Acting Council GM

Warning: Images of deceased persons may appear | See the Yuwaalaraay / Gamilaraay pronunciation guide here

The Walgett Shire Council meeting in April 2023 when Hugh Percy was appointed Acting General Manager

In June the Acting General Manager of Walgett Shire Council, Hugh Percy, accepted DEG's invitation to morning tea. It had been many years since he had first met DEG as the Council's Administrator. DEG expressed its concern about the need for good facilities

for the Council's youth programs and learnt of the renovation budget he had devoted to the Youth Development Team to bring the old Youth Centre up to scratch. The Council's youth program had not fared well in its arrangement to use PCYC facilities, and the youth program had moved back into the old Youth Centre - immediately increasing the number of attendees to its program, and therefore its effectiveness. After this morning tea, DEG approached the Council's Youth Development Team and offered the services of Yuwaya Ngarrali to support the Team to plan, draw up and cost the renovations it wants.

Since 2020, the building and centring of Aboriginal community capabilities and control in Yuwaya Ngarrali’s work has been a key enabler of all other areas as well as an area of significant achievement in itself. During the 2020-2023 period evaluated here important DEG-led efforts resulted in 32 outcomes relating to ACCO capability and control, with a further 51 outcomes associated with community-led emergency response and community troubleshooting. Walgett Elders and community voices have been prominent in national media stories on topics as varied the government’s response to COVID, food and water security, floodplain harvesting and homelessness. DEG and YN’s agenda-setting on food and water security in particular has led to Ministerial visits to Walgett and commitments to long-term solutions to safe drinking water that is having systemic impact. Within our team we have embedded important learning about how to recruit, develop and retain Aboriginal staff members that provide a model that could be shared. And we are developing an ACCO capability unit that could provide an innovative model enabling ACCOs to flourish and lead change in communities across NSW nationally, thereby contributing significant progress in Closing the Gap targets and self-determination.