Policy Coordination & Development

Program Overview: Policy Coordination and Development

Objectives

ACHIEVEMENTS FOR OBJECTIVE 1

Marine and Fisheries Coordination
The TSRA Chairperson together with the Australian and Queensland Government Ministers for Fisheries comprise the Torres Strait Protected Zone Joint Authority (PZJA), which is responsible for determining fisheries regulations for Torres Strait.

Within TSRA a Fisheries Co-ordinator and a Fisheries Policy Officer are responsible for
the co-ordination and support of 24 Torres Strait community fisher representatives in their participation in the PZJA consultative structure. The operational budget for performing this function amounts to $220,000 for 2006-2007 which the Australian and Queensland Fisheries contribute $60,000 for the employment of a fulltime position (Fisheries Coordinator).

Approximately $45,000 is provided each year by Queensland Fisheries from Indigenous commercial fishing licence revenue to build and improve the capacity of community fisher representatives in the community and at the PZJA consultative meetings. A detailed table summarising performance indicators in Marine and Fisheries can be found in the TSRA 2006-2007 Annual Report.

Torres Strait Treaty
The Torres Strait Treaty is a bilateral instrument established to delineate borders and
jurisdictions between Australia and PNG. Under the Treaty, both nations have established
a Protected Zone which provides administrative protection to the traditional way of life and livelihood of traditional inhabitants in the Torres Strait.

The TSRA Board is a key advisory body, providing input across a broad range of cross border issues. Members of the Board participate in an annual cycle of bilateral consultative meetings with both PNG traditional inhabitant counterparts and other officials, at the National and State/ Provincial level. The TSRA will continue to work with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to ensure Torres Strait participation continues at Treaty Liaison, Environmental Management Committee and the Joint Advisory Council Meetings.

Torres Strait Health Partnership Forum
The Torres Strait Health Partnership Forum consists of the TSRA, the Department of Health and Ageing, Queensland Health, the Island Coordinating Council (ICC), the Torres Strait and Northern Peninsula Area District Health Council and the Queensland Ambulance Service.

The Health Framework Agreement that governs the Torres Strait Health Partnership and sets out the Partnership’s Strategic Goals and Objectives was signed during a special launch in July 2006. The Australian Government Minister for Health and Ageing, the Queensland Minister for Health, the Chairperson of the Torres Strait Regional Authority, the Chairperson of the Torres Strait Island Coordinating Council and the Chairperson of the Torres Strait and Northern Peninsula Area District Health Council, participated in the signing and launch of the Agreement which took place on Thursday Island.

The aim of this Agreement is to improve Health outcomes for the residents of the Torres Strait and Northern Peninsula Area, in particular to improve the Health status of Indigenous residents to a level that is at least commensurate with that of the wider Australian community.

The TSRA engaged a consultant through funds provided by Department of Health and Ageing to work on the Community Health Management Committee Project. The project has been operating throughout 2006-2007 and most communities now have Health Committees or Steering Committees in place. Part of the role of a Health Committee is to develop local activities in liaison with the local Health Centre to improve the health and well being of local people.

The TSRA supported the Queensland Ambulance Service to donate refurbished Queensland Ambulance Emergency vehicles to Warraber, Masig, Hammond, Badu, Iama, Saibai, Mabuiag and Boigu in 2006- 2007. This initiative will continue to roll out to other communities in 2007-2008 and 2008-2009.

TSRA has also negotiated an MOU and Funding Agreement with the Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs for the implementation of the Asian Mosquito Prevention Project. The project is valued at $880,000 and delivered by the Island Coordinating Council’s Infrastructure Support Unit (ICC ISU). TSRA provided ICCISU with funding totalling $100,000 for the development of a strategy for the implementation of this initiative. Q-Build has also conducted dengue prevention works on the outer island communities which involved screening of tanks, cleaning household gutters and destruction of old water tanks. This project was conducted in conjunction with the ICCISU.

ACHIEVEMENTS FOR OBJECTIVE 2

Torres Strait Development Plan
The TSRA Administration provided TSRA Executive Board Members with updates against all portfolio areas in the Torres Strait Development Plan. A number of priorities for the Administration to work towards under each portfolio were endorsed by the TSRA Executive for 2007-2008.

The TSRA also received the Minister for Indigenous Affairs’ Statement of Expectations which outlines what is expected of the TSRA over the next 12 months. In light of this document, the TSRA Board agreed that the Torres Strait Development Plan should be reviewed to align with the Minister’s Expectations. The TSRA Board and Administration is now in the process of reviewing the Torres Strait Development Plan.

INFORMATION DELIVERY

Objectives
1. To provide information to the Minister and the TSRA Board on the TSRA’s policies,
goals, progress and achievements.
2. To provide information to the public on the TSRA’s policies, goals, progress and
achievements.

ACHIEVEMENTS FOR OBJECTIVE 1

Secretariat
During 2006-2007, the Secretariat Section supported the TSRA Chairperson, Board Members and General Manager to perform their functions as set out in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Act 2005 and worked to achieve outcomes as set out in the Torres Strait Development Plan.

Four Board Meetings were held during 2006-2007 and in addition to this, five Executive Committee Meetings were held in preparation for Board Meetings. The TSRA Executive were supported in their visits to the Western, Top Western, Northern Peninsula Area, Central and Eastern Island cluster groups to conduct meetings with the Councils and communities.

During the year, the Secretariat section liaised with relevant sections of the TSRA and external agencies to provide 52 briefing papers for the Board’s consideration which resulted in the TSRA Board making 38 formal decisions. A total of 21 items of Ministerial correspondence were prepared for the Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs.

ACHIEVEMENTS FOR OBJECTIVE 2

Public Affairs
The TSRA provided information to the public in 2006-2007 using a number of mediums, including press releases, newsletters, website placements, advertising, and production of promotional material.

A Public Affairs Officer is responsible for delivering this TSRA objective. During the past year, 23 press releases, 23 Chairperson’s Columns published in the Torres News, 11 newsletters, 16 speeches and the 2005-2006 TSRA Annual Report were produced.

Pamphlets and promotional material were also produced focusing on:
a) The TSRA Land and Sea Management Unit (pamphlet).
b) The TSRA Native Title Office (pamphlet).
c) The TSRA Business Funding Scheme (pamphlet).
d) The TSRA Community Economic Initiative Scheme (pamphlet).
e) The TSRA Home Ownership Scheme (pamphlet).
f) TSRA Presentations (folder).
g) The Gab Titui Cultural Centre (brochure).

Public Affairs assisted in advertising and marketing of the Gab Titui Cultural Centre as well as managing media involvement for the Centre’s third birthday in April 2007. The TSRA also participated in the Thursday Island State High School’s Careers Market in July 2006 and will again participate in the July 2007 Croc Festival. All TSRA non-campaign press advertising is conducted through the Australian Government provider HMA Blaze. No campaign advertising was conducted in 2006-2007. General enquiries from both the regional and mainstream media were attended to, as well as 154 information requests from the public via telephone, email, in person or mail. 89.61 per cent of these information requests were responded to within 48 hours.

The TSRA website (www.tsra.gov.au) continues to offer the community an opportunity to forward queries or feedback to the TSRA regarding its programs, policies, goals, progress and is updated regularly. In 2006-2007, Public Affairs commenced a project to revamp the TSRA website. It is expected that the TSRA will transfer to a new look website in 2007-2008. In addition, the TSRA and Native Title Office have a toll free telephone number (1800 079 093) that the community is encouraged to use. An email address (info@tsra.gov.au) is also in use to further enhance communication between the public and TSRA.