The Aboriginal Affairs Executive Committee (AAEC) was established in 2020 and is responsible for:
- providing strategic, across government leadership and endorsement of work plans developed in response to the strategic priorities
- identifying risks to enhance opportunities for collaboration across working groups
- considering the whole of government landscape and advising agencies, Senior Leadership Committee and/or Cabinet on any concerns or unintended impacts programs or projects that may have, including precedent setting, unintended impacts on other agencies, or negative impacts on broader government priorities
- monitoring significant across government high value/risk programs and projects
- identifying and supporting training, mentoring and support for senior aboriginal public servant co-chairs and officers engaged in the working groups.
Membership
The committee is made up of 5 chief executives and 5 Aboriginal senior leaders in the South Australian public sector:
- David Brown (co-chair), Chief Executive, Department for Correctional Services
- Nerida Saunders (co-chair), Executive Director, Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Attorney Generals Department
- Martin Westwell, Chief Executive, Department of Education
- Paul Heithersay, Chief Executive, Department for Energy and Mining
- Cathy Taylor, Chief Executive, Department for Child Protection
- David Reynolds, Chief Executive, Department for Trade and Investment
- Scharlene Lamont, Executive Director, Aboriginal Services, Department for Correctional Services
- Loretta Romeo, Principal Advisor, Strategic Policy, Projects and Partnerships, Department for Correctional Services
- Judith Lovegrove, Adviser, Office for the Early Years, Department for Education
- Daniel Colson, ICU Manager of Operations, Department for Correctional Services
Working groups
Each working group consists of approximately 16 members, with more than 50% Aboriginal representation, who are drawn from across the South Australian public sector. The working groups have been convened under the oversight of the AAEC to address the following strategic priorities:
- Over-representation of Aboriginal South Australians in the criminal justice sector
- Economic participation
- Supporting growth in Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations
- Building capacity in vulnerable families.
| Strategic priority | Chief executive Co-Chair | Aboriginal Senior Leader Co-Chair |
|---|---|---|
| Over-representation of Aboriginal South Australians in the criminal justice sector | David Reynolds | Scharlene Lamont |
| Economic participation | Cathy Taylor | Loretta Romeo |
| Supporting growth in Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations | Martin Westwell | Daniel Colson |
| Building capacity in vulnerable families | Paul Heithersay | Judith Lovegrove |
Getting involved
Want to be added to the stakeholder list for regular updates?
Email aaec-secretariat@sa.gov.au with the subject “Please add me to the mailing list.”
Have a specific question you want to ask?
Contact one of the following:
- Aboriginal Affairs Executive Committee Secretariat - aaec-secretariat@sa.gov.au
- Over-Representation of Aboriginal South Australians in the Criminal Justice Sector Secretariat - Over-Representation@sa.gov.au
- Economic Participation Secretariat - economic-participation@sa.gov.au
- Supporting growth in Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations Secretariat - supporting-growth@sa.gov.au
- Building capacity in vulnerable families Secretariat - building-capacity@sa.gov.au