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Buchert, Cherie --- "Conflict Resolution Special - Conflict and Indigenous Communities: An Indigenous Mediator's Perspective" [2004] IndigLawB 53; (2004) 6(5) Indigenous Law Bulletin 13


Conflict and Indigenous Communities: An Indigenous Mediator’s Perspective

by Cherie Buchert

Community Justice Centres (‘CJCs’) are a business centre of the New South Wales (‘NSW’) Attorney General’s Department, providing a free service to Indigenous and mainstream communities in areas of mediation, conflict management, facilitation and training. The service has been available since the early 1980s with more mediators trained regularly so as to reach as many people as possible throughout the State. CJCs are coordinated under four divisions: Sydney, Western, Southern and Northern Community Justice Centres. Currently, CJC has 32 accredited Indigenous mediators.

In 2002, 15 Indigenous mediators were trained in Coffs Harbour and a new group of 16 will be trained in Sydney for the metropolitan area in November of this year. It is anticipated that a further 16 will be trained early in 2005 to work in the Southern Community Justice Centres areas.

Mediation helps people to resolve their own disputes by guiding them to decide what is right for them. They have power over their own lives and it gives them the opportunity to recognise the other person as having value and importance. Any agreement reached belongs to the clients and if an agreement cannot be reached, there has been the opportunity to clarify the issues around the conflict and understand the other’s point of view.

Each mediation session at a CJC is conducted by two trained, impartial mediators who help people to achieve resolution in a safe and confidential environment.

CJCs frequently mediate many dispute types. These include conflict between families, neighbours, friends, young people, communities, businesses and workplaces. Disputes range from parenting issues or disputes over fences to whole community disputes and town planning problems.

Becoming a mediator

A significant change in my life occurred when I answered an advertisement in a local paper two and a half years ago to take on a new challenge and become a mediator with a CJC. I had seen the ad earlier whilst on holidays in the Northern Rivers district of NSW and I thought it would be a worthwhile and rewarding thing to do. When I arrived back home to Yuin country in the South, I noticed the same ad was being run in our local newspaper. This was a sign for me, so I applied.

That wasn’t the only reason, I admit, that I applied. I needed a career change after many years teaching and raising four children. I tried bookkeeping and office work, but wasn’t truly happy. I spent three years studying our family history and realised how little I knew about my Koori background. The need to re-develop stronger links with, and do something for my community became so much stronger.

The acceptance to be trained as a mediator gave me a big thrill. Alongside 29 others from all kinds of backgrounds, we underwent a very intense three weeks of lectures, role-plays and coach appraisals in a mainstream, 12-part model of mediation. The training was very thorough and at times harrowing, but in the end very worthwhile and it exceeded all my expectations. This changed my whole life as I could see this dispute resolution model being beneficial for not only mainstream but for Indigenous communities as well.

As an Indigenous mediator who wears the Aboriginal flag proudly on her name badge, I enjoy seeing the faces of Indigenous clients become more relaxed when they realise they are being listened to by one of their own. I believe in the NSW CJC model for mediation and have seen it work so many times. With our current success rate above 80 per cent, it confirms we are providing a worthwhile service for our community.

The introduction of several small mediator panels across the State, established to work within smaller communities, identified a new challenge. The Community Justice Centres Act 1983 (NSW) requires mediators to be impartial and neutral. They must not be well known or related to the clients, an important principle to ensure that clients don’t sense or imagine a bias. It is difficult in country areas not to know or be related to many people, especially with your own mob. We have therefore been required to travel out of our areas to mediate, sometimes up to a two-hour drive away. Considering the small budget CJCs are given to work with, coordinators and staff work hard to manage with these extra travel costs eating into the budget.

To quote Helena Wright:[1]

As an effective process for resolving differences, Indigenous people consider mediation because the inclusive, holistic and structural approach reflects traditionally accepted ways of doing business.

Many Indigenous people, I feel, prefer discussions with people they know, not strangers, and appear more comfortable in this situation. We need more Indigenous mediators available to the community and non-Indigenous mediators trained in cultural issues to continue delivering services to the Indigenous community.

Cherie Buchert is a Brinja Yuin woman and a mediator on the Far South Coast Panel of Southern Community Justice Centres, NSW.


[1] Helena Wright, ‘Hand in Hand to a Safer Future: Indigenous Family Violence and Community Justice Groups’ [2004] IndigLawB 26; (2004) 6(1) Indigenous Law Bulletin 17.


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