Kulintja Kutju - Tristate Empowered Communities

Boosting outcomes for Australia’s most disadvantaged communities | Department of Social Services Ministers 12 June 2026 Joint with: The Hon Jim Chalmers MPTreasurerThe Hon Tanya Plibersek MPMinister for Social Services The Albanese Labor Government is stepping up its work with communities to drive coordinated, locally led change under a new national Place Partnership Model – backed by almost $40 millio...

Go the APY Thunder.

A wonderful regional initiative.

Thanks for the opportunity to support the team (& well done Angie!)

Morning APY!

Once again I'd like to congratulate all the players and officials that represented APY Thunder last week. They came together well as a team in terribly wet conditions and put on an absolute show.

I want to give a huge shoutout to our Coach Darryl Doolan and Team Manger Angie Dunnett. You two were a great help to me and my SANFL staff. You got the players where they needed to be on time, kept the group together, kept them organised, and got them ready on game day. APY Thunder 2026 would have struggled without you both.

As usual I'd also love to give a huge shoutout to PYEC and Kulintja Kutju - Tristate Empowered Communities.

Without transport assistance from PYEC we probably would have had 12 players. So thankyou to the Ernabella crew, and Indulkana/Mimili crew that helped get players to the bus on Monday, and also getting the players home on the Friday!

Thankyou to Kulintja Kutju again for helping our players look like and play like a team. Some of our fellas were in desperate need of Footy boots. Angie and Kulintja Kutju got those players sorted with some fresh kicks for our very wet game.

Would also like to thank the parents and coaches at Imanpa who helped get their boys to and from Marla.

Hopefully we get some good photos to share with you all on the page. Goodluck to all teams Footy & Softball for the rest of the season. Can't wait for APY Thunder 2027!

Palya.

Aṉangu leadership was at the centre of the Tristate Child and Youth Policy and Advocacy Forum held in Mparntwe/Alice Springs last month. The forum brought together Kulintja Kutju, Child and Youth Commissioners and Guardians from WA, SA and NT, and key organisations working across the NPY region to listen, share knowledge and talk about what children, young people and families need to thrive. A key takeaway from the forum was the need for equity in Youth service funding for Ngaanyatjarra Lands communities to ensure young people across the NPY region have equitable access to strong, community-led Youth programs and support.

We are grateful to Dr Jacqueline McGowan-Jones, Commissioner for Children and Young People WA; Shona Reid, Guardian for Children and Young People SA; and Shahleena Musk, Children's Commissioner NT for listening with care and commitment and we look forward to continuing this important work together.

Thank you to the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) for making this important work possible.

Last week Kulintja Kutju held Workshop 1 of the 2026 Leadership Program in Yulara, bringing together Aṉangu leaders from across the NPY region.

The first workshop focused on Leadership of Self - building confidence, strengthening connections and creating space for participants to reflect on leadership, culture, responsibility and community. Across the week, participants took part in group activities, discussions, storytelling and On-Country learning, while also hearing from leaders who shared their own experiences and journeys.

A huge thank you to all of this year’s participants who travelled from across the NPY region to be part of the program, and for bringing so much energy and openness to the first workshop.

We also want to sincerely acknowledge the Leadership Program facilitators - Mark Campbell, Reshaune Singer, Brenda Douglas, Frena Jacob and Tanya Lucky for bringing so much of themselves to the workshop - their stories, experience, humour, knowledge and deep commitment to Aṉangu leadership.

A big thank you also to Sammy Wilson for taking us out On Country with Patji Tours, to Voyages and Nyangatjatjara College for hosting us, and to all of the organisations and employers who made it possible for their staff to attend. Special thank you to our media partner, NG Media for helping with ongoing learning and development of the program.

We are very grateful for the strong start to this year’s program and look forward to coming back together for Workshop 2 in July.

MYTH: You may have heard that enrolling to vote and voting aren’t compulsory…
FACT: Actually, they are!
We’re here to bust some myths about voting in our five-part series.

To kick off the series let’s start with this one…👀
MYTH: If I don’t have ID, I can’t enrol or vote…
Bust the myth and see the fact in the pic below.
Enrol now at aec.gov.au/enrol/

Today is National Sorry Day.

We remember the Stolen Generations — Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people forcibly removed from their families and communities under government policy. That pain didn’t end. It lives in our families and communities today.

As Empowered Communities, we feel this. We see it in our regions, in our families, in the work we do every day alongside our people.

We honour the strength and resilience of Stolen Generations Survivors — yesterday, today, and always.