A community plan to improve health, wellbeing and education outcomes for Nyiyaparli and Martu people living in East Newman has won the Planning with Country Award at the 2024 Planning Institute of Australia’s National Excellence Awards.
The Plan was recognised as a State winner at the end of 2023, placing them among a group of finalists for the national award.
The East Newman Precinct Structure Plan (ENPSP), co-designed by Karlka Nyiyaparli Aboriginal Corporation, Jamukurnu Yapalikurnu Aboriginal Corporation, and Puntukurnu Aboriginal Medical Service, outlines vital priorities for improving housing, community facilities, and community amenities to improve the outcomes for people living in East Newman.
The ENPSP forms part of the Newman Futures project facilitated by Creating Communities and supported by BHP.
Creating Communities led a four-year co-design process with Traditional Owners, other First Nations community members, and Newman stakeholder that identified the need for a community service centre, housing solutions, spaces for young people, upgrades to parks and streetscapes, and short-stay accommodation for dialysis patients.
In commending the project, the Planning Institute of Australia’s judges recognised the Plan as an exceptional example of a First Nations-led planning process, identifying critical infrastructure that will create ongoing, lasting, and meaningful health, wellbeing, education, and employment benefits.
The judges praised the project as a stellar example of community-led First Nations planning, setting a standard for other States to follow.
Newman is Nyiyaparli Country, but many Martu now live there. In 2020, Nyiyaparli and Martu signed the This is Our Dream Cultural Compact to formalise their agreement to work together in Newman.
The Plan is the first major project resulting from the Cultural Compact. The ENPSP aims to create a thriving community in East Newman by delivering key priorities for better healthcare, housing, education and cultural wellbeing opportunities.
This award provides due recognition to the Nyiyaparli and Martu leaders for their hard work and commitment to community planning and the work that has already been delivered as part of the ENPSP.
While no stranger to state and national awards, winning the Planning with Country Award was deeply satisfying for Creating Communities’ CEO, Donna Shepherd.
“In 2020, the key proponents behind the cultural plan, the leaders of the Nyiyaparli and Martu peoples, sat shoulder to shoulder to sign a Cultural Compact that affirmed their intent to work together,” Donna said.
“To see them recognised for the fruit of this agreement together while being part of co-designing this Plan with them was enormously satisfying,”
“Creating Communities are collaborators – our vision is to bring people to the table together to turn big and small social challenges into big possibilities and move forward together. To join them on stage and receive this award together affirmed the heart of our purpose as a team,” Donna said.
The proponents are now looking to implement the key priorities of the ENPSP, starting with a community service centre, housing solutions, spaces for young people, upgrades to parks and streetscapes and short-stay accommodation for dialysis patients.
They are inviting businesses and the government to join them and support their vision for a Strong Culture and Strong Family in East Newman through funding and partnerships.
