News

New era for Mallee Aboriginal services

Thu, 11 Jul 2013 07:49:00

North West Victoria’s major Aboriginal organisation has stepped into a new era with the launch of its new name and important governance and accountability documents.

Mallee District Aboriginal Services officially became the trading name of the Mildura Aboriginal Corporation on July 1 and the new name and website will be officially launched this morning.  As part of the launch, MDAS will also release its first four-year Strategic Plan and a Code of Ethics.
“It’s an exciting day for us – it’s a coming-of-age, in a sense, for our organisation,” said chief executive officer Rudolph Kirby.
“MDAS is a corporation that is growing geographically, in that we now provide services in Swan Hill, Balranald and Kerang, so the new name reflects that,” he said.
“But indigenous organisations today must operate within a corporate governance model and all the accountability that comes with it, or they won’t survive.
“So we have made the transition over the past year into a dynamic, proactive corporation that is much more integrated with the wider community and works in collaboration with many more organisations.
“We are already setting new benchmarks in terms of the way we do business but our strategic plan outlines how we will run MDAS in future and our goals for further development.”
Mr Kirby said MDAS’s new corporate governance ethic was underlined by the release of its first-ever Strategic Plan, and a partner document, the MDAS Code of Ethics.
“These documents reflect the vision for our organisation, and the expectations we have about the conduct of our people, and people we work with,” Mr Kirby said.
“They establish a set of values for our organisation, and they set goals and aspirations for our future.”
Mr Kirby said Aboriginal health, wellbeing, culture and economic prosperity were everyone’s responsibility, but they were MDAS’s core business.
“Our strategic plan sets out goals for improving our frontline service delivery, improving access to housing, strengthening community engagement and culture and creating safe homes, workplaces and communities,” he said.
“But we also know that having a job and contributing to the local economy builds identity and independence.
“So we are very squarely setting our sights on the development of commercial enterprise opportunities that will provide for the long-term sustainability of the organisation and the community.”
Mr Kirby said MDAS was committed to two-way interaction with communities in Mildura, Swan Hill, Balranald and Kerang.
“We have a new website, a new quarterly newsletter called Koori News and we are meeting regularly with the community – the most recent meeting in Mildura just last week,” he said.
“We are holding many more community events – and NAIDOC Celebrations this month are a prime example – because we believe bringing the community together gives opportunity to celebrate our community and acknowledge our role models.”
Mr Kirby said today’s official launch was an important step to ensuring indigenous people in the Mallee district were central to deciding and implementing programs that would work for their communities.
“With MDAS and the community working together to deliver the Strategic Plan, we know we can positively enrich the lives of all Aboriginal people living and working in the Mallee district.”