Long-term priorities for Yuwaya Ngarra-li include supporting the capacity, governance, advocacy and leadership of Walgett Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs), and the redirection of government funding towards strengths-based, holistic, community-led initiatives in Walgett. The building and centring of Aboriginal community capabilities and control in Yuwaya Ngarra-li's work is a key enabler of all other projects.
Advocating for long-term change
Yuwaya Ngarra-li is committed to supporting Walgett ACCOs'Ìý,ÌýÌý²¹²Ô»åÌýÌýfor long-term change in Walgett.
Our work has included:
- Data and support to enable meaningful participation by Walgett ACCOs in Closing the Gap processes
- Media training for Aboriginal leaders in Walgett
- Research to understand where government contracts and grants relating to Walgett are being allocated as a baseline and advocacy tool to enable increases in community control in coming years
- Producing resources that promote and teach the legacy, values and approaches of Walgett ACCOs
- Producing policy for Walgett ACCOs to advise NSW Parliamentary Inquiries, for example into food and water security and rural and remote health services.
Towards community-controlled budgeting and commissioning for better local outcomes
We have published two research and policy papers to assist public servants in meeting their Closing the Gap commitments in working with ACCOs:
- Creating Better Futures with ContractsÌýcovers how to improve access to information and participation in government procurements and grants
- Making Government Finances Make Sense for CommunitiesÌýcovers how governments can improve information and participation around government budgeting and spending.
These papers provide insight into the experience of an ACCO trying to access information about government spending in their local community, shares case studies of positive practice in Australia and internationally and provides guidance on increasing government transparency and accountability, in line with Closing the Gap Priority Reform 4 commitments to operationalise Indigenous Data Sovereignty principles.Ìý
Publications
- Mel Flanagan & May Miller-Dawkins (2025)ÌýYuwaya Ngarra-li Policy Paper: Making government finances make sense for communities.
- Peta MacGillivray, Virginia Robinson & Ruth McCausland (2025) '', Chapter 31 in theÌýRoutledge International Handbook of Critical Policing Studies.
- May Miller-Dawkins, Wendy Spencer & Ruth McCausland (2024)ÌýYuwaya Ngarra-li Briefing Paper: Processes to enable community-led, systemic and collaborative change.
- Dharriwaa Elders Group (2023)Ìý, submission to the Productivity Commission.
- Ruth McCausland, Peta MacGillivray, Sacha Kendall Jamieson & Virginia Robinson (2023)Ìý‘’,ÌýThe Conversation, 14 September.Ìý
- Mel Flanagan & May Miller-Dawkins in collaboration with Wendy Spencer & Ruth McCausland (2022)ÌýCreating better futures with contracts,ÌýYuwaya Ngarra-li Policy Paper.
- Dharriwaa Elders Group (2022)Ìý, submission to the NSW Planning and Environment Portfolio Committee.
- Virginia Robinson (2020)Ìý, Dharriwaa Elders Group.
- Ruth McCausland, May Miller-Dawkins, Peta MacGillivray, Rebecca Reeve, I Burton-Clark & Samantha Rich (2024)Ìý'',ÌýTransform: the Journal of Engaged ScholarshipÌý8:17-43.
- Ruth McCausland, Sacha Kendall Jamieson, Virginia Robinson, Wendy Spencer, Peta MacGillivray & Melanie Andersen (2023)Ìý'',ÌýAgeing & Society, 45(1): 31-54.
- Ruth McCausland, Wendy Spencer, Peta MacGillivray, Virginia Robinson, Vanessa Hickey, Eileen Baldry & Elizabeth McEntyre (2021)Ìý'',ÌýCommunity Development, 52(5): 573-591.
- Dharriwaa Elders Group (2018)Ìý, submission to the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage.
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