Mayor Barbara Bandicootcha

Mayor Barbara Bandicootcha, 49, is from the Puutch clan and has been a Director of the Native Title body Ngan Aak-Kunch Aboriginal Corporation (NAK) for more than a decade with the past eight years as Chair.

Married with four children living in Weipa and nine grandchildren, Mayor Bandicootcha grew up in different Cape York Peninsula communities as her parents moved around but returned to Aurukun in 2008.

“God, Country and people – that’s how my grandmother brought me up and that is how I live,” she said. Mayor Bandicootcha has built a home overlooking her father’s mother’s country on the Watson River and goes there whenever she can.

“It’s a piece of country to reconnect and remember who we are and where we come from. I feel we are slowly losing our culture, but people aren’t realising that. That’s why it’s really important to go back and reconnect.

“All Wik lands are now determined allowing Wik people to be in a better position to negotiate whatever happens on Country. Wik people need to be in the driver’s seat. Solutions should always be driven by the Wik nation.”

Deputy Mayor Craig Koomeeta

Deputy Mayor Craig Koomeeta is serving his third term on Aurukun Shire Council and it is his second as Deputy Mayor. Cr Koomeeta’s first stint was from 2000 to 2003 under Jacob Wolmby when he was just 22 years of age, and he was elected again in 2020 under Keri Tamwoy.

Now 46, the Apalech man has a strong family history in the community. His father Edwin Merkool Koomeeta was a councillor in the eighties, his older brother Waal Waal Koomeeta served two terms from 1997 to 2003 and his older sister Vera Koomeeta also served a term as a councillor.

After leaving Townsville Grammar, Cr Koomeeta returned to Aurukun where he started a career with Queensland Health mowing lawns and worked in various roles before becoming a health officer doing home visits monitoring the health of local residents. He is currently a Project Officer for the Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships and is advocating for a community-controlled health centre.

Following his first term as a Councillor, Cr Koomeeta became a full-time artist at the Wik and Kugu Arts Centre where he created sculptures which he exhibited around the world. Cr Koomeeta also served on the board of Trustees for the Queensland Art Gallery and the Gallery of Modern Art alongside the likes of former premier Wayne Goss.

A regular performer at concerts in Aurukun, Cr Koomeeta has written songs in Wik about his community and its five clans, with his first CD released in 2018. His passion for music was ignited after the passing of his adopted daughter at the age of 22.

Cr Koomeeta enjoys camping at Knox River south of Aurukun where his father is from. “I can’t stop thinking about my favourite memory of our dad gathering us to do family activities on country like fishing, hunting and gathering. Wik is my first language and we used to go out as a family camping to learn traditional cultural practices. As a councillor I want to see our community living in peace like we did in the old days before alcohol infected families and our community.”

Cr Leona Yunkaporta

Councillor Leona Yunkaporta, 35, is a Kugu woman from the Wanam clan and grew up in Aurukun where she lives with her partner and two young children.

She was recently appointed Family Domestic Violence Coordinator with the Aurukun Community Indigenous Corporation and wants to empower women within her community to overcome barriers and break the cycle of violence.

Cr Yunkaporta grew up with strong female role models in her family, especially her aunt Phyllis Yunkaporta and her sister Waal Waal Chevathun.

She has worked for State and Federal government departments in the community including the Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships.

Previously Cr Yunkaporta has worked as a teacher’s aide at the school helping with the language program.

“As a parent I would like to see more cultural activities through APN because they are making a positive impact on our children around learning on country.”

Cr Eloise Yunkaporta

Councillor Eloise Yunkaporta, 38, is Wanam on her father’s side and Apalech on her mother’s side. She is the Office Coordinator for Cape York Employment and has worked with the Pama Language Centre and Aurukun Shire Council.

Cr Yunkaporta is passionate about her language and has been specialising in Wik Mungkan language projects in media and communications for government departments and the Cape York Institute for more than five years.

“Language is important so we can still have our culture and beliefs for the next generation to come and for the next 100 years,” she said.

“Aurukun children grow up speaking Wik Mungkan, but they need to learn to write it at school.”

Cr Yunkaporta was part of the Returning Generations with APN teaching weaving and feather flower making to the children and believes it is important to have cultural programs taught at school.

“We had a lot of our Elders come into the school to teach us to do dancing under the mango trees,” she said.

“I really want to get more involved with traditional dance and would like to have my own dance studio in Aurukun one day.

“I lived in Sydney and Gosford for five years where I completed a Certificate 4 in professional dance.”

Cr Jayden Marrott

Cr Jayden Marrott, 26, has been re-elected for his second term on Aurukun Shire Council after serving under Keri Tamwoy.

A founding member of the Aurukun Youth Advisory Committee, Cr Marrott said he wanted to show that young people can make a change in their community.

“We need more young people to be involved in creating change,” he said.

“I went away to boarding school and found there wasn’t much for the 12 to 18-year age group to do when they returned home from school.

“I want to encourage activities on country, sporting opportunities and training that will lead to jobs.”

From the Wanam clan, Mr Marrott has been a resident of Aurukun since 2010. He was born in Cairns but spent much of his time in his family’s communities of Aurukun and Pormpuraaw.

He boarded at Ipswich Grammar from years 8 to 12 and then attended John Paul College to participate in their sporting Horizons Program. After graduating in 2016 Mr Marrott worked for community agencies and the Aurukun Shire Council in various roles.

Legal Status

The Aurukun Shire Council operates under Queensland Government Legislation, namely The Local Government Act 2009. Furthermore, two Regulations working hand-in-glove with the Act are the Financial Planning & Reporting Regulation and the Operations Regulation. Council is constituted by the Councillors who are elected or appointed to the local government under this Act. Councils’ ABN is 32 338 490 426.
Council’s GST registration is effective from July 1, 2000.

Socio-Economic Status & Disadvantage

Socio-economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) is a suite of four summary measures that have been created from Census information. The indexes can be used to explore different aspects of socio-economic conditions by geographic areas. For each index, every geographic area in Australia is given a SEIFA number which shows how disadvantaged that area is compared with other areas in Australia. Aurukun is rated in the poorest 5% of communities Australia-wide. The 34 discrete Indigenous Queensland communities rank below all 123 other Queensland communities and Aurukun is the 11th lowest ranking among them.