The Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation (GLaWAC) purchased the Gunya Yanakie Nanjet Brataualung site near Wilsons Promontory National Park, Victoria (herewith referred to as Nanjet).
We identified four problems were identified that justified a case for change:
- Potential social and cultural dislocation among Gunaikurnai people
- Opportunities to value and share Gunaikurnai culture are not being optimised
- Limited opportunity for Gunaikurnai people to gain economic independence and reduced opportunities for self-determination
- The opportunity to grow the regional and Victorian visitor economy is not being optimised and concurrently there is ongoing pressure on visitor accommodation at Tidal River
Our approach to developing this business case was based on four phases:
- ‘What do we need? This phase defined the problem or case for change and resulted in an Investment Logic Map summarising the problem, benefits, strategic intervention and overall solution.
- What choices do we have? This phase identified and evaluated alternatives to address the problem and resulted in a feasibility assessment report proposing the superior option to move forward with.
- The Proposal. This phase prepared a detailed scope for the proposal (including staging and governance), identified the development costs and a funding model, then generated visitation and financial forecasts, identified economic, cultural and social benefits, and prepared a risk management and procurement plan.
- Help to source the funding. This phase developed two user friendly and highly visual versions of the business case, resulting in an investor video and investor prospectus.
Stakeholder engagement was a strong component of our approach. Two rounds of consultation were conducted. Round 1 was undertaken in Phase 1 and was designed to collect ideas for the site and address two critical questions to two stakeholder sectors:
- From the Gunaikurnai community – what would they like GLaWAC to use the site for that fits within the GLaWAC strategic directions
- From local, regional and Victorian Government stakeholders – what gaps exist in the local area that GLaWAC could help address on the Nanjet property
A critical part of the engagement was to prioritise opportunities that the group had generated and that were presented to them.
Round 2 consultation was undertaken to support Phase 2 and present the shortlisted ideas for the site and collect feedback on how to refine them. Round 2 also presented the results of a feasibility assessment that explored and assessed options for the Proposal. Three strategic components to address the problems were:
- Develop a free camping area and hard roofed group accommodation to deliver social and educational programs for the Gunaikurnai mob to use
- Create a suite of highly differentiated interpretive Aboriginal tourism experiences that appeal to locals and visitors
- Generate a significant amount of Gunaikurnai inspired accommodation on the Nanjet property
This proposal presents an opportunity to help Victoria make First Nations a pillar for the State, by creating the largest and most diverse First Nations offer in Victoria and the most substantial Indigenous themed wellness experience in the State.
The Business Case was supported by:
- an investor video, a 10 minute highly visual introduction to the proposal and its benefits, designed to suit persons with limited time and attention; and
- an investor prospectus, providing a highly visual summary that adds high level costs and forecasts for people now interested but with limited time
These additional resources can be accessed at: https://gunaikurnai.org/our-economy/nanjet.
