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Chris Simpson was working for KPMG when he was

seconded to North East Arnhem Land. ‘It definitely

demonstrated the magnitude of the problem

of Indigenous disadvantage,’ he said, ‘which is

something that I knew theoretically but didn’t really

appreciate until I got there.’ Trish Clancy from BCG

explained that her secondment gave her a greater

insight into the challenges in remote Indigenous

communities: ‘So many Australians have no idea

what remote Indigenous Australia is really like—

even just living in a town with no bank.’

For Tracey Benson, her very idea of ‘remoteness’

was challenged after visiting the Cummeragunja

Mission in Victoria: ‘Here was a community in

a relatively populated area, but it was remote

because it fell between the cracks of services

between states.’ Other secondees had their

perceptions changed in a positive way. Ben Tan

explained: ‘I didn’t realise how much had been

achieved in Goulburn Murray. The Yorta Yorta

people have achieved this huge amount in terms

of development of a civil society and a community,

assets and infrastructure.’

Bonnie Carter from the Department of Defence

also experienced a positive change in view. ‘I was

of the understanding there were a lot of Elders

in the community—I didn’t know there were so

many young people, the young leaders, really

driving change.’

This increase in awareness usually brings

greater

understanding

of Indigenous culture and the

complexity of the challenges Indigenous people

face. Issues and traditions such as land rights,

Welcome to Country, education equality, and drug

and alcohol addictions suddenly take on a deeper

significance. Melanie Evans from Westpac was

seconded to the remote town of Coen in Cape

York, Queensland. ‘I didn’t understand the fact that

non-Indigenous children were home-schooled or

went to private schools and that the curriculum

was fundamentally different for Indigenous children

in the community I was working in. Having that

“a-ha” moment when I arrived made me appreciate

how much I needed to learn.’ The experience

also gave Melanie a better understanding of

Indigenous culture:

I’ve learnt about, and now respect, the relationship

between connectedness to country and land

rights. There are a whole range of fundamental

beliefs that Australians who aren’t as aware might

incorrectly read as power and greed. Whereas

someone who’s done a secondment, who’s

connected with the Indigenous community and

therefore understands that underlying principle

of connectedness to country, has a fundamentally

different view. There’s a better understanding

about the reasoning and complexity behind

some of these issues.

Source: Jawun Alumni Survey, 2014

FIGURE 6:

PERCENTAGE OF FORMER SECONDEES REPORTING AN IMPROVEMENT IN KEY COMPETENCIES

AS A RESULT OF THEIR SECONDMENT

Flexibility and adaptability

Tolerance of ambiguity

Self-awareness

Interpersonal engagement skills

Emotional sensitivity

Resilience

Self-confidence

76%

64%

60%

56%

51%

49%

46%

14 JAWUN 

2015 LEARNINGS AND INSIGHTS