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Wangka Wilurrara Regional Council’s Vision Statement
The Wangka Wilurrara Regional Council will work in partnership with
the community and service providers so that Aboriginal people are
independent
and exercise choice in matters that affect them.
The vision has social, cultural and economic dimensions. |
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Regional Profile |
The Wangka Wilurrara
Regional Council area incorporates South Australia’s Far West Coast
and Eyre Peninsula. It includes the coastal centre of Ceduna, and
extends south-easterly to the city of Port Lincoln. Also included
are the communities of Koonibba, 40 kilometres west of Ceduna, and
Yalata, which is 200 kilometres west of Ceduna. The region also
encompasses the remote community of Oak Valley (Maralinga) which is
approximately 300 kilometres north-west of Yalata.
The Wangka Wilurrara Regional Council represents the Indigenous
communities and organisations within the region, an area covering
some 355,000 square kilometres.
Population
We are a young and rapidly growing population. We need to plan now
for the future education of our children and young people, and for
housing, health, employment and childcare needs.
In 2001, there were 386,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people in Australia (2.1% or one in fifty of the total population).
There were 19,449 people in South Australia (1.0°/o of the State
population) of whom 1,870 lived in the Ceduna region. (Population
Estimates 3230.Q ABS)
In June 2002 the Indigenous of South Australia was projected at
between 24,300 and 26,900.
(Population Projections 3231.0, ABS)
Within this framework, ATSIC projects that the Indigenous population
of the
Ceduna region was around 2,400 in June 2002.
(ATSIC Regional Information System)
In 2001, the median age of our people in the Wangka Wilurrara region
was 19 years, compared with 37 years for the non-Indigenous
population. (2001 Census
Data, ABS)
These figures are comparable with national figures which indicate
that across Australia, Indigenous population has a much younger
profile than the broader community. This younger than average age
profile has implications for both policy and programs of all
agencies, with the needs of young people in relation to areas such
as education, housing, employment and training set to increase.
In recognition of this population profile, the Wangka Wilurrara
Regional Council has sought to focus planning and priorities on the
increasing needs of young people in order to promote enhanced
community well-being
Employment and Income
Our people have lower rates of employment than the broader community
and typically earn lower incomes than other Australians. The
difficulties associated with access to labour markets in rural and
remote areas provide even greater challenges for the Indigenous
People of the Wangka Wilurrara region.
However, ATSIC’s Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP)
scheme me that approximately 700 of the region’s Indigenous people
contribute to their commur as participants in CDEP work activities.
The Wangka Wilurrara Regional Council funds seven CDEP organisations
across the region, providing meaningful work activities across a
diverse range of areas including building and construction, farming,
education, arts and crafts and horticulture.
In 2001, 56.7% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged
15—64 in the Wangka Wilurrara region were participating in the
labour force (either employed or unemployed and looking for work),
compared with 64% of non-Indigenous people. 2001 Census Data, ABS
In 2001, the national unemployment rate for our people was 18%,
compared with 7% the non-Indigenous population.
Experimental Labour Force Estimates
62870, ABS
In 2000, there were 30,600 participants in 260 communities in the
CDEP scheme, representing around 12% of the population aged 15 and
over.
Annual Report 2001, ATSIC
In mid-2001, there were around 2,700 CDEP participant places in 35
communities in South Australia. There were 700 participant places in
the Wangka Wilurrara region.CDEP
Statistics, ATSIC
In 2001, the average (median) individual income of Aboriginal and
Torres Strait lslander peoples was $258.00 per week compared with
$412.00 per week for the non-Indigenous population. Since 2001, the
average income of Indigenous people increased by 10.47%, compared
with an increase of 16.48% for non-Indigenous people. Over that
time, the cost of living as measured by the Consumer Price Index
(CPI) rose by around 7.5%. Overall Indigenous people in this region
earn on average $154.00 less per week than non- Indigenous people, a
difference of approx 37%.
Income Analysis based on
2001 Census Data, ATSIC 6401.0 Consumer Price Index — ABS
Education
Educational opportunities lay the foundation for positive social and
economic participation throughout our lives. Nationally, only around
32% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children continued to
Year 12 in 2001, compared with 73% of all Australian children.
Apparent Retention Rates:
Monograph No. 16, RD Schwab CAEPR
In the Wangka Wilurrara region, 24.2% of our children continued to
Year 12 in 2001, compared with the State average of 32%.. This
figure indicates that efforts to support Indigenous students of the
region throughout their primary and secondary schooling are having a
positive impact. Strategies in the Regional Plan are designed to
continue this important work.
DETE Census Data, 2002
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Regional Council
Functions
Pursuant to Section 94 (1) of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Commission Act 1989, the Wangka Wilurrara Regional
Council is charged with the following functions: |
- to formulate, and revise from
time to time, a Regional Plan for improving the economic, social
and cultural status of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
residents of the region
- to assist, advise and co-operate
with the Commission, the TSRA, other Commonwealth bodies and
State, Territory and local government bodies in the implementation
of the Regional Plan
- to make proposals, in accordance
with Section 97, for Commission expenditure in relation to the
region
- to receive, and to pass on to
the Commission and the TSRA, the views of Aboriginal persons and
Torres Strait Islanders about the activities, in the region, of
the Commission, the TSRA, other Commonwealth bodies and State,
Territory and local government bodies
- to represent Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander residents of the region and to act as an
advocate of their interests
- such other functions as are
conferred on the Regional Council by this Act
- to do anything else that is
incidental or conducive to the performance of any of the preceding
functions.
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