ABC Stretch Reconciliation Action Plan 2016–18 First report against the Plan, January–December 2016 February 2016 Introduction This is the first annual report against the ABC Stretch Reconciliation Action Plan 2016–18. It covers the period from 1 January through 31 December 2016. The Plan is a Stretch RAP under Reconciliation Australia’s RISE (Reflect, Innovate, Stretch, Elevate) framework and commits the ABC to meeting targets that build on its successes in its first (2009–12) and second (2013–15) RAPs. The Corporation has responded to the challenge of a Stretch RAP. All Actions have been achieved or are on track. ABC divisions are taking new and more focused action in relation to Indigenous employment and content matters. For example, Regional and Commercial reviewed their activities during the first half of the year and developed strategies to increase Indigenous content and employment. The Radio Indigenous Reference Group (IRG) actively considered recruitment, retention and content. It also conducted an audit of all radio content during a week in August 2016 to understand the use of Indigenous talent and, as a result, took steps to broaden the range of Indigenous speakers and topics on radio programs. The News division likewise continued work that it commenced in 2015 to examine the diversity of talent (experts, vox-pop interviewees, etc) in its stories, observing that active consideration of the question led to the inclusion of more Indigenous talent in stories. In September, the division held a facilitated two-day ABC News Indigenous Staff Summit. As a result of the Summit, the division committed to a range of actions in relation to stronger Indigenous coverage, personal and career development for Indigenous staff, and an improved workplace culture in the division. The outcomes will be incorporated into the KPIs of Senior Executives for 2017. During the year, the Radio and News divisions created senior Indigenous editorial roles: an Editor of the Indigenous Radio Unit in RN, and an Indigenous Affairs Editor News. Alongside the established role of Head of Indigenous in ABC Television, these appointments mean that three of the four content divisions now have a senior editorial manager responsible for overseeing Indigenous programming. Divisions and State/Territory branches worked on establishing or extending relationships with Indigenous communities and organisations. Likewise, divisions and branches built partnerships with a range of educational institutions in order to encourage Indigenous students to consider work at the ABC or in the wider media. This significantly reversed the decline in such engagement that followed the departure of the State and Territory Directors in mid-2015. The Corporation’s Indigenous employment strategy continued to deliver outcomes. In December 2016, the ABC had 2.5% Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander employees. This successfully met the Corporation’s annual target of 2.5% and represents a significant increase on the 2% target that it was pursuing in 2014. In 2017, the ABC will pursue a higher target of 2.7%. Likewise, the ABC continued to deliver a range of content by, for and about Indigenous Australians across all of its platforms, both domestic and international. A particular highlight was the launch of the major science-fiction television drama series Cleverman. 1 The ABC had a successful National Reconciliation Week 2016, with events in all of states and territories other than the Northern Territory, as well as a range of content recognising the week. Further, during the year, the Corporation declared NAIDOC Week to be a “tent pole” event that will be coordinated and promoted on a whole-of-ABC basis. A cross-divisional group collaborated on preparations for NAIDOC 2016 and the event was, for the first time, supported by a dedicated, multiplatform marketing campaign. ABC Stretch Reconciliation Action Plan 2016–18 First report against the Plan, January–December 2016 This report covers the period from 1 January to 31 December 2016. The status of each initiative has been graded into one of four categories: Achieved/continuing ¢ On track/ p Not achieved/not Pending (e.g. dependent on achievement developing on track a future event) Relationships Respectful relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the broader Australian community are important to the ABC as the national broadcaster, as we aim to support reconciliation and engender a better understanding of our shared history. 1.1 Continue to support the Bonner Committee, the ABC’s Indigenous advisory group, which monitors and coordinates the ABC’s Reconciliation Action Plan. Action Leader Action Team Managing Director Director Corporate Affairs, Director ABC People, ABC Executive Timeframe(s) Deliverables Quarterly n The Bonner Committee will meet at least four times each year, including two face-to-face meetings. n The Chair of the Bonner Committee will meet regularly with the Managing Director, including to discuss RAP implementation. June 2017 n Review the Bonner Committee biennially to ensure its effectiveness at providing wide representation, Indigenous networking and feedback to the Corporation. The Bonner Committee held regular meetings on 10 February, 8 June, 8 August, 10 October and 12 December 2016. The Chair provided the Managing Director with advice on the matters considered by the Committee. The Committee was supported by its Secretariat. In May 2016, the ABC welcomed a new Managing Director. The Managing Director attended the Committee’s August meeting to discuss the work of the Bonner Committee and its role in implementing her vision for a more diverse ABC. During the year, triple j management sought advice from the Bonner Committee in relation to the date on which the annual Hottest 100 Countdown is held, and on appropriate Indigenous peak bodies, representative organisations and individuals to contact as part of a consultation process on the matter. 2 1.2 Maintain formal groups at the divisional and state/territory branch level with responsibility for advancing reconciliation and relationships with Indigenous communities. Action Leader Action Team Divisional Directors, State/Territory Executives Timeframe(s) Deliverables Each December n Ensure Divisional Indigenous Reference Groups (IRGs)/Diversity Groups (DGs) continue to meet and monitor progress towards divisional Indigenous employment strategies. n Ensure State and Territory Indigenous Working Groups (IWGs) continue to operate. All divisions of the ABC maintain or participate in Diversity Groups, which include consideration of Indigenous matters within their remits. The Radio and Television divisions also maintain specific Indigenous Reference Groups. These groups continued to meet during the reporting period. On 8–9 September, the News division held a facilitated ABC News Indigenous Staff Summit to examine coverage of Indigenous issues, the creation of personal and career development opportunities for Indigenous staff and the division’s workplace culture. As a result of the Summit, the News Executive committed to a range of actions in these three areas and agreed to incorporate those outcomes into the KPIs of News senior executives for 2017. During 2016, the decision was taken not to reinstate the state and territory Indigenous Working Groups (IWGs), which had effectively lapsed following the departure of the ABC’s State and Territory Directors in mid-2015. Instead, the coordination of local activities around Indigenous recognition, recruitment and community development was added to the regular responsibilities of the State/Territory Executive in each capital-city branch. 1.3 Create further opportunities to build strategic partnerships and projects with Indigenous communities, peak bodies and other relevant external organisations, with a focus on regional opportunities. Action Leader Action Team State/Territory Executives, Bonner Committee Chair, IWGs, IRGs/DGs Divisional Directors Timeframe(s) Deliverables Each January n Identify and develop a list of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and organisations that ABC could build strategic partnerships with. Each December n Establish an additional two partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and/or external organisations. n Meet with an additional five Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, peak bodies and/or other related external organisations to explore potential future relationships. During the year, a number of areas of the ABC worked to establish or develop relationships and projects with Indigenous communities and organisations: — ABC Regional partnered with First Languages Australia to produce Local Station idents in Australian Indigenous languages. The idents are spoken in the Indigenous language(s) local to each station’s broadcast region. ABC Open Producers recorded sessions at three language conferences in Alice Springs, Gold Coast and Kalgoorlie, as well as additional idents and vox- pops for NAIDOC Week to be used by radio and TV teams on all platforms. In October, the Minister for Communications and the Arts, Senator the Hon. Mitch Fifield, launched new radio idents in Indigenous languages at the Artlands national Regional Arts Australia conference in Dubbo. At the end of 2016, 11 regional stations had produced clips. 3 In addition, the partnership with First Languages Australia led to the Mother Tongue project, which received more than 90 contributions from Australians, representing 50 First Languages. Videos