Community engagement and information recommendations progressing

Community Engagement and Information Program lead appointed

The Northern Territory Government has signed a five-year agreement with CSIRO to deliver the Community Engagement and Information Program face-to-face through a full-time dedicated position based in the Northern Territory.

CSIRO recently appointed Dr Heather Stewart as the new Community Engagement and Information Program lead based in Darwin. Heather is in the Indigenous Science and Knowledge team with CSIRO Land and Water Business Unit. The team conducts a range of research with Indigenous co-research partners to address the challenges and harness future opportunities to support Indigenous leaders and their research and innovation agendas.

Dr Stewart is a social scientist and has worked in cross-cultural stakeholder engagement and storytelling across the Northern Territory, Queensland and Indonesia.

She will lead CSIRO’s work in collaboration with partners, to develop further evidence-based community information products on the potential impacts and benefits of the onshore gas industry.

Dr Stewart is based in CSIRO’s Darwin laboratory, commenced on 26 April 2022 and has begun planning on-country engagement as a priority.

Aboriginal Information Program factsheets

Through the Aboriginal Information Program, CSIRO has worked collaboratively with land councils to identify immediate information requirements and develop factsheets with clear, factual and relevant content for translation into languages of local Aboriginal communities potentially affected by shale gas development and hydraulic fracturing.

The factsheets are currently being translated into Aboriginal languages and will be available to use when engaging with Aboriginal people regarding the shale gas development and hydraulic fracturing in the coming months.

This program will continue to be delivered as part of the broader Community Engagement and Information Program.