One People in action

In 2019, Redland City Council formally endorsed its first Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) – Kanara Malara – One People 2019-2021 – an ambitious set of principles and practical actions to guide Council’s internal reconciliation efforts.

Delivered between 2019 and 2022, the majority of its 55 actions have been completed with support from employees and Council’s community partners.

Ngugi Elder Dr Robert Anderson OAM, or “Uncle Bob”, wrote the RAP foreword and has been integral to the success of many of its initiatives.

Uncle Bob is an advocate for the ideal of reconciliation being a process of people coming together, walking together and sharing a common destiny.

“We are making our journey through two systems of law, the ancient Lores of Aboriginal Peoples and the Western Law of modern Australia.

“When the concept of reconciliation is a part of peoples’ hearts and minds, the concept begins to flourish.”

Uncle Bob Anderson OAM

Developed by an internal committee of employees, a choice was made that the first Redland City Council RAP would focus on actions to increase organisational knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage and issues.

Redland City Council Chief Executive Officer and RAP Implementation Committee Chair Andrew Chesterman said the decision was made knowing the organisation’s reconciliation journey was still in its early stages.

“When we spoke about what we wanted our first RAP to accomplish, it was clear that engaging, educating and inspiring our own people to support our ambitions needed to be our priority,” he said.

“It has been a learning process, with challenges and things we might do differently, but it has also been wonderful to see the swell of internal support and how fully and genuinely our RAP has been embraced.

“What has been accomplished through our first RAP has been incredibly rewarding, and we are now in a much stronger position to engage with external stakeholders, take on their feedback and suggestions, and set clear priorities in inviting the Redlands Coast community to share our reconciliation goals.”

Joshua Walker

Sharing a rich and ancient culture, Point Lookout (Mulumba) on North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah)