QTIC NAIDOC Corporate Breakfast a Sell Out!
10/07/2019
The Queensland Tourism Industry Council (QTIC) held a sold out NAIDOC Corporate Breakfast this morning at Howard Smith Wharves with 150 corporate and business leaders in attendance.
The breakfast provided a great opportunity to come together to discuss Indigenous tourism opportunities and network with diverse stakeholders.
CEO at Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation and Deputy Chair at QTIC, Cameron Costello spoke at the event and provided an update on the development of the Queensland First Nations Tourism Potential Plan.
“QTIC has done a lot of work and is a leader in driving Indigenous tourism, starting out through training and now broadening that agenda to a whole strategic plan.
“There are a lot of people out there and all over Queensland who are keen to engage with traditional owners-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders- to develop a unique and authentic experience for people visiting Queensland.
“It is a collective vision that we have and I think we are on the cusp of something really fantastic,” Mr Costello said.
Following on from Mr Costello was the keynote speaker for the morning, Senior Counsel at Frederick Jordan Chambers, Tony McAvoy who spoke about one of this year’s NAIDOC themes- being ‘truth’.
“Truth telling in my view is an essential process to all of our advancement in this country, that means that ultimately there needs to be acceptance by the government. It is about changing those rules so that we can self-determine and look after ourselves and create our own destiny.
“We need to be economically independent. We need to be able to make decisions. This is about changing the relationship between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the Government.
“What I would like for my people in this country is to have everyone highly educated, healthy and being able to participate in society, and to be able to be rich and strong in our culture,” Mr McAvoy said.
The corporate breakfast sparked a lot of discussion, as well as a lot of positive inspiration to move forward, and the perfect person to showcase that was Jesse Williams, known as ‘Tha Monsta’ in US Football circles.
Williams is an Indigenous Australian who had a successful career in American Football and is now using his profile to make a positive impact for his people.
“We are working with youth to inspire others on what Indigenous people are doing and the opportunity that they have. I want my son and others to be able to do anything in the future. In the United States kids want to be firefighters and astronauts and I want my kids to have that opportunity.
“We want to create a scholarship to give kids the opportunity to go oversees for sport, arts, science, whatever it may be. It just gives us the endless possibility for us to change people’s lives,” Mr Williams said.
To wrap up a successful event QTIC Chief Executive Officer Daniel Gschwind commented, “We have an important role in tourism, not just tourism and operators but bringing together the community and also consumers who visit this country through an Indigenous perspective and I think that is an ambition we share with many”.
A special thanks to our event sponsors; The Star Entertainment Group, Brisbane Airport Corporation, Griffith University and HOBAN Recruitment.
A comment from HOBAN Recruitment, "HOBAN is a proud partner supporting the Queensland Tourism Industry Council 2019 NAIDOC Corporate Breakfast. We are honoured to join in the celebrations at this important event in recognition of the history, culture and achievements of Australia’s First Peoples. HOBAN pay our respects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and look forward to the opportunity to work together for a shared future".
