Agenda of Community and Sport Committee - Tuesday, 3 December 2024

Item No.	Item Title	Page No.
	Confirmation of Minutes
1	Confirmation of Minutes of the Community and Sport Committee No. 2024(06) of 14 November 2024	7
	Officers’ Reports
2	Ipswich City Council Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Engagement Guide Endorsement	12
	Notices of Motion
	Matters Arising
	Questions / General Business

Community and Sport Committee

Meeting Agenda

3 December

2024

Community and Sport Committee NO. 2024(06)

14 November 2024

Minutes

COUNCILLORS’ ATTENDANCE:

Councillor Jacob Madsen (Chairperson); Councillors Pye Augustine (Deputy Chairperson), Mayor Teresa Harding, Deputy Mayor Nicole Jonic, Jim Madden, Andrew Antoniolli and David Martin (Observer)

COUNCILLOR’S APOLOGIES:

Nil

OFFICERS’ ATTENDANCE:

Chief Executive Officer (Sonia Cooper), General Manager Corporate Services (Matt Smith), Acting General Manager Infrastructure Strategy, Capital Delivery (Tony Dileo), Chief Financial Officer (Jeff Keech), Chief of Staff – Office of the Mayor (Melissa Fitzgerald), Acting Manager Community and Cultural Services (Melissa Dower), Manager Libraries and Customer Services (Samantha Chandler), Customer Services Coordinator (Lauren Woodrow), Senior Communications and Policy Officer (Jodie Richter), Media and Communications Officer (Warren Barnsley), Coordinator Communications (Lucy Stone) and Theatre Technician (Trent Gray)

Welcome to Country or Acknowledgement of Country

Councillor Jacob Madsen (Chairperson) delivered the Acknowledgement of Country

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST IN MATTERS ON THE AGENDA

Nil

BUSINESS OUTSTANDING

Nil

Confirmation of Minutes

1. Confirmation of Minutes of the Community and Sport Committee
No. 2024(05) of 15 October 2024

Recommendation

Moved by Councillor Pye Augustine:

Seconded by Deputy Mayor Nicole Jonic:

That the minutes of the Community and Sport Committee held on 15 October 2024 be confirmed.

AFFIRMATIVE NEGATIVE

Councillors: Councillors:

Madsen Nil

Augustine

Harding

Jonic

Madden

Antoniolli

The motion was put and carried.

Officers’ Reports

2. Customer Services Report Card - 1 August 2023 to 31 July 2024

This is a report concerning the Customer Services Report Card 1 August 2023 to 31 July 2024.

Recommendation

Moved by Councillor Jim Madden:

Seconded by Councillor Pye Augustine:

That the Customer Services Report Card 1 August 2023 to 31 July 2024 be received and the contents be noted.

AFFIRMATIVE NEGATIVE

Councillors: Councillors:

Madsen Nil

Augustine

Harding

Jonic

Madden

Antoniolli

The motion was put and carried.

3. 2024 Active Kids Program

This is a report highlighting the 2024 Active Kids Program.

The Active Kids Program provides free and low-cost physical and outdoor recreation activities and nutrition workshops during the April, July, and September school holidays, and selected periods during the school term.

In 2024 the Active Kids program has seen participation grow to 5,085 over a total of 262 activities/events/workshops delivered. Of significance is the growth compared to the 2023 year – 218% increase in participation (1,598 participants in 2023) and 34% growth in the number of activities delivered to the community (79 additional activities) achieved. This increase is a direct result of the collaboration with the City Events Section and in particular the leveraging of access to Tulmur Place.

Recommendation

Moved by Councillor Pye Augustine:

Seconded by Councillor Andrew Antoniolli:

That the report concerning the Ipswich City Council 2024 Active Kids Program be received and the contents noted.

AFFIRMATIVE NEGATIVE

Councillors: Councillors:

Madsen Nil

Augustine

Harding

Jonic

Madden

Antoniolli

The motion was put and carried.

NOTICES OF MOTION

Nil

MATTERS ARISING

4. Membership of Community and Sports Committee

Recommendation

Moved by Councillor Jacob Madsen:

Seconded by Deputy Mayor Nicole Jonic:

That pursuant to section 7 of the Ipswich City Council Terms of Reference, Councillor David Martin be appointed as a member of the Community and Sports Committee.

AFFIRMATIVE NEGATIVE

Councillors: Councillors:

Madsen Nil

Augustine

Harding

Jonic

Madden

Antoniolli

The motion was put and carried.

QUESTIONS / GENERAL BUSINESS

Nil

5. Commencement of Next Meeting

Recommendation

Moved by Councillor Jacob Madsen:

Seconded by Councillor Pye Augustine:

That the Economic and Cultural Development Committee commence at
1.10 pm.

AFFIRMATIVE NEGATIVE

Councillors: Councillors:

Madsen Nil

Augustine

Harding

Jonic

Madden

Antoniolli

The motion was put and carried.

PROCEDURAL MOTIONS AND FORMAL MATTERS

The meeting commenced at 11.50 am.

The meeting closed at 12.10 pm.

Community and Sport Committee

Meeting Agenda

3 December

2024

Doc ID No: A10930184

ITEM: 2

SUBJECT: Ipswich City Council Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Engagement Guide Endorsement

AUTHOR: Team Leader (Strategic Catchment and Conservation Planning)

DATE: 13 November 2024

Executive Summary

This is a report concerning endorsement of the first version of Ipswich City Council’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Engagement Guide. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Engagement Guide has been developed to assist with initiating and improving engagement between Council, Traditional Owners, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island communities in Ipswich.

Recommendation/s

That Council endorses the new Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Engagement Guide.

RELATED PARTIES

There were no declarations of conflicts of interest associated with this report or attachment.

ifuture Theme

Safe, Inclusive and Creative

Purpose of Report/Background

Council identified a gap and a lack of organisational procedure and guidance for engagement with Traditional Owners and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and in turn this was identified as a barrier to proactive communication. In response, an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Community Engagement Guide (Engagement Guide) (Attachment 1) has been developed by the Natural Environment Branch of the Environment and Sustainability Department as a tool to assist with initiating and improving engagement between Council, Traditional Owners, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island communities in Ipswich.

The Engagement Guide has three objectives:

1. Improve awareness and understanding of First Nations culture and protocols across Ipswich.

2. Undertake culturally responsive engagement which achieves meaningful outcomes.

3. Establish the endorsed Representative Engagement Groups identified in the Indigenous Accord 2020-2025.

The Indigenous Accord 2020-2025 (the Accord) is Ipswich City Council’s strategic framework for reconciliation and community governance with Traditional Owners and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. It contains targeted and specific actions and sets the agenda for cooperation, collaboration, engagement and partnership between Ipswich City Council, Traditional Owners, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

The outcomes and actions within the Accord include provisions for engagement covering the range of different demographics within the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities, including establishment of five Representative Engagement Groups:

1. Indigenous Accord Working Group

2. Native Title and Cultural Heritage Advisory Group

3. Traditional Owner Representative Steering Committee

4. Indigenous Elders Group

5. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employee Working Group

The Engagement Guide supports the finalisation and/or further progression of the Representative Engagement Groups and sets out the process and governance around the meaningful and culturally responsive engagement between Council and these Representative Engagement Groups.

The Engagement Guide covers the following:

· Cultural protocols, ceremonies, cultural awareness, recommended terminologies and other cultural considerations.

· Council’s responsibilities in legislation and compliance, and an overview of relevant Council policies, directives, strategies and plans.

· Guidance on when and how Council is to engage with the Traditional Owners and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Ipswich, by utilising the endorsed Representative Engagement Groups and using culturally responsive engagement for specific activities, events, projects and programs; as well as non-planned engagement.

· Information on appropriate membership, roles and responsibilities for the endorsed Representative Engagement Groups.

· Contacts, useful links, and Council’s proposed methods for updating the Engagement Guide.

It is intended that the Engagement Guide will be a living document, to be updated regularly with improved information and processes based on learnings from engagement and input from the Representative Engagement Groups, once formed.

Being a guidance document, rather than a Policy or Strategy, the Engagement Guide does not require formal adoption by Council, however it is considered appropriate to seek endorsement of the Engagement Guide from the elected representatives of the City of Ipswich, to confirm Council’s commitment to meaningful and appropriate engagement with Traditional Owners and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Ipswich.

Legal IMPLICATIONS

This report and its recommendations are consistent with the following legislative provisions:

Native Title Act 1993

Cultural Heritage Act 2003

Human Rights Act 2019

policy implications

The Engagement Guide supports, and is supported by, the following policies, strategies, plans and directives:

· iFuture Corporate Plan 2021 – 2026

· Indigenous Accord Policy 2022 and Indigenous Accord 2020-2025 (original Accord – 1995)

· Native Title (future acts) and Cultural Heritage Administrative Directive

· Arts and Cultural Strategy 2018-2023

· Natural Environment Policy 2022 and Natural Environment Strategy 2023

· Ipswich Plan 2024

· Community Engagement Policy 2022

RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS

The Engagement Guide supports the finalisation and/or further progression of the Representative Engagement Groups identified in Council’s Indigenous Accord 2020-2025. These Representative Engagement Groups are key to achievement of numerous outcomes and actions contained within the Accord.

Effective and appropriate engagement of Traditional Owners and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities builds trust, reciprocal relationships and partnerships, and is also an important step in reconciliation and in the spirit of the Accord.

Without the Engagement Guide, there are outcomes and actions from the Accord which may not be realised. This would have detrimental impacts on reconciliation, relationships and trust between Council, and Traditional Owners and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Financial/RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS

Development of the Engagement Guide:

· Development of the Engagement Guide is an unfunded project. It has been developed internally by Council officers in the Natural Environment Branch, with input from relevant stakeholders across Council, therefore the main cost has been staff time.

· There were minor expenses associated with venue hire and catering for community workshops. These were covered by existing Natural Environment budget codes.

· Should hardcopies of the final Engagement Guide be required, printing costs will need to be covered.

Implementation of the Engagement Guide:

· Awareness and training programs will need to be developed and implemented across Council, to ensure that the Engagement Guide is understood and implemented by relevant Council Officers. These will be predominantly prepared by Council Officers, however budget may be required for more sophisticated material such as videos for internal and external promotion and awareness.

· Council Officer resources will be required for formation of the Representative Engagement Groups, and their ongoing management and coordination. The Executive Leadership Team has committed to identifying resources for implementation of the Engagement Guide as part of the budget build.

· Undertaking culturally responsive engagement to achieve meaningful outcomes may result in additional costs to projects, events and other activities. These costs may include: venue hire, catering, additional time on projects due to engagement fatigue or sorry business, payment for attendance at meetings, cultural heritage surveys, legal fees etc. Moving forwards, these costs will need to be factored into Council projects, events and activities.

COMMUNITY and OTHER CONSULTATION

During the initial drafting of the Engagement Guide, internal stakeholders from across Council were asked to review and provide input to the Draft Engagement Guide.

Community engagement was undertaken in two stages, using a mix of measures to maximise opportunities for people to access information about the Draft Engagement Guide and provide feedback for Council’s consideration:

1. Online via Shape Your Ipswich

2. In-person workshops

A Councillor briefing session was also held to provide a progress update on the Engagement Guide and an overview of the feedback from the community.

On the whole, feedback was supportive and constructive. Feedback was collated and used to update and improve the Engagement Guide.

Conclusion

The new Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Engagement Guide will improve awareness and understanding of First Nations culture and protocols across Ipswich, will provide a framework for undertaking culturally responsive engagement that achieves meaningful outcomes, and will establish the endorsed Representative Engagement Groups identified in the Indigenous Accord 2020-2025.

HUMAN RIGHTS IMPLICATIONS

HUMAN RIGHTS IMPACTS
OTHER DECISION

(a) What is the Act/Decision being made?	The Recommendation states that Council endorse the new Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Engagement Guide.
(b) What human rights are affected?	No human rights are affected by this decision.
(c) How are the human rights limited?	Not applicable
(d) Is there a good reason for limiting the relevant rights? Is the limitation fair and reasonable?	Not applicable
(e) Conclusion	The decision is consistent with human rights.

Attachments and Confidential Background Papers

1.	Final Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Engagement Guide ⇩

Belinda Whelband

Team Leader (Strategic Catchment and Conservation Planning)

I concur with the recommendations contained in this report.

Phil A. Smith

Manager, Natural Environment

I concur with the recommendations contained in this report.

Kaye Cavanagh

General Manager (Environment and Sustainability)

“Together, we proudly enhance the quality of life for our community”

Community and Sport Committee

Meeting Agenda

3 December

2024

Item 2 / Attachment 1.