Strategic Partnerships with First Nations Peoples
Growing Australia's First Nations businesses is a viable pathway to create employment and increase the economic participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Over the years we have developed strategic partnerships with a number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses to help us deliver regional infrastructure projects and support our South East Queensland public transport network. The Queensland Indigenous Procurement Policy and the 2021 TMR Indigenous (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Procurement Policy guide our partnerships and support buyers with First Nations procurement best practice. The following examples of recent strategic alliances and partnerships signifies our ongoing commitment to providing opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses to develop and succeed.
Local Government and Indigenous Partnership team
Our Local Government and Indigenous Partnerships (LGIP) team leads our engagement with local government and the Local Government Association of Queensland as well as overseeing, coordinating, promoting and continuing to grow our partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
LGIP provides policy and stakeholder relations support to our former Director-General, Neil Scales, in his role as Government Champion for the Woorabinda community.
The team provides policy guidance and support, working across TMR and with external stakeholders to coordinate information and provide a holistic view of our role in advancing opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
LGIP is responsible for:
- coordinating our input to inform development of whole-of-government Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander strategies, policies, plans and reports
- managing our participation in the Government Champion Program, and associated activities
- managing our relationships with Aboriginal Shire Councils through the Roads and Transport Alliance
- responding to Queensland Government priorities.
LGIP guides TMR, the Queensland Government, and our stakeholders through:
- increased awareness of programs and projects that support First Nations peoples
- accurate and comprehensive representation and reporting of our partnerships
- acting as the department's central point of contact for relevant requests
- recognition that TMR is committed to advancing opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples leading to improved communication and credible relationships with key First Nations stakeholders.
Michelle Connolly, Executive Director, Government Partnerships
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Video transcript
I'm Michelle Connolly, I'm from Government Partnerships in Policy Planning and Investment Division.
Well Government Partnerships, as the name implies, we do manage a number of strategic partnerships for TMR. So that ranges from dealings with the Commonwealth, that's a less formal partnership if you like, but then we've got very close workings with local government through the Roads and Transport Alliance, the university sector through the Transport Academic Partnerships or TAP as most people know it, and also a stream of work around Indigenous partnerships, particularly the work with Woorabinda through the Government Champion Program.
