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Yorta Yorta leader Paul Briggs
OAM is CEO of the Kaiela Institute
and is leading Empowered
Communities in the Goulburn
Murray region. In 2016, he needed
a Jawun secondee to work with
him directly on driving change.
Simon Factor, senior consultant in
Policy, Programs and Evaluation at
KPMG, was deployed to develop
a framework to address risk and
monitor effective progress for
Empowered Communities.
The Kaiela Institute has been
supported since 2010 by 60 Jawun
secondees. Simon’s secondment
came as Paul was working hard
to build momentum behind
Empowered Communities.
Simon worked directly with him
and brought skills invaluable
to Paul at a time when he was
in pivotal discussions with the
Victorian Government:
Simon was very skilled and
very composed and confident,
but very analytical. And I think
corporate sector speak cuts
to the chase pretty quickly.
When you’re in political and
bureaucratic speak it gets a
bit blunt. It’s hard to pin it
down. Simon was really good
at pinning it down.
Paul wanted to gain Victorian
Government support for a state-
of-the-art Indigenous sporting,
cultural and education precinct
in Shepparton—the proposed
Munarra Regional Centre of
Excellence. Long a vision of Yorta
Yorta leaders and the community,
Paul envisages Munarra as ‘a
pivotal piece of infrastructure that
will underpin the prosperity of
Indigenous people’.
Simon was in Paul’s office when
a critical phone call with the
Victorian Government took place:
The conversation wasn’t
really going anywhere. They
didn’t know what they were
doing and I wasn’t able to tell
them what to do. But Simon,
who was just listening in—I
hadn’t even introduced him
as being in the room—gave
a bit of a cough and said,
could he make an observation,
and he quickly directed the
agenda. He reassured the state
government representative—he
reflected back to them what
they were trying to do, gave
comfort to them about getting
involved, and positioned the
feasibility and the business
case development.
The project had been stumbling
and this was a turning point. Simon
was able to ‘translate political
bureaucratic speak for us’ and
articulate clear steps for both
sides. This was vital for securing
commitment based on mutual
understanding, but also—in the
game of elephant and mous
e 15 —for
showing that the Indigenous side
of the negotiating table knew what
they were talking about:
I reckon we would not have
gotten Munarra as far as we
have got it today without that
critical observation of Simon’s
in that telephone conversation,
and his translation, like a
corporate view of how to
approach it. I think it was good
for state government to hear
that we had those skills around
us. Because it gave them
confidence; and it actually
said, you can’t bluff us. That
was really good.
Simon returned to Sydney and
KPMG, but stayed in touch with
Paul. He prepared a proposal that
secured state funding for a scoping
study for Munarra, essential
for the project to progress but
something the Kaiela Institute had
not been able to achieve in nine
years of consideration. The study
brought the Kaiela Institute and
community organisations together
with the Victorian Department of
Premier and Cabinet, the Greater
Shepparton City Council and the
University of Melbourne to discuss
and plan Munarra collectively for
the first time. As a result, Paul
and Simon secured $200,000 in
state funding to develop a formal
business case for Munarra.
Paul continues to progress plans
for Munarra, with a series of KPMG
secondees who are supporting his
work and vision.
Simon later sought Paul’s advice
when he decided to return to
Indigenous-led development
work in a senior policy developer
role at Inner Sydney Empowered
Communities. Paul supported him,
knowing the move would be of
enormous value to his peers in
Sydney, and to Simon:
The secondment was a sort
of reawakening for Simon,
seeing the value of what we
were doing and the value of
his role in it. I think maybe we
tapped into his spirituality.
There’s a friendship now
that’s about understanding
and respect.
Simon has been back to Goulburn
Murray several times as a friend
of Paul’s and an Empowered
Communities colleague. The two
men talk about the reform agendas
in both regions, comparing ideas
and exchanging advice.
Paul Briggs and Simon Factor—
skilled support for leadership
CASE STUDY
8 JAWUN
2017 LEARNINGS AND INSIGHTS