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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