Wuchopperen Health Service

“Governance has to do with how people organise themselves to get things done. The heart of governance is the rules a community or business puts in place to meet its overall objectives: how authority and responsibility are distributed, how disputes are resolved, what our obligations are to each other, and how we work together.

Sometimes those rules are made by outsiders—that’s what happens in colonial situations. Sometimes societies make them for themselves. Sometimes they write them down in constitutions. Sometimes they exist in oral traditions and in teachings passed from generation to generation. But all societies have rules that govern how they act.

Effective governance means having rules that are capable of achieving your objectives.”

Definition provided by Dr Stephen Cornell, Co-director of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development

On 31 August 2006 at BHP Billiton's headquarters in Melbourne, in the presence of leaders from the corporate, government and academic sectors and representatives from Indigenous organisations from across the country, Professor Mick Dodson, Chair of the reconciliation and BHP Billiton's Indigenous Governance Awards program announced Wuchopperen Health Service National Winner for excellence in governance in the category of Organisations Established before January 1996. The panel highlighted these outstanding qualities of the organisation.

Continuous improvement ethos and effective processes to identify and implement change.
Innovative and creative approaches by staff are supported and encouraged.
Good processes for communicating views and decisions.
Stakeholders endorsed the quality of the organisation and its role as a leader and model in a range of areas.
Wuchopperen has a focus on generational change and effective actions to achieve it.

L to R, Executive Officer Nancy Long, Treasurer Cilla Preece, Member of the Board Maureen Mossman and Chief Executive Officer Joy Savage accepting the award at the BHP Billiton Building in Melbourne, August 31, 2006. (Click on the picture to enlarge it).

The Indigenous Organisation to win the 2006 Governance Award for organisations established since January 1996 was Gannambarra Enterprises Wagga Wagga. Wuchopperen was amongst a fine field of finalists and congratulates all the organisations involved. Check out the other deadly organisations here.