Over the past 12 months, the Board of Directors has continued its advocacy and representative role to ensure the sustainability and enhancement of services within the NPA and surrounding communities. There have been a considerable number of highlights in the 2018-19 with our advocacy and representative role. A few key highlights include the following.

Child Care Subsidy

In collaboration with other local childcare providers, the Board of Directors sent a joint letter to all candidates of the Federal Election to highlight key concerns and impact of the new Child Care Subsidy model which was introduced in July 2018. This letter was also published in the Torres News.

Following this, the Board of Directors travelled to Canberra to meet with senior Government Representatives to reiterate these issues and request additional support for all services within the region. The Board of Directors also met with re-elected MP Warren Entsch and state MP Cynthia Lui to gain their support in this issue.

Board of Directors with Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch

 

 

Education

In April 2018, the Board of Directors sent a letter to Education Minister Grace Grace about community concerns raised regarding NPA State College. While the organisation appreciated the good intent and data from the Education Minister in the response received in July 2018, the response did not address the issues raised and the outcomes being witnessed in community did not support this and a meeting was requested with the Assistant Director General – Indigenous Education.

A community consultation was held in March 2019 with community leaders to prepare a report for the Assistant Director General. Each community discussed key areas individually to identify key community concerns and proposed solutions. These responses were recorded, collated and key themes identified.

The Assistant Director General – Indigenous Education met with the Board of Directors in March 2019 and committed to working with the NPA State College on these issues and returning to present achievements at the school.

The Board of Directors is continuing to advocate these issues to ensure adequate resourcing is available to support Education in the region.

Health

Health continues to be an issue of concern for the NPA Communities and the Board of Directors have continued their work to advocate for these issues at all levels of government. Over the past 12 months, the Board of Directors has met with various health representatives including Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service Board and Chief Executive, Queensland Health Senior Executives, Northern Queensland Primary Health Network Chief Executive Officer and Senior Executives and Department of Health (Commonwealth) to discuss overall health within the NPA and specific areas of concern especially

• Environmental Health
• Palliative Care
• Health Promotion
• Community Health Planning
• Counselling and Mental Health