WELLINGTON NEWS Voice of reason
Mike Nolan grew up in Dubbo but has strong ties with the Wellington area, which has drawn him back as the CEO of the Local Aboriginal Lands Council. He talked to NATALIE LEWIS about land management, preserving indigenous heritage and wiping out the town’s drug culture.
MIKE Nolan comes across as being a gentle person, but when he talks about a topic that he’s passionate about, there’s fire in his belly.
With family connections to Wellington, he’s pleased to be working in the community where his grandfather grew up.
“I’m a Dubbo boy, my grandfather was born at Blacks Camp,” he explains.
Accustomed to working in bigger places, Mr Nolan said it’s nice to feel like part of a community, particularly where he has that personal link.
“It’s good to work at a local level. Most of my positions have been regional so it’s nice to focus on one community, it’s been a pleasant change.”
With a background in natural and cultural resource management, Mr Nolan has worked in administrative roles, but also as a regional chief ranger in the Northern Territory.
“I was overseeing management of three national parks and three nature reserves; it was quite a big operation.”
In the role, Mr Nolan was responsible for staff and for looking after the local landscape.
He has a firm view of how communities should be caring for their surroundings, giving back to an environment that has given so much to them.
“We should be taking more notice of cultural knowledge and about people managing the land,” he said.
“For starters, we should not view it as a resource. We rely on it and it relies on us to be healthy.”
Mr Nolan said people’s connection to land used to be a lot stronger than it is now and it has evolved over many thousands of years.
“It was certainly a different landscape than what it is now. The land relied on us to be healthy and tradition allowed healing of the land.”
Traditional practices such as cool burning need to return to assist natural processes like germination.
“I’d like to see more traditional practice in that area,” he said.
“It’s a practice that needs to be looked at more thoughtfully then adopted. We have things like certain native trees that will only reproduce under cool burning.
“Another one of my beliefs is to respect cultural heritage so that Aboriginal culture is respected and valued by the wider community. It’s breaking down the barriers with those landowners and managers to identify and protect values. There’s a lot of myths around protecting and valuing that need to be addressed.”
Representing the township of Wellington, Mr Nolan is able to have more influence and input into matters that affect indigenous culture and the broader population.
“We are the peak body in relation to Aboriginal issues. We look at economic development and employment opportunities. We also manage 32 social housing homes and the former Nanima mission with 21 residents.”
Asked how they have fared through COVID-19, and Mr Nolan is frank about what has had the greatest impact.
“Aboriginal communities are resilient,” he said.
“We had a high unemployment rate; I don’t think there’s been a lot of change.
“Culturally, COVID-19 has been a big issue, on the social side, limiting numbers for funerals and birthdays. That has been hard.”
The Wellington Local Aboriginal Lands Council is currently discussing a move to the former Wellington Visitor Information Centre. If they shift, the organisation will be housed in the new Wiradjuri Cultural Centre but that is still in negotiation with Dubbo Regional Council.
“We are always keen to share our knowledge of heritage and history,” Mr Nolan said. “Any opportunity to get that is a good thing. The more information we can share the more barriers we can break down and build a relationship.”
Wellington didn’t host a Black Lives Matter event, but Mr Nolan said many people attended the Dubbo gathering.
“Deaths in custody is still an issue in the community, building a relationship with the police is important. The Royal Commission into deaths in custody didn’t achieve anything. I was born a ward of the state, we had the welfare coming around. We were taught to run from authority, including police. It was a very different relationship than the non-indigenous people had and I was born in 1967.”
Mr Nolan believes there are still a lot of bridges to be built in this regard.
“There’s new blood in the local police. But a lot of the police that work here don’t have a vested interest. We don’t see them at the footy or shopping or at the café. We are only seeing them when something bad happens in town.
“We need a 24-hour police station funded and staffed. I’m feeling positive that the police are cleaning up the drug culture. Drugs are killing our youth and culture. We just need to keep on top of it.”
Mr Nolan said that too many people are going to jail unnecessarily.
“A high percentage of jail is over licensing and fines. People shouldn’t be going to jail over these things. We just need more options than locking people up. We need the option of a rehab centre.”
Overall, Mr Nolan is really enjoying his role and immersing himself into the Wellington community.
“I’m quite positive about where we are,” he said.