NT Australian of the Year Andrea Mason reflects on life and work in Territory
To say 2016 was a big year for Andrea Mason is a profound understatement
Northern Territory
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To say 2016 was a big year for Andrea Mason is a profound understatement.
The Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Women’s Council chief executive turned 50 in August, and a matter of weeks later found out she’d been nominated for the Telstra Business Women’s Awards.
Before she’d even had a chance to take out that nationally significant title, she’d been nominated as the NT Australian of the Year.
In early November it was confirmed; she’d won that honour, too.
Suddenly her organisation, which exists to help people in one of the world’s most remote areas lead safe and healthy lives, was thrust into the spotlight.
Despite this pressure, Mason seems perfectly positioned to take advantage of the situation.
Self-improvement and preparation appear to have shaped her life’s work. Mason had a good start in childhood, a “typical Australian upbringing”, as part of a strong family in Perth.
“Sport was a big part of my life, being one of five kids, so mum was always keen for us to get out and get involved,” she said.
“Athletics, basketball, team sports. But once I got into my teens I had to decide which sport to focus on and I chose netball. So now I have netball knees.”
School was another focus for Mason’s mother; not so the children would be the best, but so they could make the most of every opportunity.
That attitude can be seen throughout Mason’s career, with a strategic gaze on the road ahead.
“My parents wanted us to be exposed to more opportunities so we moved to Adelaide,” Mason said.
It was in the South Australian capital where she completed high school, university and the first stage of her career.
“I did a degree in Aboriginal affairs and public administration because I felt I needed to understand ... the history and the journey of Aboriginal organisations becoming so prevalent, and how that began,” she said.
“After I started working in Adelaide I also felt I needed to understand the parliamentary system so I did a degree in law.
“I knew government had a very big footprint across remote and Aboriginal communities so I wanted to understand how that worked and how to get the best out of that system for Aboriginal people.
“Those two degrees have anchored me in the work I do today.”
A brief foray into politics saw Mason become the first Aboriginal woman to lead an Australian political party, having been chosen as Family First’s national leader in 2004.
She lost out in the Australian federal election, held in October that year, although the party did achieve representation in Victoria.
Mason had a vision she would eventually work in remote Australia, but the preparation was far from over.
She first wanted to be the “best version of Andrea Mason” before faced with those challenges in the Territory, so she took up a post in Canberra, working for the Federal Government and Reconciliation Australia.
She was one of the first people to get involved in developing so-called ‘Reconciliation Action Plans’ — a way of bridging the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous working worlds.
“I was lucky enough to fall into work which, at that time, was just finding its feet,” Mason said.
“Developing reconciliation action plans for organisations is now as common as garden-variety lawn, but during the early days there were just two of us.”
This came around the time Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made his apology to the Stolen Generations. Aside from the profound impact of the moment, Rudd’s apology had a flow-on effect for Mason’s own work — she said Rudd wanted every commonwealth agency to have a reconciliation action plan.
“That was a very busy time. The team grew very quickly,” she said.
“I came in just after those pioneering organisations came on board, and during my time we developed the framework of relationships, respect and opportunities,” she said.
These reconciliation plan frameworks forged by Ms Mason are still in practical use to this day.
Finally the realisation came that Mason needed to “get back to the bush”.
A short stint in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands during the 90s had exposed Mason to the NPY Women’s Council. She remembered them and got in touch.
“I realised I was ready, so I contacted the organisation and asked whether they had a job,” she said. “They said ‘no, but we’ll create one’.”
The organisation has a broad brief; working across a 350,000sq km area, they ran programs from tackling health issues and domestic violence through to social enterprises such as Tjanpi Desert Weavers, which provides meaningful and culturally appropriate employment.
After being there for a couple of days, Mason said she knew she was in the “right place at the right time with the right people”.
The lessons she’s learnt since resonate with other corporate and government leaders, particularly those interested in closing the gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people.
“My grandmother is Ngaanyatjarra, which is the N of NPY. So I’m a staff member, but I’m also working for my family,” Mason said.
Curiosity around the work of the NPY Women’s Council has increased since the accolades started rolling in for Mason.
With another outing under the national spotlight approaching as the Australian of the Year award is announced, she is staying focused on what she can use the opportunity to achieve.
“If I do win the award, and even with winning the Telstra (Business Women’s) Award, we can say goodbye to obscurity because the secret’s out just how great this place is, and the work we do,” Mason said.
“It’s time for us to take on that opportunity.”
Mason very much sees the awards as recognition for Alice Springs and the desert region the council works amid.
“You can genuinely say that about the town,” Mason said.
“ If you’ve spent time making a contribution, people generally feel very proud that it’s something we’re all a part of.
“I’ve had many, many emails and phone calls and people stopping me in Coles.
“Yesterday I was down the street in the mall and people were just coming up and saying ‘well done and congratulations’. It’s very humbling.”
Mason said she hoped the recognition she’s already gained would help her to continue her goal to close the gap between organisations, bridging the corporate sector alongside non-government organisations like the NPY Women’s Council.
She wants to see the good work continued, building a remarkable legacy for some of the most disadvantaged people in our country.
The winners of the Australian of the Year Awards will be announced in Canberra on January 25.
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