected representatives and delegates approved by their Branch.

Chaired by National A&TSI Councillor and Acting Chair of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Policy Committee (A&TSIPC) Sharlene Leroy-Dyer, with other members of the A&TSIPC anchoring and driving the discussions, the Forum was divided into four separate two hour sessions: Welcome and introductory speeches, Yarn Session, Discussion regarding National Council Motions, and Plenary and voting.

At the end of the Forum, several motions were endorsed for inclusion at the NTEU National Council. These included a machinery motion that all A&TSI National Council motions from 2019 be rolled over into 2021 due to COVID-19; a motion that senior level appointments relating to Indigenous knowledges and business on campus should be identified; and a motion calling on the NTEU to withdraw financial support from the First Nations Workers’ Alliance (FNWA) in preference for directly supporting ACTU work with Community Development Program (CDP) workers directly. All motions were passed and work will proceed of them in the coming year.

In particular, we wish to stress that the NTEU continues to support the fight for wage justice, proper rates and protections, and superannuation for CDP workers and will ensure members are kept updated with our new plans to work with the ACTU on that front. These motions combined with the many motions passed at National Council 2019 (such as recognition of cultural knowledge and ownership of cultural property and artefacts) will form the work of the union in 2020.

The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Forum followed what has been an ongoing series of A&TSI Division meetings which have also been held online. In light of COVID-19, the regular schedule of Division Forums could obviously not continue in their usual format. In lieu of this we conducted almost monthly meetings for each of the Divisions, along with specific meetings for casual members.

Given the success of these meetings and the fact that many who attended had previously not attended the in-person Division Forums, it is envisaged that in 2021, once all travel restrictions are lifted, in-person Division Forums will be organised and these will be complemented with continued opportunities for online engagement so that as many members as possible get to have a say.

The NTEU National A&TSIPC, together the with National A&TSI Unit, would like to thank all who attended this year’s National Forum, shared their stories, contributed to the discussions and debates, and helped set the NTEU’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander agenda for 2021. Your input has been invaluable and we look forward to seeing many of you in person in your Branches and Divisions next year. ◆