Lucy Deemal has been appointed as the new senior executive officer of the Torres Cape Indigenous Council Alliance. Photo: Cape York Weekly.
The newly appointed senior executive officer of the organisation advocating for Cape York’s Indigenous councils says she is committed to ensuring the voices of remote community leaders are heard at the political table.
Guugu Yimithiir Traditional Owner Lucy Deemal has been announced as the new SEO of the Torres Cape Indigenous Council Alliance (TCICA), which represents 16 remote local governments, including Weipa Town Authority and Cook Shire Council.
Ms Deemal has moved into the role after most recently working as Cook Shire Council’s chief financial officer, and said she was ready to hit the ground running to help TCICA’s member councils get some runs on the board.
“I’ve been in local government for probably the last seven years, but I’ve been around government since I graduated uni,” she told Cape York Weekly.
“I was previously an auditor for the [Federal Government], and was then working in accounting and auditing at the state level.
“I’ve always wanted to contribute to government in some way, and being closer to local government, you’re at the grassroots, and you can see where the money’s going and the positive things that are being achieved and happening because of it.”
Ms Deemal said she believed a family connection to running a remote business provided a unique perspective she could utilise to help TCICA member councils boost local economic development.
“I’m a Traditional Owner myself – I’m from just outside of Hope Vale and 20 years ago, my grandfather started a tourism business called Elim Beach Campgrounds, which my dad and brother run now,” she explained.
“Being back here and living in Cooktown, things like industry investment and economic growth in communities can be difficult, and it’s a difficulty that I’ve seen from my own family.
“The Cape is a very important place to Queensland’s growth, but over time and over the years, we’ve obviously been a little bit neglected, and we’ve seen the gaps come up and things that we need to be more proactive about, and the only way we can do that is through a co-ordinated effort through government and NGOs, and that’s what TCICA does.”
Ms Deemal said she believed it was vital remote elected member had an opportunity to get in front of policymakers in Canberra and Brisbane to share the aspirations and needs of their communities.
“We’ve got elected members that have been elected through a proper process and that are living in those communities, that are there every day, understanding the challenges and what’s going on,” she said.
“We want to make sure that the information used for policy decisions is coming directly from communities; we want to make sure that the person that’s asking the question is asking it of the people who have the knowledge and lived experience to provide an answer.
“It’s having the elected members talking for their communities.”
