After nearly five years of special administration the Wirrimanu Aboriginal Corporation (WAC) will be handed back to its members on 31 August 2008.
WAC is located in the remote Aboriginal community of Balgo in the East Kimberley in Western Australia. It operates a large community development employment project (CDEP), provides a wide range of municipal and community services, and owns and operates the community store.
Special administrators were appointed to the corporation in October 2003 over concerns about governance and its financial position.
The special administrators, Brian McMaster and Jack James from KordaMentha in Perth, held an annual general meeting on 26 August at the Balgo basketball stadium to present information about the structure and financial position of the corporation to members.
The Registrar of Indigenous Corporations, Mr Anthony Beven, attended the AGM and said ‘the directors have been working closely with the special administrator and I am confident the corporation will be in good hands when the special administration ends.’
At a general meeting in June 2008, members voted for a new rule book and elected directors to represent each family group. Since this meeting, the directors-elect have formed a community advisory committee and have been working with the special administrators to make positive changes to the community including implementing policies to encourage greater school attendance rates, drafting community codes of conduct and encouraging participation in community development projects.
‘Like many corporations, Wirrimanu plays a central role in delivering essential services to a remote Indigenous community, for which substantial amounts of public funds are provided.
‘It is vital that corporate governance and accountability standards are met to minimise risk of corporate failure and loss of service delivery to the community.’ Mr Beven said.
The special administrators can be contacted on (08) 9220 9333.
Contact:
Lisa Donnelly
02 6219 7611
27 August 2008
ORIC MR0809–06