Just an update for you all,

The UNE Aboriginal Employment Strategy 2013-2018 is in its final stages of consultation and we envisage that the stratgey will be endorsed by June 30th this year. It has been a long process to get the strategy to a place where we feel we can start to implement meaningful change at an institutional level here at UNE and I for one am very proud of where the strategy is at the moment.  

I will update you all when more information comes to hand but in the meantime if you have any questions please dont hesitate to contact me on the details below.

Robert Waters

Aboriginal Employment Officer

Human Resource Services – Stratgey, Systems and Planning

University of New England

Armidale  NSW  2351

AUSTRALIA

Phone: +61 2 6773 3367    

Email: atsi.employment@une.edu.au

Web: www.une.edu.au

 I wish to pay my respects to the Custodians of the lands we are on and pay my respects to our elders both past and present. I also acknowledge our children, for just as our elders have lit the way for us in the past, our children will hold the light when we are gone.

As part of the University of New England’s commitment to helping close the gap in educational and employment outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, a casual register for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples interested in working here at UNE has been established. The register will be open to interested Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who wish to be considered for a range of various positions at the UNE.

Be aware that being placed on the register will not guarantee a job, but it will greatly increase your chances of securing a position. As part of this process the recruitment team will keep all applications on file for up to 6 months and the Aboriginal Employment Officer will actively match them to relevant positions within the UNE which you can then apply for.

 Please visit http://www.une.edu.au/recruit/ where you can scroll down to Reference Number 213006 – Casual Register – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders for more information.

Talk to you soon,
Rob Waters

HI All,

Tough Mudder is done and dusted and we (Soul Brothers) survived …I think…

We didn’t get too many photos on the day as we left it up to the Tough Mudder photographers (plus my camera would not have survived). We ran in the 12:40pm wave with 600 other “Mudders” from around Australia and the world.

We ran for 20km, over 21 obstacles from the one called the Mud Mile which was a mile long run through knee deep mud with a couple of 20kg sand bags on our shoulders, to the old family favorite the “Arctic Enema” which was as cold and as scary as it sounds.

You can have a look at some of the obstacles we conquered (like Everest) here… http://toughmudder.com.au/obstacles/

We got there nice and early and then sat back and laughed as we watched people try to run through the “Electro-Shock Therapy” …. For some reason we didn’t laugh when it was our turn (I suppose 10,000 volts wiped that smile right off our faces). The obstacle called the “Electric Eel” was hilarious (or should I say ridiculous) it was a waist high box, much like “electro-shock therapy” (10,000 volts), in which you had to dive into and crawl through as fast as you could. We were told beforehand that the “Electric Eel” wasn’t a compassionate kind of obstacle and it didn’t care if you cried; it didn’t care if you stopped and it didn’t care if you swore like a trooper at the top of your lungs; the shocks would just keep coming till you got your butt out of it.  

The “Walk the Plank” obstacle was also scary as it was a 5m high platform at the end of a cargo net climb that you had to jump from. I was a bit hesitant but the brother Tom-Tom looked over the edge, looked back at me and then smiled as he launched his massive frame into the freezing, dark and very deep water 5m below. All in all you could say that it was a nice way to spend a lazy Saturday afternoon

Well it was fun, it was tough and it was satisfying. AND I got an orange head band :) how cool huh?

Until the next adventure

Rob Waters

The constant bleep of the alarm screams at me; it’s as if it is saying over and over “Get your butt out of bed Rob; it’s time to get up”. The snooze only seems to hold off the screaming for a moment and then I wake, still groggy and feeling worse than if I had just gotten out of bed. It’s 5:30am and the blanket of darkness that was last night still sits heavy on the sky. The mornings are becoming cooler, the wind seems a little sharper than it has been, and it takes me longer before I start to warm up. Somehow the cool mornings want to remind me that winter waits for us, not too far from here.  

I am headed out to training and I warm up with a quick run just on 6 am. Since my little ‘friend’ the alarm clock woke me, I have had a strong short black coffee and had the chance to stretch a little.

 Beginning my run and the twinge in my left calf muscle reminds me of the importance of stretching properly so by the end of my street, I am stretching again.  Now starting out with a two and a half kilometer run before a 615am Thai-Boxing session is probably not everyone’s idea of fun, but it is a challenge and it is strangely addictive. After each session I will warm down with a run home and ready myself for work; I will ready myself for another day.      

Nearing the end of the morning warm up run is where the road starts a slow but noticeable incline. It’s here that I am thankful I took the extra time to stretch because I can feel my calf warming up under the pressure of the run. I round the last corner and under the street light I come to a stop; breathing deeply as I try to find a slow rhythm within my chest.

All alone I watch as the early sun chases away what is left of last night’s darkness. I am smiling as I take a photo of the early morning because under the street light, directly in front of me stands a red hexagonal sign that says STOP. It’s only a few weeks into training for Tough Mudder and I will be honest, stopping is the last thing on my mind.

Today I was thinking that since I turned 18 on Sunday, 1 June 1997 up until today Thursday, 17 January 2013

There have been 5710 days or 15 years, 7 months, 17 days including today.

That means in my adult life there have been 5710 chances to watch the sunrise…

And 5710 chances to just sit and watch as the light fades and the sun falls behind the horizon at sunset.

There have been 5710 days that I could have filled with at least a little bit of laughter.

If I could help but one person a day that means that I could have helped 5710 people in that time alone

And there have been 5710 days full of chances to tell the ones around me that I love them…

I honestly don’t know how many sunrises that I have watched in that time; and I am thankful that I have lost count of the times that I have laughed;

Sadly I don’t know how many people I love there are, that are not with us anymore to hear me say to them that I love them…

You know what else I was thinking?

I was thinking that this day is still young; and this day is still so full of chances to tell my family and friends that I love them,

It is full of chances for a little or maybe a lot more laughter…

And there is still a chance for me and for you to head to somewhere quiet this evening to just sit and watch as the light fades and the sun falls behind the horizon at sunset…

Look after yourself, each other and your community

Rob

I feel myself getting fitter, I feel it easier to run; the trail seems to disappear behind me much quicker than it used to and I feel better at the top of the hill than I have in all my life.

One particular run was made easier in that I had someone join me that day; we ran a 5 ½ km beach trail across soft and hard sand, up and down staircases, across rocky outcrops and all the while we watched the sun slowly start to rise its head above the vast Pacific Ocean. The red and orange of the early light broke the dark just after 5 am this morning; I let Bear (my son) sleep a little before I got him up for our run. When I woke him at 6am he bounded out of bed; it was as if he had fallen asleep ready to run with his old man. Now it wasn’t the fastest run that I ever did, nor was it the furthest, but this one was one of my most satisfying.

We started by walking down the ramp at the north of Flynn’s beach where we stretched a little. I asked Bear if he was up to the run and he assured me he was. Heading south across the soft sand our breathing was slow, deep and as rhythmic as the waves landing softly on the sand. We chatted a little about work, about school, about life and the recent the loss of our grandfather. We then moved onto some of the important things in life like looking good for the ladies (with both of us being so good looking and all)  

We ran up the stairs at the south end of Flynn’s and across the headland looking down onto Nobbys’s beach. It was across Nobbys that the heat of the first day of summer started to warm the pair of us; this was welcomed as it was an unusually cold morning for this time of the year. Crossing Nobbys our breathing had become a little deeper and a little more labored; our chit chat had reduced to a couple of words. The headland at the end of Nobbys looks as if to be straight up and it was there that our legs started to remind us that even though running has its benefits, it also has its drawbacks.

On the other side of the headland we crossed onto Shelley’s beach, which is a little longer than Nobbys, and a little more populated. There were old and young people out jogging, kids and elderly out walking dogs and a couple sitting on the beach just watching the waves. We stretched at the end of the beach and continued back up the direction we had come. We followed the same trail back to Flynn’s beach with the round trip of 5 ½ km taking us just over ½ an hour. The last staircase was not all that friendly to Bear and I: our breathing was no longer slow or deep, and our conversation was limited to “you right son?”, “yep dad” as we pushed up the last few stairs to the end of our run. It was a good run that morning, we both pushed ourselves just enough to feel some benefits, but slow enough that we could enjoy each other’s company and of course the view of the sun raising up above the vast Pacific Ocean. Now it wasn’t the fastest run that I had ever done, nor was it the furthest, but this one was one of my most satisfying…

Another month has passed and we are left to wonder where the time went. We have reached that time of year when Christmas is upon us (only a few weeks) and we take stock of what we have done over the last 12 months. It has been a great year working and living up here in Armidale and I have enjoyed it immensely.

Now I won’t say that there have not been challenges because there have and that too goes with the territory. There has been a new job, a new community and in essence, a whole new life. I have made some amazing friends on this journey and I have also made some very worthy foes who will no doubt keep me honest and on my toes.

So as I take stock of what has happened over the last 12 months that I have been here in Armidale, I realize that I am within a community that is full of passion and I thank all of you for making me feel either welcomed or warned, as I do respect both.

I also wanted to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. For those of you that have time off over the holiday period, make sure to surround yourself with those you love, and with those that love you; make sure that you laugh loud and often, and remember to keep fresh in your hearts the memories of those that we have lost this year. And for the last time this year remember to take care of yourself, each other and your community.

Talk soon,

Rob

Here is a link to the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples . On the website there are 2 new exciting positions that are available up until the 22nd of this month (Oct 2012).

http://nationalcongress.com.au/careers/ 

Click on the link and follow the prompts, maybe even throw your hat in the ring and you never know you may pick up a position at the Congress in Sydney.

Talk soon

Rob

A distinguished Aboriginal educator will discuss the role of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices in current debates over constitutional reform and “closing the gap” during a public lecture at the University of New England on Thursday 18 October.

Professor Peter Buckskin, Dean of Indigenous Scholarship, Engagement and Research at the University of South Australia, will draw on his personal experiences as a senior bureaucrat and academic to unpack the issues that continue, he says, to position Aboriginal people as “the object rather than the citizen”.

To read more please follow the link above.

Regards

Rob Waters

There are always new opportunities here at UNE for employment for our mob, as they say you have to be in it to win it. UNE encourages applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples for all positions here at UNE.

Also from a personal note, I wouldn’t mind seeing a few more Murri/Koori/Goori/Nunga/Noongar/Yolngu faces around campus; and if I didn’t mention your mob, don’t worry I haven’t forgotten you fullas.  If we get more of our mob out here working at UNE, we will get more students feeling comfortable to come in the door; and increasing employment and education for our mob is what it’s all about don’t you reckon?   

So if you would like to know more on how to apply for positions here at UNE, don’t hesitate to drop me a line at atsi.employment@une.edu.au  or call me on 02 6773 3367.  And don’t forget to check the jobs/employment page @ UNE http://www.une.edu.au/recruit/ for any new positions here at UNE; for more info there will be a contact person in the advertisement or alternately call me on the number above.

Talk soon and until then;

Take care of yourselves, each other and your community.

Rob