8 Interviewee story summaries At the time of her interview, Kia and the then Gelganyem CEO were preparing for family meetings regarding native title. Kia explained how she would need to have very clear questions ready in order to get clear, unanimous agreement from the families to take back to the Kimberley Land Council (KLC). The KLC had been quite absent throughout the life of the mine but with the impending closure of Argyle, Kia wanted to make sure the Board was holding all parties accountable, including the KLC and the company. Kia noted this would not have been possible without a pre-established representative organisation like Gelganyem which was expected to support Traditional Owners in a variety of ways. Taking time to build the Board’s knowledge was hard work but it led to a good place. What if Gelganyem wasn’t there, who would do that? The answer is no one. Upholding cultural principles to ensure accountability meant a strong Board was her first priority. The changes and leadership today, compared to when she started with Gelganyem has enabled Kia to negotiate strong outcomes and provide more certainty for the families that benefit from programs that Gelganyem delivers. Kia also ensured the Board understood and was involved in determining what was needed to navigate the complexities of mine closure and native title. As a result of numerous community, stakeholder and Board meetings, she presented the board’s wishes to invest their own funds in additional anthropological services to supplement the (as Kia described it) inadequate scope of work originally commissioned by the NTRB. To complement that, prioritising the need for Gelganyem to prepare the Traditional Owner families for the native title process and for potential changes to the Traditional Owners previously agreed upon in the ILUA was a simmering concern that needed to be dealt with. As agreed by all the families, it was bound to require some active work in ensuring everyone understood the changes, the implications, and the reasons. She described how significant the investment made with the board to put in place the cultural and more appropriate decision-making processes and governance structures that were absent for so long. Through the establishment of a culturally appropriate governance model, by exercising the rights and interests of Traditional Owners to protect Country and implementing a freeze on a number of key activities to protect Traditional Owners, Kia described the changes underway within Rio Tinto, the WA State Government and the KLC. With the support of the Board, a capable management team and the resilience of Traditional Owners, Gelganyem continues to drive forward the self-determining economic development and related decision‑making of the Traditional Owner community. Australian Human Rights Commission 63