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Other secondees continued to contribute by
providing advice and support
to Indigenous
organisations and leaders. John Williams from
Westpac remains in touch with The Glen. ‘I continue
to help them review business cases,’ he explained.
Beth Patterson from Allens has stayed in contact
with staff at her Indigenous partner organisation.
She said: ‘I made some close relationships with
colleagues at Wunan, so I get calls: “Beth, can
you review this for me?” or “I’ve got this problem,
what do you think?”’ Gary Woods from NAB
remains connected to Nirrumbuk in the West
Kimberley, where he was seconded in 2014. ‘I’ve
reviewed information and letters they’ve written
to government,’ he said. ‘When I finished my
secondment, I told the CEO I was happy to stay
involved.’ In the 2014 Jawun Alumni Survey, one
former secondee reported: ‘I am continuing to
work with the Yorta Yorta community to deliver
a multi-platform application and website to
revitalise the Yorta Yorta language in the
community and through the school system.’
Informal or formal advocacy
on Indigenous issues
was identified as an area of continued engagement.
Many became involved in Indigenous and diversity
initiatives such as NAIDOC week or Reconciliation
Action Plans (RAPs) following a secondment.
Jodie Symes said she noticed that former
secondees at Allens generally ‘become involved in
our RAP committee, which is great because they’re
contributing their own ideas and getting involved
in the different events and programs that we run’.
Nina Kordic from IAG now contributes to her firm’s
RAP, as well as ‘providing ongoing support for
our Indigenous engagement manager here with
recruitment
’. In the 2014 Jawun Alumni Survey, one
former secondee attested: ‘I was a champion for
NAIDOC week in my workplace.’
Others are able to advocate for Indigenous
Australians directly through their roles. ‘I now have
a job promoting Indigenous suppliers,’ commented
one APS secondee. Steph Stokes from NAB was
able to fulfil her desire to stay engaged when an
opportunity arose at work. ‘A couple of weeks
after my secondment, an opportunity opened up
in our Indigenous team here as an employment
consultant. I got the role—I think people could see
how genuinely passionate I was.’
A number of secondees, like Trish Clancy and
Richie Hadfield, continue to contribute to the
Indigenous sector by
serving on the board
of
their Indigenous host organisation. ‘It’s been really
interesting to see the development over the four
years,’ Trish said. ‘As an organisation we’re much
more stable than we were four years ago. Wunan
has also done a great job at increasing the number
of Indigenous employees and broadening our
reach.’ Richie explained: ‘I wanted to stay involved
with Youth Connections to see some of the projects
through and make sure they came to fruition.
And it was very worthwhile staying in the mix,
because they are really starting to go gangbusters.’
Pete and Sarah Goss found a unique way to stay
engaged with Indigenous Australia after Pete’s
secondment in 2011 (see case study, page 54).
Timothy Matthews (ASIC secondee), Peter (from ALPA Community Store) and Craig Brent (KPMG secondee), North East Arnhem Land, 2014.
Photo: Louise Law
52 JAWUN
2015 LEARNINGS AND INSIGHTS