Chief Executive and Dean of the Australia New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG), Ken Smith said NAIDOC Week this week invited Australians to embrace First Peoples’ cultural knowledge and understanding of Country.
“For the First Peoples of Australia, Country is more than a place but something inherent to identity,” Professor Smith said.
“It is spoken about like a person, sustaining lives in every aspect — spiritually, physically, emotionally, socially and culturally,” he said.
“ANZSOG recognises the importance of acknowledging Indigenous history and culture, and the importance of incorporating Indigenous knowledge into the work of Government.”
Professor Smith said ANZSOG was working to include Indigenous ways of knowing and being in its mission to lift the quality of public sector leadership.
“This includes representation of Indigenous people at all levels of the public sector,” he said.
“The steps of this journey are outlined in our First Peoples Strategy, which recognises our commitment to working with communities across our two countries to promote and prioritise the perspectives and contributions of the First Peoples of Australia and Aotearoa-New Zealand.”
Professor Smith said ANZSOG had held its third First Peoples Public Administration Conference in February and March.
“The conference was an entirely virtual event, which allowed us to provide greater access to a wider audience across all sectors and jurisdictions,” he said.
“One of the strong themes of the conference was the value of First Peoples’ knowledge of the environment to inform the development of better policy in areas such as river management and cultural burning.”
Professor Smith said that if Country were to be healed, as the theme of this year’s NAIDOC Week (Heal Country!) stressed, Governments needed to recognise the value of this knowledge and enter into genuine relationships and partnerships.
ANZSOG’s nine-page First Peoples Strategy can be accessed at this PS News link.
