Our very own Donnella Mills on Joint Council
Donnella Mills, Senior Associate, Pro Bono Manager, recently joined the Joint Ministerial and Coalition of Peaks Council on Closing the Gap (Joint Council). The Joint Council is the first COAG Council that has formal non-government membership. Its role is to support national leadership, coordination and cooperation on Closing the Gap and provide advice to COAG. Membership of the Joint Council is made up on 12 members of the Coalition of Peaks, elected by them, a Minister chosen by each government, and a representative of the Australian Local Government Association nominated by its president.
Doomadgee community
Berkeley Cox and Donnella Mills have led a tireless KWM pro-bono team, working for over a year to assist the Doomadgee community to become the first place-based partnership in Queensland under the national Closing the Gap agreement. The deal means Doomadgee will lead a state-first “closing the gap" pilot testing how best to roll-out priority programs like health, housing, and early childhood in First Nations communities. Importantly, it recognises communities' vital role in determining the services they need, alongside the important progress towards constitutional recognition. Learn more.
Secondment
Dusan Stevic, Solicitor, Pro Bono Advisor, is currently on a part-time secondment with the Coalition of Peaks, working as a Policy Advisor. Dusan assists the team to develop policies and strategies aimed at implementing the objectives of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap. Dusan has a particular interest in housing, homelessness, and access to justice for First Nations peoples.
Policy and law reform
Our KWM team has assisted on a number of policy and law reform matters for the Coalition of Peaks. This has included a submission on the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and research papers related to the Priority Reforms in the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.
Pro bono advice
Our KWM team has also recently provided governance advice to the Coalition of Peaks Secretariat and provided advice to a number of their members.
Hosting and attending events
We have attended and provided support to a number of events, including the Coalition of Peaks conference in Melbourne, multiple planning days hosted at KWM's Canberra Centre.
