This was published 3 years ago
Collingwood appoint experts to implement changes from Do Better report
By Peter Ryan
Former Magpie and North Melbourne player Daniel Wells will sit on a 12-person expert group on anti-racism Collingwood have established to assist the club to implement the 18 recommendations contained in the Do Better report that found the club was guilty of systemic racism.
Joining Wells in the group will be Magpies board member Jodie Sizer, the AFL’s inclusion and social policy manager Tanya Hosch, as well as nine experts from outside the industry who have been appointed to the role for 18 months.
The expert group on anti-racism, convened a fortnight after the report was made public, and eight days after long serving president Eddie McGuire stood down amid howls of condemnation for how he presented it at a media conference, will report to the Magpies board.
In a statement Collingwood said the group would advise the board, now led by interim co-presidents Mark Korda and Peter Murphy, on how to improve “the framework for responding to incidents of racism, the creation and implementation of anti-racism policies and ways in which Collingwood can learn from its past to lead in the future”.
The club have also appointed Taryn Lee, a Yawuru woman, as strategic adviser to assist the club with the recommendations. Lee will report to Magpies CEO Mark Anderson.
“The work Collingwood must do is necessary and important. It ought to inspire and add weight to the need for change that has been building in our communities for decades. So it was as important to find people who are passionate, capable and willing to help the club meet its moment,” Sizer said.
The group is part of a raft of changes expected to occur as a result of the independent review into Collingwood’s responses to incidents of racism and cultural safety in the workplace, which was conducted by distinguished Professor Larissa Behrendt and Professor Lindon Coombes.
Collingwood commissioned the report as a result of allegations of racism levelled at the club by premiership player Heritier Lumumba.
COLLINGWOOD’S EXPERT GROUP ON ANTI-RACISM
Eddie Cubillo: former Northern Territory anti-discrimination commissioner. Senior fellow with University of Melbourne Law School. A descendant of the Larrakia, Wadjigan and Central Arrente peoples.
Tasneem Chopra: diversity, equity and inclusion consultant on issues of leadership, cultural competence and intersectional discrimination.
Melinda Cilento: company director, economist and experienced senior executive. Co-chair of Reconciliation Australia Board, CEO of the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) and non-executive director of Australian Unity.
Janine Coombs: a Wotjobaluk woman, currently deputy chair of Barengi Gadjin Land Council Aboriginal Corporation. Member of Collingwood Reconciliation Action Plan Advisory Committee.
Tanya Hosch: Torres Strait Islander woman, currently executive general manager of Inclusion and Social Policy at the AFL. Formerly joint campaign director of the Recognise movement for constitutional reform.
Rana Hussain: a diversity and inclusion leader and consultant, specialising in sport, corporate leadership and not for profit organisations.
Andrew Jackomos: a Yorta Yorta/Gunditjmara man. Victorian Government executive director for Aboriginal Economic Development. Member of the Collingwood Reconciliation Action Plan Advisory Committee.
Tony Lovett: a Gunditjmara man and community services officer with the Victorian Aboriginal Community Services Association. Member of Collingwood Reconciliation Action Plan Advisory Committee.
Professor Yin Paradies: a Wakaya man and professor of race relations at Deakin University.
Jodie Sizer: a founding partner and co-CEO of PricewaterhouseCoopers Indigenous Consulting. A Djab Wurrung/Gunditjmara woman and one of Australia’s foremost Indigenous leaders. Chair of Australian Institute of Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Studies. Collingwood director.
Dr Helen Szoke (OA): former Australian Federal Race Discrimination Commissioner and Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commissioner. Chief executive of Oxfam from 2013 to 2019.
Daniel Wells: former Collingwood and North Melbourne player currently working with Collingwood’s Indigenous community programs and AFL recruiting staff. A descendant of the Wangatha and Wirangu peoples.
Strategic Adviser
Taryn Lee: a Yawuru woman from Broome, Lee is a director of PricewaterhouseCoopers Indigenous Consulting who previously held executive roles with the Victorian government designing and delivering policy frameworks central to improving outcomes for Aboriginal communities. Board member of the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission.