Annual Report 2018 Contact Details
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Annual Report 2018 Contact Details PERTH Level 8, 12-14 The Esplanade, Perth WA 6000 PO Box 3072 249 Hay Street, Perth WA 6892 T \ (08) 9965 6222 F \ (08) 9225 4633 GERALDTON 171 Marine Terrace, Geraldton, WA 6530 PO Box 2119, Geraldton WA 6531 T \ (08) 9965 6222 F \ (08) 9964 5646 HEDLAND 2/29 Steel Loop, Wedgefield WA 6721 PO Box 2252, South Hedland WA 6722 T \ (08) 9160 3800 F \ (08) 9140 1277 BROOME Lot 640 Dora Street, Broome WA 6725 ymac.org.au Yinhawangka Determination Front cover picture: Panawonica Hill Wajari Country 2 Yamatji Marlpa Aboriginal Corporation | Annual Report 2018 Contents YMAC Representative Area 4 Introduction and Overview 5 Vision, Mission, Aims and Values 6 Co-Chairpersons Report 8 Board of Directors 12 Yamatji Regional Committee 18 Pilbara Regional Committee 24 Chief Executive Officer’s Report 26 201-18 Highlights 34 Government Engagement and Advocacy 38 Corporate Governance 52 Organisational Structure 56 Executive Management Team 60 YMAC Organisational Chart 64 Research 66 Heritage 70 Land and Sea Management 74 Roles and Functions 76 Outputs 78 Native Title Claim and Determination Updates Prescibed Bodies Corporate and Aboriginal Corporations 80 Financial Reports 100 Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Acknowledgements 131 Black Flanked Rock Wallaby, Cape Range Mangrove, Cape Range NP Yamatji Marlpa Aboriginal Corporation | Annual Report 2018 3 YMAC Representative Area 4 Yamatji Marlpa Aboriginal Corporation | Annual Report 2018 Introduction & Overview Yamatji Marlpa Aboriginal Corporation (YMAC) is the Native Title Representative Body for the Traditional Owners of the Pilbara, Midwest, Murchison, and Gascoyne regions of Western Australia. YMAC represents 23 native title YMAC’s work includes: claim groups and supports a further • Legal representation and research 18 Prescribed Bodies Corporate and to assist with native title claims; related entities; all with their own language, culture and traditions. • Negotiating land use and native title agreements; YMAC’s representative area covers about one-third of Western Australia, • Prescribed Bodies Corporate with offices located in Perth, support services; Geraldton, Port Hedland, and Broome. • Cultural heritage protection YMAC is run by an Aboriginal Board services; and of Directors to protect Yamatji and • Community, economic and Marlpa Country. This is achieved environmental projects. by providing a range of professional YMAC operates under the Native services to our clients: the Traditional Title Act 1993 (NTA), and the Owners of the Pilbara, Midwest, Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Murchison, and Gascoyne regions Strait Islander) Act 2006 (CATSI Act). of Western Australia. Karlamilyi NP Yamatji Marlpa Aboriginal Corporation | Annual Report 2018 5 Vision, Mission, Aims & Values Vision - Aims “Country” • Ensure an enduring heritage and culture. Country is our mother, our provider • Resolve native title claims. and the keeper of our cultural • Seek outcomes that provide belongings. Culture and Country go a strong legacy for Yamatji and together. You can’t have one without Marlpa people. the other. Mission Values To work with Yamatji and Marlpa • Respect (Pilbara) people to pursue: • Professionalism • Recognition and acceptance of • Integrity Yamatji and Marlpa culture and • Collaboration Country. • A strong future for Yamatji and Marlpa people and Country. 6 Yamatji Marlpa Aboriginal Corporation | Annual Report 2018 Yamatji Marlpa Aboriginal Corporation | Annual Report 2018 7 Co-Chairperson’s Report The YMAC Board of Directors continues to work with Yamatji and Marlpa people to pursue recognition and acceptance of culture and Country, and a strong future ensuring an enduring heritage and culture, resolution of native title claims and outcomes that provide a strong legacy for Yamatji and Marlpa people. We actively engage with a range of stakeholders Ongoing governance training ensures we can to advocate for better outcomes for the continue to fulfil our responsibilities and Traditional Owners in our regions. We attend deliver our commitments to the regions with regular Board and Regional Committee respect, professionalism, integrity and meetings, external stakeholder meetings, collaboration. We are proud of all that has conferences and forums, to share information been accomplished during the 2017-18 and develop strategies to help to manage financial year and encourage you to read this issues affecting Yamatji and Marlpa people. report in detail and share in our successes. Peter Windie Natalie Parker Co-Chairperson Co-Chairperson YMAC Board of Directors YMAC Board of Directors 8 Yamatji Marlpa Aboriginal Corporation | Annual Report 2018 4th Annual On-Country Bush Meeting at Yule River The 4th Annual On-Country Bush Meeting at the Yule River Meeting Place was held on Wednesday 20 and Thursday 21 September 2017. The agenda for Yule River meetings is decided by Traditional Owners and community leaders. YMAC acts as the event coordinator and facilitator with support from other Aboriginal corporations. The two-day meeting Celebrating Native supports Traditional Owners in their cultural Title Determinations decision-making to develop solution-based YMAC supported five (5) native title responses to issues, and to celebrate custom determinations during the 2017-18 financial and culture including traditional singing and year. This is an outstanding achievement for dancing performed by a variety of Aboriginal our stakeholders, some of whom have been community groups. It also presents a forum working for more than two decades to achieve for government leaders and policy makers recognition of their land rights, law and to meet with the people and communities culture under Australian law. The YMAC Board impacted by their decisions at the of Directors acknowledges and congratulates grassroots level. the Traditional Owners, past, present, and In 2017, the community passed a resolution to emerging, for achieving recognition for the form an independent representative group to following groups: give advice to the government on behalf of • Yinhawangka Aboriginal people in the Pilbara. This was an historic achievement because, for the first • Budina time, the community united the language • Wajarri Yamatji (Part A and B) groups from across the region, coming together as one voice, to call on all levels • Kuruma Marthadunera Part B of government to improve living conditions (Robe River Kuruma) for Pilbara Aboriginal people. YMAC applied For more information about these consent to the Western Australian Department of determinations, please refer to the ‘Native Communities – Regional Services Reform Unit Title Claim and Determination Updates’ (RSRU) for funding to coordinate meetings and section of this report. provide initial secretariat support to this newly YMAC has continued to support these groups elected reference group. The RSRU agreed to to establish robust governance structures for fund three one-day meetings to occur in the their subsequent Prescribed Bodies Corporate first six months of 2018. These meetings took (PBCs). YMAC has a long-standing working place on: 16 April in Port Hedland; 16 May in relationship with these groups and an intimate Roebourne; and, 20 June in South Hedland appreciation of their aspirations. This enables with the group now known as the Pilbara us to assist PBCs in their journey to becoming Aboriginal Voice (Kakurrka Muri), or PAV. For sustainable, self-reliant corporate entities. more information about PAV and the progress More information about our work with PBCs of resolutions passed at Yule River, please see can be found in the ‘Native Title Claim and the ‘Government Engagement and Advocacy’ Determination Updates’ section of this report. section of this report. The Board of Directors is proud to see the Yule River initiative continue to gain momentum with community members from across the Pilbara coming together, and stakeholders including Members of State and Federal Parliament, and all levels of government, recognising the annual event as a legitimate forum for identifying the genuine concerns of the community. Yamatji Marlpa Aboriginal Corporation | Annual Report 2018 9 Co-Chairperson’s Report (continued) Uluru Statement from the Heart Expansion of the Land and Sea Management Program into the During the Yule River meeting, the community Yamatji Region passed a resolution to: “whole heartedly endorse the Uluru Statement from the Heart”; YMAC empowers Traditional Owner and “join with other First Nations in calling on communities in realising their conservation our State and Federal Government to fully and land management objectives by commit to a process towards Voice, Treaty supporting them to be the decision-makers and Truth”. As a result YMAC has actively on their Country. On 10 February 2018, the supported constitutional recognition State Government announced YMAC as one through several initiatives including: of the few successful applicants for first • A corporate statement of support at the round funding as part of its Aboriginal Ranger bottom of every email - “YMAC accepts the Program. YMAC will receive funding on behalf invitation contained in the Statement from of the Malgana Shark Bay People’s Native Title the Heart and will continue to walk Claim Group to support the proposed together with Aboriginal and Torres Strait “Pathway to a Malgana Country Land and Islander peoples in a movement of the Sea Management Program”. This project Australian people for a better future.” has expanded the YMAC Land and Sea Management program