Planning needs mob: A yarn with members of the Planning with Country Knowledge Circle
The 海角社区 has recently convened the Planning with Country Knowledge Circle, an Indigenous-led group of Indigenous and non-Indigenous built, social and natural environment leaders. The Knowledge Circle are guiding 海角社区 through a whole of organisation response to action on truth-telling and reconciliation. So, we took the opportunity to ask three members of the Knowledge Circle- what are you passionate about and what drives your work?
Carol Vale, Managing Director of Murawin, came to planning from her background in sociology and public policy, driven by her deep understanding of the importance of enabling Country-centred perspectives and integrating Indigenous thinking into complex systems and projects. “Planning can’t just be about western-constructed planning systems and planning for people, it has to be holistic and about planning for Country.” Carol reminds us that if we plan for Country then, by default, we acknowledge First Nation traditional knowledge and wisdom, pay respect to our old people, their journeys and their struggles.
Carol, who works around Australia with a range of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, is also passionate about ensuring planning respects the cultural diversity and capacity of Indigenous Australia. “The planning sector needs to know who they are planning for and understand why and how they articulate the wonders of Indigenous Australia through their work.”
Elle Davidson, lecturer at the University of Sydney and Director of Zion Engagement and Planning, started her career in planning working in development assessment and speaks about progressing her career in tandem with progressing her understanding of her cultural identity. Elle is driven by her passion to make bring more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people into the profession.
“I wake up everyday and I feel so excited about what I get to do and how I get to give back. Every day I feel like I’m making a difference for Aboriginal people.” But Elle notes, “you do feel the pressure of not having a bigger cohort around you”.
Jesse Marnock, a planner working in Cairns, tells a similar story. Jesse shares that his journey to the profession came via his university studies, moving around between different courses until finding that planning interested him. Through university, Jesse had the opportunity to travel and meet with the Uashat mak Mani-Utenam First Nations community in Sept-Îles, Canada, which inspired his passion for what planning can achieve.
“What’s always driven me is thinking of where Indigenous people have come from. My perseverance has come from all the sacrifices my parents, grandparents, and ancestors had to endure and what they went through. That is what drives me.”
Carol, Elle and Jesse share many of the same personal motivations and ambitions for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and agree firmly on one core idea – planning needs mob.
Carol wants to see the paradigm shift from just seeing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as part of “the public art engagement piece”, to integrating Indigenous systems and cultural knowledge thinking into the practice of planning.
Carol notes, “Some people in our sector talk about Country as if it’s, ‘this thing over here’. It’s like they identify a section in a precinct and say, “Country is up here in this corner”. But we know that Country is everywhere and is at the heart of places”.
Elle harks back to the common saying among many planners “We are the jack of all trades, master of none”, identifying First Nations thinking as a model entirely compatible with the skill of planning. “The way we see things is more wholistic, it is complex, and we understand things in a different way. That is what helps planning”.
“What motivates me?”, ponders Jesse, “It’s about influencing people. Not just influencing Indigenous people, but also seeing the light bulb moment for non-Indigenous people”.
Carol Vale is a Dunghutti woman from Armidale, NSW. She is the Managing Director of Murawin and is committed to enabling transformation and working with her clients to ensure there are economic and social outcomes for Indigenous communities through her work.
Elle Davidson is a Balanggarra woman from the East Kimberley. She is the Director of Zion Engagement and Planning and Aboriginal Planning Lecturer at the University of Sydney Elle engages closely with clients to guide them in embedding Aboriginal perspectives into projects.
Jesse Marnock is an award-winning planner working at Planz Town Planning and is one of few Indigenous planners in Queensland. Jesse is a former member of the Knowledge Network Mining Encounters and Indigenous Sustainable Livelihoods, and a former member of the First Peoples Advisory Committee (Cairns Regional Council).
This yarn was transcribed by Audrey Marsh, 海角社区 Senior Policy and Campaigns Officer and was originally published in 海角社区 Queensland’s ‘The Agenda’ magazine.