Community Working Parties
Community Working Parties (CWPs) are the foundation stones of the Murdi Paaki Regional Assembly and are the community’s Aboriginal voice, not only on their needs and aspirations, but also the issues faced by their community. Each community has established a CWP representative of the people in their communities.
CWPs provide a direct link to the Regional Assembly and provide an insight into what’s occurring at a local community level. In turn, MPRA feeds back into the CWPs about wider issues.
While CWPs are not funding bodies, they are the peak representative body for their community for government and non-government organisations to consult and engage with, while also setting priorities around closing the gap and eliminating social issues for their community.
The functions of CWPs are to:
- Represent and advance the interests of the community, individuals and families
- Elect a representative to the Regional Assembly
- Engage with Commonwealth, State, local government and Aboriginal organisations in the provision of services
- Determine community priorities
- Implement the community vision
- Sustain the practice of community governance
- Prepare a community plan
- Negotiate service delivery agreements with government agencies
- Engage with service providers to articulate community goals, aspirations and priorities
The 16 Community Working Parties for the Murdi Paaki Region are: