NSW government advertises Executive Director, Truth and Healing job with $340k salary

Conservatives have come out swinging over a $340,000-a-year ‘Truth and Healing’ position being advertised by the NSW government.

A $340,000-a-year Executive Director, Truth and Healing position is being advertised by the NSW government.

It is open only to Indigenous Australians and aims to develop programs for “Truth, Treaty, and Voice”.

According to the NSW government jobs site, the successful candidate will “oversee and influence the Healing paradigm across the NSW Government”.

“This role will be responsible for enshrining the voice of Aboriginal people in strategy, plans and programs and include Aboriginal expertise and knowledge in development and implementation,” the job advert reads.

“This role will focus on leading truth telling to embed healing and celebrate culture.”

The salary is understood to be up to $350,000 per annum.

The executive-level position has a salary range of $302,959 to $339,113.

It is a senior manager role leading teams that work with Stolen Generations organisations, along with survivors and their families.

The advert was posted on November 1, two weeks after the Indigenous Voice to parliament referendum on October 14, but has nothing to do with the federal push for constitutional change.

It is understood to be a continuation of a position that was held in the previous NSW Coalition government, only a reshuffle means it has been given a different title.

It’s understood a similar position with a different title was set up in 2021, under the previous government, as a response to recommendations in a 2016 report titled Unfinished Business.

The report made 35 recommendations towards reparations for the Stolen Generations in NSW.

Conservative political opposition and commentators however have taken issue with the advertised position.

Dugald Saunders, the Nationals leader in NSW, fired up over the timing of the move.

“It’s a very odd time to be appointing an Executive Director, Truth and Healing when we’ve just had a referendum with a very definitive answer, and the premier’s mentioned nothing about this at all,” he told 2GB.

He also took issue with the salary.

Premier of New South Wales Chris Minns. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short

“At the moment, cost of living is everything to people,” he said. “Truth telling and healing at the moment is not the main thing to focus on.”

Sky News commentator Prue MacSween went as far as to accuse the NSW Premier Chris Minns of having a “secret agenda” that’s “ignoring the will of the people”.

“The resounding NSW NO vote sent a strong message. Minns chooses to ignore it & introduce this by stealth,” she wrote on X. “Another @AustralianLabor politician not to be trusted.”

However, a spokeswoman for the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Treaty, David Harris said healing and truth-telling have been long-term functions of Aboriginal Affairs NSW – under both Coalition and Labor governments.

“This is an important role working with Stolen Generations groups, survivors and their families, and helping to lead Aboriginal Affairs policy in NSW,” she said.

“An internal review of Aboriginal Affairs NSW started in late 2022, under the former government. This review resulted in the development of this specific role.

“Aboriginal Affairs NSW is undertaking a restructure within its existing budget.

“The restructure is aimed at strengthening and streamlining the agency’s work, delivering value for money for all NSW taxpayers.”

The position will involve managing:

- The program which provides reparation payments to Stolen Generations survivors.

- The delivery of funding to establish Keeping Places (memorials). This work is returning the Cootamundra Girls Home, Kinchela Boys Home and the Bomaderry Aboriginal Children’s Home, where hundreds of members of the Stolen Generation were taken, back to the Aboriginal community.

- Providing secretariat support and running the Stolen Generations Advisory Committe