Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings and Flames unveil Reconciliation Action Plan

In celebration of NAIDOC week the Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings and Brydens Sydney Uni Flames have today unveiled the Club’s first Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), a critical first step to realising the Club’s long term commitment to positively influence the lives of Indigenous Australians.

Reconciliation Australia encourages organisations to start with a Reflect RAP, a document that outlines the framework for how a business starts to build cultural change, and commit to actions that will provide positive outcomes for Indigenous Australians. 

Sydney Kings Chairman, Paul Smith, said: “We made an internal commitment when we first bought into the Kings in 2018 that we would use the profile and popularity of the Club to make a positive difference to the lives of Indigenous Australians.”

“We recognised early on that to create a meaningful difference we needed to take small steps and I’m proud that we, along with the Illawarra Hawks, were the first NBL team in recent history to stage an Indigenous Round game during the 2018-19 season which led to a league-wide initiative” Smith said.

CEO of Reconciliation Australia, Karen Mundine said: “Reconciliation Australia welcomes Sydney Kings and Flames to the Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) program with the formal endorsement of its inaugural Reflect RAP”.

“Since 2006, RAPs have provided a framework for organisations to leverage their structures and diverse spheres of influence to support the national reconciliation movement. The program’s potential for impact is greater than ever, with over 2.3 million people now working or studying in an organisation with a RAP”.

“This Reflect RAP enables Sydney Kings and Flames to deepen its understanding of its sphere of influence and the unique contribution it can make to lead progress across the five dimensions. Getting these first steps right will ensure the sustainability of future RAPs and reconciliation initiatives, and provide meaningful impact toward Australia’s reconciliation journey” Mundine shared.

Today is a significant milestone for the Kings and Flames. As well as showcasing the organisation’s Reflect RAP, the two Clubs formally announced that they will be partnering with the Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council of NSW (AH&MRC) to deliver their first Indigenous community program, Healthy Deadly Kids (HDK).

HDK is unique in Australian sport – developed and run by Indigenous Australians, it is a primary school healthy living education program taught to children of all origins. It is currently delivered in primary school classrooms with the goal to bring online and make available to all Australian kids. 

CEO of AH&MRC Rob Skeen said: “We’re very excited to announce this partnership with the Kings and the Flames. These athletes will inspire our kids, and encourage them to enjoy a healthy lifestyle and physical activity every day. The Healthy Deadly Kids program being rolled out into schools will capture the imagination of kids, promote participation in sport and help them lead happy and healthy lives”.

The Kings and Flames have also entered into a collaborative and strategic partnership with the KARI Foundation. The KARI Foundation is recognised as one of Australia’s leading Aboriginal service providers, who have worked extensively in sport with the NRL and NSWRL.

This partnership will develop meaningful initiatives designed to close the gap and support Indigenous youth in our community with a focus on social, health and education outcomes.

To lead the delivery of our Healthy Deadly Kids community program, the Kings have employed Joel Cama, a proud young Indigenous man and also retained the services of Matt Flinn, former Illawarra Hawks Head Coach who is passionate in his support of Indigenous community work and has a large portfolio initiating community programs from his career in the NBL. 

“In Sydney we are fortunate to be in the unique situation whereby we have an NBL team and WNBL team aligned under the same ownership, and that makes our potential to implement change all the more powerful. Our long-term strategy is ambitious, however in the short term we are focussed on starting our commitment positively and meeting the objectives set out in our Reflect RAP” said Flinn.

The Club has also appointed an Indigenous Advisory Committee who will help us guide key decisions and oversee the delivery of our RAP goals. Indigenous leaders, Kane Ellis, Bruce Shillingsworth, Jamie Soward and Cain Slater are joined on the committee by Paul Smith, former Kings captain and TSE staff member, Kevin Lisch and Flames Head Coach, Katrina Hibbert.

Kings CEO, Chris Pongrass said: “I am excited to work with Joel, Matt and our newly appointed Indigenous Advisory Committee to start our journey of understanding and creating positive change. Basketball is among the most popular sports for Indigenous Australians and we recognise the Kings and Flames organisations can create community change and also encourage participation and elite development in young Indigenous athletes.”  



VIEW REFLECT RAP HERE