Terri Janke, Anika Valenti and Maiko Sentina were up in the Torres Strait last week for the Torres Strait Regional Authority’s (TSRA) Economic Development Summit.
Anika, Terri & Maiko
TSRA invited our legal team to the Summit to run our Law Way: The Indigenous Procurement Policy Indigenous Business and the Law Workshop. Held on 26 October 2016, the Workshop was attended by members of the growing Torres Strait business community which included fishing, construction, car hire, tourism, food and supermarket business operators. We spoke about the legal frameworks for coming joint ventures, the Commonwealth Contracting Suite and the importance of protecting intellectual property.
Anika
In the evening, our lawyers attended the launch of the Torres Strait Regional Economic Investment Strategy (REIS) at Gab Titui Torres Strait Cultural Centre. The REIS is a fresh approach for the TSRA to assist facilitate commercially-viable business opportunities in the Torres Strait Region. The REIS has identified three focal industries: fishing, cultural arts and creative industries and tourism. Fishing has been identified as the first priority. Full copy of the REIS is available here: http://www.tsra.gov.au/the-tsra/programs-and-output/economic-development/regional-economic-investment-strategy.
The REIS was launched by Joseph Elu, Economic Development Portfolio member of the TSRA and former Chair. The current Chair, Napau Pedro Stephen also spoke about the vision for a prosperous future. There was an island kai kai feast followed by a celebration of Torres Strait Island dance performed by two dance troupes - the Badu Island dance group and the Seisa Dance Group.
Joseph Elu, Terri Janke & Napau Pedro Stephen
Badu Dance Group Seisa Dance Group
Anika & Maiko
Their message from the Torres Strait is loud and clear that Islanders are gearing up for business opportunities, and will be looking at the IPP as a means to open the doors to new partnerships and contracts.
