Diversity and Inclusion

At the July 2019 ANZLIC meeting, ANZLIC Members endorsed the Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan developed by the Spatial and Surveying Diversity Leadership Network. The plan aims to boost innovation and collaboration in the spatial sector through diversity and inclusion.

ANZLIC recognises the importance of diversity and inclusion to achieving ANZLIC’s vision and objectives. There are profound opportunities ahead to harness spatial information to deliver greater value, and a more diverse and inclusive spatial sector comprising people with different backgrounds, perspectives and ideas will help us maximise these opportunities going forward.

The Intergovernmental Committee on Surveying and Mapping (ICSM), as ANZLIC’s delivery arm, provides guidance to help drive diversity and inclusion in spatial information. ICSM’s Permanent Committee on Place Names leads collaboration across ANZLIC jurisdictions to determine best practice place naming approaches. These include the Principles for the Consistent use of Place Names, which provides guidance for using Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander place names and dual place naming in Australia.

Across Australia and New Zealand, ANZLIC jurisdictions are also undertaking a range of activities and initiatives to increase diversity and inclusion. Some examples include:

  • Employment programs to promote diversity in the workplace such as the Transport for NSW cadetship and scholar programs and Queensland's Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy (DNRME) cultural agility program.
     
  • Outreach activities to promote Indigenous participation including Indigenous Mapping Workshops (IMW). As an example, NSW Spatial Services sponsored the Winyama IMW, which provides free geospatial training to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. The IMW is dedicated to the development and advancement of culturally appropriate and inclusive geospatial technologies for Indigenous leadership, agencies and communities to support Indigenous rights and interests. Western Australia also ran IMWs in April 2019 to build Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community capacity to use mapping tools to map and monitor their lands and tell their stories of connection with land and water.
     
  • More inclusive place naming, including work by the Victorian Government to name more roads, features and localities using Indigenous language. The Victorian Government held workshops on Aboriginal place names across the state and won an Australian Good Design award in 2019 for their work. The Western Australia Minister for Lands has also encouraged WA local governments to become an active and celebratory participant in embracing Aboriginal language names. With the support of Landgate, they have invited local governments to partner with Aboriginal communities, Aboriginal Language Centres, Native Title Representatives and body corporates to identify opportunities to preserve and reawaken local languages through place naming.
     

  • Staff training and awareness raising. As an example, Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) has provided staff with basic knowledge of te reo and tikanga required for all New Zealand public servants. This aims to improve engagement with Māori and iwi groups, build support and understanding of the Māori perspective, and foster a more diverse workplace and work approach. This is crucial to support the NZ government in fulfilling its treaty obligations and Maihi Karauna (the Crown's strategy for Māori Language Revitalisation 2019-2023). In Australia, the vast majority of government agencies have specific training, strategies and initiatives focused on fostering a more diverse and inclusive workplace.  

For additional information see ANZLIC's diversity and inclusion case studies.