National Reconciliation Week (NRW) is a time for all Australians to reflect on our shared histories, cultures and achievements, and to consider how each of us can contribute to reconciliation in Australia.
This year’s theme, All In, reinforces that reconciliation is not a spectator sport. It challenges all Australians to step away from the sidelines and take meaningful action every day. It also highlights that advancing reconciliation, and the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is not solely the responsibility of First Nations communities, meaningful progress requires all of us to play a role.
This year’s theme reflects the way we approach reconciliation as a business – as a shared responsibility embedded in how we operate every day. It means creating opportunities, strengthening partnerships, and ensuring our projects deliver lasting social and economic outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Through our RAP, we have set clear targets for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment and procurement, while continuing to support meaningful cultural recognition across our projects and workplaces.
For CPB Contractors, National Reconciliation Week is an opportunity to reflect on the role we play in building respectful relationships and stronger communities. It also reinforces that reconciliation is driven by action, through how we engage with communities, collaborate with partners, and deliver projects across the country.
We see reconciliation reflected in our day-to-day work through genuine partnerships, creating pathways to employment and training, and continuing to listen, learn and adapt to the needs of the communities we work alongside.
In 2023, CPB Contractors formalised a national partnership with the Clontarf Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to improving the education, discipline, life skills, self-esteem and employment prospects of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men.
Through this partnership, we are proud to support Clontarf’s work in helping young men participate more meaningfully in society and build stronger futures for themselves and their communities.
As part of this year’s National Reconciliation Week activities, CPB Contractors invited Clontarf Partnership Managers from across the nation for a discussion with Senior Indigenous & Social Inclusion Advisor, John Mallard.
Reflecting the spirit of All In, the discussions highlighted the importance of inclusion, collaboration and unity. They also recognised the passion and commitment of our Clontarf partners, who are dedicated to supporting young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men to reach their full potential through education and employment opportunities.
For Shane Koimans, Partnerships Manager WA, this year’s theme strongly reflected the way Clontarf supports young men and communities.
“The theme ‘All In’ resonates with me personally and in my role because every achievement at Clontarf is the result of many people contributing in different ways,” Shane said.
“When a young man in our program completes Year 12, that success is never achieved in isolation. It reflects the support and influence of his family, Clontarf staff, his peers, wider school staff and Clontarf partners.
“At Clontarf, the best outcomes happen when everyone plays their role and works together. To create real impact, we all need to be ‘All In’.”
Reflecting on the importance of National Reconciliation Week, Shane said reconciliation is built through everyday actions, relationships and a willingness to learn from one another.
“National Reconciliation Week is an opportunity to reflect on our shared history, acknowledge the truths of the past, and focus on the role we all play in building stronger relationships and greater understanding between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous Australians,” he said.
“In my work at Clontarf, reconciliation is lived out through genuine connection and walking alongside young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men, their families, schools and communities.
“It’s about building trust over time, working together in meaningful ways, and creating better outcomes and stronger futures for the next generation.”
This NRW, we’re reminded that real progress happens when we are all committed, all engaged and All In.