Social & Cultural Development

Program Overview: Social and Cultural Development

Through the Social, Cultural and Development Output, the TSRA aims to enable Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal people of the Torres Strait region to lead independent and healthy lives, with full recognition of their cultural heritage and rights to land.

It aims to achieve this by providing coherent and responsive programs that will improve the quality of their lives and ensure equity in their access to services and participation in the wider community.

This output comprises of six subprograms outlined below:

1. Municipal Support;
2. Broadcasting;
3. Social Justice;
4. Heritage, Culture and Environment;
5. Sports; and
6. Social Support (Youths, Aged and Women’s Issues).

Subprogram – MUNICIPAL SUPPORT

Objective
To increase the number of Indigenous people of the Torres Strait region with access to and gaining benefit from community facilities and essential municipal services consistent with and appropriate to their needs.

Description
The TSRA may provide funding under this Program for:

• Contributions toward the operating costs of local and remote communities’ councils and organisations.
• Replacement of vehicles and machinery considered essential for the efficient operation
  of those councils and organisations.
• Fund outright or contribute to the funding of the construction of community amenities,
  buildings, essential services and temporary accommodation.

Funding
In 2006-2007, the TSRA committed $1,241,340 as a contribution to the operations of island councils, $627,480 towards the operational costs of the Island Co-ordinating Council (ICC) and the two non-council CDEP organisations, $480,000 as the Australian Government contribution to the joint Australian/Queensland Government Heavy Equipment Management and Training Program (HEMTP) and $69,155 in accounting costs to enable the timely acquittal of TSRA’s 2005-2006 Grants to Island Councils, previously delayed due to the late certification of accounts by the Queensland Audit Office. An additional $540,000 was rolled over from 2005- 2006 for the purchase of vehicles and machinery. 100% disbursement of these funds was achieved.

Achievements
The Island Councils used TSRA’s recurrent contribution to municipal operations for the employment of executive officers, council clerks, and resident or visiting financial consultants, all responsible for the management and coordination of the Councils’ operations. TSRA funds supplement those funds provided by the Queensland Government for Council operations and capital equipment.

The TSRA again contributed to the Heavy Equipment Management and Training Program (HEMTP) by providing $480,000 in 2006-2007 to the Island Coordinating Council. HEMTP is a joint initiative involving the Queensland Department of Main Roads, DLGPSR and TSRA, and provides a plant pool of heavy equipment and machinery for use in earthworks and road construction. Projects on each island are scheduled into the HEMTP program and equipment and machinery are moved from island to island as needed. This program has provided substantial skills development and employment for local people throughout Torres Strait and the Northern Peninsula Area.

A co-operative and mutual arrangement between the Queensland Department of Main Roads, the TSRA and the ICC has meant that HEMTP also efficiently and effectively provides the resources for infrastructure development in the region through the Major Infrastructure Program (MIP).

$69,155 was spent completing audits of all 2005-2006 TSRA grants to Island Councils, thereby allowing the timely acquittal and disposal of surplus funds.

A total of $540,000 rolled over from 2005-2006 was granted to the Island Councils and Townbased organisations to allow them to purchase vehicles and machinery as follows:

- Badu Island Council $153,000
- Bamaga Island Council $60,000
- Iama Island Council $15,000
- Mabuiag Island Council $122,000
- Poruma Island Council $30,000
- Saibai Island Council $90,000
- Seisia Island Council $60,000
- TRAWQ Community Council $10,000

PROGRAM – BROADCASTING

Objective
To enable Torres Strait Islanders and Aboriginal people of the Torres Strait region access a range of broadcasting and communication services comparable to those provided to mainstream Australia.

To develop and extend the broadcasting and communications network of Indigenous residents of the Torres Strait in order to reinforce and promote their cultural identity and to foster general community awareness of their culture and priorities.

Description
This Program gives Indigenous residents of the Torres Strait control of their own broadcasting and television services. Through the Broadcasting for Remote Aboriginal Communities Scheme (BRACS), remote communities are provided with facilities to gain access to, and control of, television and radio services. It encourages the production of programs with local and cultural input for distribution within the Torres Strait region and the rest of Australia. It also supports the operations and development of the Torres Strait Islanders’ Media Association (TSIMA).

Funding
Broadcasting funds of $596,384 were allocated, with 100% disbursement, to the Torres Strait Islander Media Association (TSIMA) for operational and community broadcasting costs. TSRA also supports 16 BRACS units through untied contributions to the operating expenses of Island Councils.

Achievements
Through its 24-hour broadcasting licence, TSIMA is providing a local service of news, music, current affairs and items of interest, which continued throughout 2006-2007.  The BRACS schemes are utilised based on individual island’s needs, with some communities using the scheme for local productions revolving around local language and culture, while the majority use the BRACS facilities to relay four television channels to the communities.

PROGRAM – SOCIAL JUSTICE

Objective
To ensure that the human and legal rights of the Indigenous people of the Torres Strait region are enforced at international, national, state and local levels.

Description
The TSRA is providing financial assistance towards the provision of culturally appropriate, Indigenous legal aid services. It also supports advocacy services representing the interests of Indigenous people in contact with the juvenile and criminal justice system.

Funding
The TSRA provided $457,086 under this Program during 2006-2007 for the provision of a legal service to Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal people living in the region. 100% expenditure was achieved.

Achievements
The principal achievement of this Program has been the continuing availability of legal representation for people living in the Torres Strait region at the Magistrate Courts of Thursday Island, Badu Island and Bamaga through the Torres Strait and Northern Peninsula Legal Service (TSNP). $448,786 was granted to TSNP for their operating expenses.

In 2006-2007, the TSNP gave preliminary legal advice, consultations, legal support and representation to 5,286 clients, including 507 civil cases, 152 family cases and 934 criminal cases. They also handled 32 Traditional Adoption cases, and issued 38 brief-outs and 46 referrals. They gave representation to a total of 1,331 defendants facing a total of 2,690 charges. However, an independent review of TSNP found that TSRA was not getting value for money with its funding to this organisation and a tender process began in early 2007-2008 to find a new provider to deliver this TSRA Program from 1 December 2007.

The Thursday Island Community Justice Group, through TRAWQ Community Council Inc., received $8,300 to allow members to make visitations to Lotus Glen prison inmates.

PROGRAM – HERITAGE, CULTURE AND ENVIRONMENT

Objective
To assist the Indigenous people of the Torres Strait region in preserving, protecting and
developing their cultural heritage and to promote their involvement in environmental issues affecting them.

Description
This Program provides funds designed to support projects seeking to preserve and protect the environment, heritage, culture and languages of the Indigenous people of the Torres Strait region; to promote and maximise their involvement in the management of their land, seas and sacred sites; and to ensure that they regain ownership and control of the areas and objects of cultural significance to them.

In addition, this Program provides funds to promote, develop and support the Torres Strait region’s Indigenous people in their involvement with traditional and modern artistic and cultural activities as well as to promote awareness of the contribution made by the region’s Indigenous art, culture and history to the wider Australian and global community.

Heritage and Culture

Funding
In 2006-2007, the TSRA committed a total of $238,179 for the support of artistic and cultural activities in the Torres Strait region, including $40,000 rolled over from 2005-2006 for the Erub Arts Centre, achieving 100% expenditure. For a detailed list of grantees, please refer to the TSRA 2006-2007 Annual Report.

Achievements
After another outstanding year of achievements, the Gab Titui Cultural Centre celebrated its third birthday in April 2007 and continues to focus on the cultural activities of the region, through art exhibitions and workshops as well as acting as an outlet for much of the artistic production of the Torres Strait region. Exhibitions hosted in 2006-2007 include, renowned Torres Strait Islander artist Dennis Nona’s “Sesserae” collection and a tribute to the region’s pearling history titled, “The First Pearlers.”

To commemorate its third birthday, a week of activities commenced on Monday 16 April, beginning with a children’s art workshop, the Asian Pacific Tri-Annual, followed by residents from the Star of the Sea Nursing Home being entertained by the Tagai College dancers. The highlight of the week was on Friday 20 April, when the Centre invited local community members to take part in the opening of a Regional Visual Art and Craft Exhibition and to witness the unveiling of a historic Chinese Bell, which is currently on loan from the Royal Australian Navy.

The Centre’s work towards cultural preservation and tourism was again recognised this year, with Gab Titui Cultural Centre winning for the second year in a row, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Category of the Queensland Tourism Awards. In addition, Gab Titui was also a finalist at both the Australian and Tropical North Queensland Tourism Awards and received a High Commendation at the Reconciliation Business Awards for the Best Emerging Business. Gab Titui Cultural Centre continues to employ three trainees, who are progressing well in the Tourism, Guiding and Hospitality, Certificate II.

TSRA again matched the $25,000 received from Arts Queensland to create a pool of $50,000 for Indigenous Regional Arts Development Fund (IRADF) projects. 99.6% expenditure was achieved, and successful applications for the 2006-2007 Torres Strait IRADF can be found in the TSRA 2006-2007 Annual Report.

The TSRA, as the peak body, continues its commitment to assisting local individuals and organisations in the maintenance and development of the region’s culture and heritage.

ENVIRONMENT

The Land and Sea Management Unit
The TSRA was invited by Australian and Queensland Government Ministers to manage the delivery of the Natural Heritage Trust (NHT) program in the Torres Strait region. The NHT program aims to promote biodiversity conservation, the sustainable use of natural resources, community capacity-building and institutional reform.

In June of 2006, the TSRA established a Land and Sea Management Unit to coordinate the delivery of regional and local level land and sea management initiatives, and to support communities to access additional financial and technical support, and information about the sustainable management of their environments. The Unit currently comprises eight staff.

Objective
To provide support to Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal communities in the Torres Strait region to care for their land and sea through the implementation of the Land & Sea Management Strategy for Torres Strait.
Funding
The TSRA Land and Sea Management Unit is coordinating the delivery of a range of land and sea initiatives through a combination of funding sources, including $1,661,000 from the NHT and National Landcare Program (NLP), $65,000 from the Marine & Tropical Science Research Program (MTSRF), $100,000 from the TSRA, and $334,000 from other sources. In-kind support from the Queensland Government has also been negotiated. The source and amount of funding allocated towards particular land and sea projects currently underway for the 2006-2007 financial year can be found in the 2006-2007 TSRA Annual Report.

Land and Sea Management Initiatives
The Land and Sea Management Unit is responsible for coordinating the implementation of the Land & Sea Management Strategy for Torres Strait with funding available under the Natural Heritage Trust (NHT) and National Landcare Programme (NLP) as well as other government and non-government funding sources.

This Strategy forms the framework for the delivery of land and sea management initiatives and NHT and other sources of funding for environmental projects in the region.

The Land and Sea Management Unit team are currently responsible for coordinating the delivery of 16 projects, including local, regional, cross-regional and collaborative projects. These projects fall under a number of key theme areas consistent with the Strategy, namely: land, sea and people.

Projects underway support a range of different outcomes of benefit to Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal people living in the region, including through the engagement of project officers and rangers to undertake local land and sea management activities, fostering sustainable community-based management approaches for iconic species such as dugongs and marine turtles, removal of ghost nets and harmful marine debris from shorelines and reefs, community education and awareness raising about the importance of sustainable water use, building the capacity of native title holders to become strong partners in land management, developing approaches for better understanding coastal erosion, and through carrying out horticultural training, revegetation and other on-ground land management activities.

The Unit also works in collaboration with a range of partner entities based within and outside of the region to facilitate the delivery of other initiatives aligned with the Strategy, including both Australian and Queensland Government departments, research organisations, the private sector, and philanthropic groups.

The TSRA has recently presented a suite of proposals for the expenditure of remaining NHT funds until June 2008 to the Queensland and Australian Government Ministers for approval. These proposals include the:

- Sustainable Land Use Planning Project
- Extension of the Coastal Erosion Impacts Project to Iama Island

The TSRA also intends to develop a Regional Investment Strategy to outline how the post-June 2008 allocation of NHT or other funds would be applied to support the continued operation of the Land & Sea Management Unit, and maintain sustainable environmental approaches and outcomes for the region and its communities.

Achievements
Over the previous twelve months, the TSRA Land and Sea Management Unit has become fully operational and well integrated within the TSRA organisational structure. There is growing interest on the part of regional communities about community based sustainable management of islands and surrounding seas, and strong levels of support from partner entities based within and outside of the region for land and sea initiatives currently underway and proposed for the region.

PROGRAM – SPORT

Objective
To promote the social and physical well-being of the Indigenous people of the Torres Strait region and the development of a positive self-image through increased access to and participation in recreation and sporting activities.

Description
This Program provides funding for the operational costs of sporting associations. It also provides funding for the holding of and travelling to sporting events, as well as the construction and upgrading of sporting and community facilities and equipment.

Funding
$1,429,292 was rolled over from 2005-2006 to 2006-2007 to link in with the State program, and together with new funding of $815,678, the TSRA committed a total of $2,244,970 under this program. However, only 41% expenditure was achieved, as four Major Sports Infrastructure Projects with matching funding from the Queensland Department of Local Government, Planning, Sport and Recreation have not yet commenced.

Achievements
Funding of $411,478 was provided in 2006-2007 to the Torres Strait Youth and Recreational Sporting Association (TSYRSA) as a continuing contribution towards their operating costs and assistance, in terms of both funding and expertise, which they provide to the various Indigenous sporting associations in the Torres Strait. The funding assisted 44 separate sporting projects, including competition in track and field, volleyball, basketball, touch rugby, recreational fishing, rugby league, cricket, darts and women’s rugby, and the purchase of various sporting equipment.

Upgrades occurred at the St Pauls and Masig community sports stadiums, and a contribution of $537,009 was made to the Torres Shire Council’s Horn Island Sports Complex project.