Gidarjil welcomes Margaret Blackman CEO

Gidarjil Development Corporation has announced emerging First Nations leader Margaret Blackman as the new CEO and Managing Director.

Based in Bundaberg and Gladstone Qld, Gidarjil was established by Gurang and Gooreng Gooreng peoples to provide Traditional Owner leadership to Care for Country. Through Land and Sea management projects, Gidarjil has created economic, social and cultural opportunities for First Nations people.

Margaret continues these goals as a proud Aboriginal (Yidinji, Gurang) and Torres Strait Islander (Mer and Mabuaig) woman from the Port Curtis Coral Coast (PCCC) region. She brings to the role a Master of Business Administration and experience as a member of the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body looking after the Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate.

To meet Gidarjil’s Traditional Owner goals and remain sustainable well into the future, Margaret’s vision is for a corporation that uses new technologies and innovates to enhance opportunities for local people.

‘I’m bringing in new ideas and ways for working with Traditional Owners, focusing on Sea Country management,’ Margaret says.

‘I look forward to investigating new technologies to enhance our current work – for example, the Sea Country of the PCCC region we manage is not fully mapped out yet. This is possible with the use of drones, and with the right training for our Sea Rangers.

‘Our rangers already perform monitoring and care for coastal and marine environments from the Burrum River to the area around Agnes Water. They conserve, manage and monitor many threatened species, including marine turtles and dugongs. We have a chance to boost the way we care for Country and get better outcomes for our people and the whole region – all people who live, work and visit our beautiful Country.’

As well as the environmental benefits of innovating Gidarjil’s work, Margaret sees economic opportunities that could lead to genuine self-sufficiency and self-determination.

‘We have the capacity to build Gidarjil to the next level,’ Margaret says. ‘It’s a chance to be creative about the ways we implement projects and how we work with mob so that we’re building self-sufficiency and driving business.

‘We own boats and vehicles. We provide low-cost housing. We have a cafe for turtle season and our Rangers also work in the new seagrass nursery in Gladstone. We have assets to turn into economic opportunities for our people.

‘Gidarjil has thrived with good people working here and we’ll continue to build the capability of the organisation through the strength of our people and culture. But I also look forward to a future where our business isn’t just in the weeds – it’s one where we’re bringing economic solutions up to the surface.’