A specialist program delivered by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has resulted in 21 Indigenous rangers graduating after new compliance training.
The program is part of the $30 million Capacity Building for Indigenous Rangers Strategy.
Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Nigel Scullion said the training provided the graduates with the qualification to be inspectors, able to carry out compliance activities under the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975 and the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
“Indigenous rangers across Australia deliver important environmental, biosecurity, cultural and economic outcomes for remote communities,” Mr Scullion said.
“Indigenous rangers are the eyes and ears in the areas they patrol. They bring local knowledge and insights to their work that allows them to protect and preserve Australia’s unique natural resources.”
He said the rangers should have the support to manage their country just like any other rangers and pursue opportunities to expand their role in natural resource management.
The Capacity Building for Indigenous Rangers Strategy was launched in 2017 and is a training, development and capability building initiative providing support to Indigenous rangers.
He said that under the strategy, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority had been funded to train 40 Indigenous rangers in compliance, including the newest cohort of graduates.
Mr Scullion said rangers gained the skills and knowledge they needed to prepare them for roles in compliance activities and continue to care for land and sea country across Australia.
Photo courtesy of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Photographer: Colyn Huber.
