New Youth Programs opened by the Hon. Minister Tinley AM MLA

NPY Women’s Council celebrates our long-standing CEO Andrea Mason as she departs from her role of over 10 years with NPYWC, upon her appointment to serve as a commissioner in the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability.

It is with heartfelt sadness that the directors, staff and the communities we serve say goodbye to Andrea, but know that she will bring her dynamism and strengths to her new role, once again best serving Anangu within the Central Desert region.

Andrea has accomplished so much in her role as CEO.

Andrea is committed to delivering long-term positive change to the communities across the Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (NPY) Lands, this is a responsibility she has been delivering since joining NPY Women’s Council in 2008.

Since 2010 she has led the organisation as Chief Executive Officer. Andrea’s relationship to the NPY Lands is strong both professionally and personally. Her mother’s people are Karonie people and her father is Ngaanyatjarra. Andrea believes her responsibility as CEO is one of being a custodian for the hopes and aspirations of the members of the Council.

Her career prior to joining the Council in 2008 tells the story of the areas she has had a long-term interest in reconciliation and genuine self-determination for Aboriginal people. Andrea has close to a 15-year career working in the South Australian and Australian public services. During these years, she worked in the SA Housing Trust in a team that provided housing and tenancy projects to communities in the APY Lands; and in the Australian Public Service she worked on policy to increase community engagement in Aboriginal communities and also building the leadership of Indigenous women.

Andrea enjoys working with and alongside people who have a passion to find solutions to complex issues and to follow on with implementation. In the early 1990s, she worked as a Community Manager in an SA Government project that campaigned for the right to host the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Adelaide.

She has worked for Reconciliation Australia as a Relationships Manager in the Reconciliation Action Plan (RAPs) project; an initiative that offers Australian workplaces a framework to increase their engagement and awareness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and culture.

A stint working in the SA Parliament and an attempt to enter politics prepared her for working in the political sector and various terms on boards and committees including Transfield Services, Indigenous Advisory Board.

Like the story of many young Australians, participation in sport has enabled her to develop positive life skills. During her 10-year netball career, Andrea learned that hard work can provide a good reward, a core belief she has taken with her into her professional and community work.

Andrea believed being CEO at NPYWC was the best job in the world. She worked with strong Aboriginal women and alongside highly committed Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal staff, who gave their best every day to see the vision of the organisation advanced. She sees herself as a reconstructive social entrepreneur, delivering (with the guidance of NPY Directors and members) transformative change that will enable women and their families to exercise their right to control their own lives and life matters, in communities free of violence and sustained by a genuine hope for the future.

A new research project conducted in the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands in South Australia has resulted in an increase in the amount of healthy foods and drinks sold – the first improvement in over 40 years.

The 12-month project conducted by the Australian Prevention Centre, NPY Women’s Council, Nganampa Health Council and Mai Wiru Regional Stores addressed Aboriginal food security and dietary intake in the remote communities of Pipalyatjara and Amata.

Food security means people have physical, economic and social access to food that meets their dietary needs. Lack of food security is still a significant contributor to poor health in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

“We have been assessing food security and dietary intake metrics to inform interventions on the APY Lands since 1986 and, despite everyone’s efforts, nutrition and diet-related health had been getting worse,” Researcher Professor Amanda Lee said.

The project initiated a concerted push to improve the number, range, quality and price of healthy foods in community stores. The project also worked with stores to improve good food placement, promotion and healthy takeaway options, making it easier for people to make healthy food choices.

Alongside store changes, the project supported community members with healthy eating educational activities including cooking, product demonstrations, budgeting sessions for young people, recipe development and bush picnics.

The success of the project is cited as the ability to work collaboratively with partners, communities and stores to strengthen the store nutrition policy and support community demand for healthier options.

The NPY Women’s Council’s Child & Family Wellbeing Service runs two programs; the Child Nutrition Program and Walytjapiti (Intensive Family Support) that support families and communities to address issues that affect the ability of children to thrive. The Child & Family Wellbeing Service was proud to be a part of such a positive project and with strong outcomes in remote communities.

“While we actively target children’s health and nutrition as a part of our Child Nutrition program. The real outcomes and success comes in addressing the bigger picture of nutrition in communities generally,” said Shelagh Woods, NPYWC Child and Family Wellbeing Service Manager.

Find out about NPY Women’s Council Child & Wellbeing Service here.

Find out more about the research project: The Australian Prevention Partnership News