Gippsland and East Gippsland Aboriginal Co-operative (GEGAC) has welcomed a new chief executive officer in Jamie Williamson.
Mr Williamson has extensive experience in aboriginal affairs and was previously the Koori Liaison Officer based in Bairnsdale some years ago before leaving Gippsland to further his knowledge.
Born on the South Coast of New South Wales at Milton Ulladula, Mr Williamson’s identifies with the Yuin people, his father’s mob.
However, his formative years were in Echuca where he grew up and attended school. Mr Williamson recalls idyllic summers swimming in the river. “I was the quintessential country boy,” he said. After studying engineering at Ballarat University, Mr Williamson’s work in mining exposed him to remote aboriginal communities.
In doing so, he was able to see firsthand the “disadvantage in those communities”.
“Being indigenous myself made me realise that there’s more to do than just digging holes,” he said.
It was a turning point in Mr Williamson’s life and one that led him to East Gippsland the first time.
In 2003, he became a Koori educator and took a job at Nowa Nowa Primary School for almost a year before leaving to work with the East Gippsland Institute of TAFE as the liaison officer for three years.
An appointment as the indigenous recruitment officer with Melbourne University took Mr Williamson down to the city where he remained for 12 years doing a variety of jobs, which included working with the Victorian State Government on creating indigenous employment opportunities.
“I was working across different stakeholder projects focusing on equality actions, which included indigenous employment,” Mr Williamson said.
An appointment as the general manager of indigenous engagement at Ayers Rock Resort saw him leave Victoria and head to the Northern Territory.
“I was working across APY Lands around employment issues.
“There are massive social issues relating to education, health, housing and employment.
“I had the ability to get involved in so many projects and activities,” Mr Williamson said.
“All the issues I was exposed to in the Central Australia context were the same issues and concerns as the East Gippsland context.”
“We all want the same things, it’s just figuring out what is the starting point,” Mr Williamson said.
“It’s about acknowledging the past to build the future.
“We’re all able to contribute to closing the gap and we’re all able to maintain that parity once we’ve closed the gap.”
IMAGE: The executive team at GEGAC: Chris Beal, operations manager, Jamie Williamson, chief executive officer; Adrian Morgan, property and maintenance manager, and Peter Blackie, chief financial officer.
