The commitment of the Brewarrina Local Aboriginal Land Council has been recognised in Australia as one of the best after being announced as a finalist in the Indigenous Governance Awards of 2022. 

After being in administration for almost five years, Brewarrina’s Local Aboriginal Land Council (LALC) was handed back to its members, with $750,000 in debt owed and much work to do. 

Brewarrina LALC Chairperson David Kirby said that within three years the debt was cleared, but that was only the beginning of the plans they had for the community. 

“We created a strong board and then strong partnerships, one of those partnerships was with the Brewarrina Shire Council…Brewarrina town is nearly 70 per cent Aboriginal people, so the work we do here is really critical in ensuring that Brewarrina goes forward,” Mr Kirby said. 

In that time, the list of achievements and initiatives established by the LALC is long, having worked to see crown land handed back to the local native title group, conducting an ABS census across the region, and participating in the 1000 jobs program that will see 10 new locals employed through LALC subsidies. 

The LALC is just about to settle land claim 1043, the oldest unresolved Aboriginal land claim in NSW. Once settled, they will engage a rangers’ program to maintain the unique and Brewarrina-centric needs of the land. 

Currently, the LALC is on track for accreditation to become a local housing provider for the community.

Mr Kirby said that by changing the perspective of a rent payment from somewhere to live to the services that those rates offer, the community mindset has significantly shifted. 

“We’ve seen this sense of ownership start to evolve, and so basically people on the land have started to see that they do have to take care of it…In the past that was never communicated properly to our people but now we’re seeing that rental income increase,” Mr Kirby said. 

In another significant achievement, the LALC took over Brewarrina’s coordinated emergency management last year during the beginnings of Covid-19, providing a response that was commended by Health Minister Brad Hazzard.

“The Minister sat in the chamber here and told us that he’s never seen a response effort like that right across the state,” Mr Kirby said. 

The organisation is one of only nine Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander led organisations around the country to be shortlisted for the award.

Of the finalists, Brewarrina holds one of only three positions from New South Wales. 

Mr Kirby said that the nomination has offered an opportunity to reflect on how far they’ve come since being in administration not too long ago. 

“When you’re working flat out for a long period of time, we don’t reflect on our achievements. When this award came about, I had to sit down for a coffee and think back to everything thinking, ‘Oh my god, this is incredible.’,” he said. 

“I think it gave me a renewed confidence, and really motivated me. It instilled in me that what I’m doing is the right thing.”

It also pushed him to engage further with younger people, encouraging the future of the LALC is in passionate hands. 

“We’re not under any illusion that this is the final piece of the puzzle. My view is that people will come after us and do things better again. That’s why for me, the ultimate success is if we really build this platform so it’s firm, and I think we’re headed in the right direction.”

The winner of the award will be announced at an event during National Reconciliation Week in May 2022.