Providing Indigenous (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) team members at Ventia with a sense of community within the work environment is the key purpose of 'The Deadly Network' - a group of passionate leaders and supervisors in the Northern Territory.

Kezia Smith is a Senior Business Partner in our People and Capability team and has championed the development and delivery of this program. 

She says that there are a number of elements of the program, but ultimately it is designed to provide a support mechanism within the business to build and empower Indigenous team members in their roles. 

We want to provide a sense of cultural safety and community within Ventia operations, to increase Indigenous workforce engagement.

"It's also about how we encourage and enable Indigenous team members to build professional relationships with key stakeholders across the operations to encourage career advancement and leadership opportunities," Kezia says. 

The 'Deadly Network' at Ventia - supporting Indigenous employees

Kezia says the support of leaders like Northern Territory Manager Stephen Densmore, and Steve Mitchell and Byron Davis from our TRECCA Indigenous employment team has been instrumental in getting this off the ground. 

"Stephen and his operational leadership team, along with Steve and Byron and the rest of the TRECCA team are passionate about supporting and educating our wider workforce on the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and culture, and what it means for an inclusive workplace," Kezia says. 

"I am looking forward to playing an active role in celebrating our Indigenous culture and seeing and hearing how our non-Indigenous colleagues learn from these opportunities."

'The Deadly Network' will also encourage participation of the organisation in regular events throughout the calendar year to build a profile as an Employer of Choice for Indigenous people.
 

Find out more about our approach to Indigenous engagement here.

In the spirit of reconciliation Ventia acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.

^{Top image: 'Now More Than Ever' - by Ventia's Monique Rennie.}