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 8 - 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.
Several meetings have been held with East Kimberley Aboriginal training and employment organisations to identify opportunities to grow Aboriginal Engagement in the delivery of East Kimberley Road and bridge projects.
Certificate II training courses were completed in Balgo in late 2022, while a Certificate III course was completed in Halls Creek in April, building people’s skills to participate in the delivery of the project.
As at November 2023, more than 51 per cent of the hours worked on the project were by Aboriginal people.
