Bass Coast Shire Council will establish the Australian First Peoples Advisory Committee (AFPAC), to provide a formalised connection between Community and Council.

The formation of the AFPAC supports Council’s commitment to reconciliation and will provide a platform for ongoing engagement between the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Community and Council across a broad range of matters.

Membership of the AFPAC will include one Councillor, Community Representatives, the Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation and agencies/organisation representatives involved in the delivery of Indigenous related services. Council’s Aboriginal Development Officer will act as administration support for the Committee.

At its August Meeting, Council endorsed Bass Coast Shire Mayor, Cr Brett Tessari as the Councillor representative and the Co-Chair of the Committee, with five Community Representatives including Bev Munro, Bon Quin, Safina Stewart, Shani Blyth and Uncle Anthony Egan, joining the Committee. Community organisations will also be invited to join the Committee, once it is established.

The first meeting of the AFPAC will be held in September.

Cr Tessari said that the Committee will drive Council’s Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), which is currently under development.

“The Committee will also be a leading advocacy group for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community affairs across Bass Coast,” Cr Tessari said.

“We look forward to working with the Committee to promote the spirit and practice of reconciliation within the Council structure and throughout the wider community,” Cr Tessari concluded.

For more information on the AFPAC and the RAP, visit www.basscoast.vic.gov.au/reconciliation or contact Council’s Aboriginal Development Officer on 1300 BCOAST (226 278) or (03) 5671 2211 or email basscoast@basscoast.vic.gov.au.