Community engagement
Consultation with key stakeholders was undertaken prior to project commencement.
Following on from several community presentations in Halls Creek, Main Roads along with the Shire of Halls Creek visited the three communities of Billiluna, Balgo and Mulan in June 2022 to discuss the project and provide information on business and employment opportunities.
Initial briefings were provided with the three native title groups directly affected by the road – Jaru, Koongie-Elvire and Tjurubalan, who all indicated their support for the project. Main Roads continues to meet with the Traditional owner groups as required.
A Delivery Strategy workshop was held with a range of community stakeholders in Halls Creek in November 2023. The group supported a long-term delivery strategy over 10 years to maximise local involvement in the delivery of the project and provide sustainable employment and business opportunities for local Aboriginal people.
The Community Reference Group also provided advice on what were considered to be key project objectives and outcomes, as well as what should be included in the scope of works to achieve these objectives. A set of Key Performance Indicators will be developed, and further meetings are planned with the Community Reference Group during the life of the project to report on project progress in achieving the project objectives.
Aboriginal Participation
Project Aboriginal Participation targets have been set in line with other projects being delivered in the Kimberley region.
A Memorandum of Understanding has been entered into with the Jaru Aboriginal Corporation defining how Main Roads will work with the Jaru People to grow local Aboriginal participation in the delivery of the project.
Several training courses have been held to build people’s skills and allow them to participate in the delivery of the project, while a number of new businesses have started up, providing services on the project.
The project is continuing to exceed the required 30 per cent Aboriginal employment target with local Aboriginal people comprising 54 per cent of the current workforce, of which almost 70 per cent are from the Shire of Halls Creek. This includes the remote communities of Balgo and Billiluna.
Aboriginal business engagement is equivalent to approximately 30 per cent of the total awarded contracts on the project. There are 17 Aboriginal businesses currently engaged.
The amount of work being delivered by Aboriginal-owned businesses is approximately 35%.Training opportunities for workers from remote Kimberley communities continue to be provided with four workers out of Balgo and Billiluna.
