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Mia Kriznic wants to get the numbers right at UWA.

She is not a mathematician: she is the University's new Indigenous Employment Officer and she is dedicated to closing the gap on Indigenous disadvantage by boosting employment opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people on campus.

"Aboriginal people make up about 3.5 per cent of the population," Ms Kriznic said. "In a staff of about 4,000, as we have at UWA , we should have about 120 Aboriginal employees, if we are to mirror society. Unfortunately we have only about 30, who are heavily concentrated in one area."

As part of UWA 's Indigenous Employment Strategy, she is driving initiatives to grow employment opportunities across schools and faculties.

Ms Kriznic is based in Human Resources and is keen to work with all UWA staff to attract and match Indigenous candidates for any roles that become available across a broad range of professions.

"I also hope to educate people about the unique hurdles and barriers Indigenous candidates face when seeking employment and even getting to interview stage," she said. "People do have their prejudices but I like to think that there is goodwill out there and those prejudices can be overcome with education based on simple but confronting facts and statistics.

"For example, according to the latest ABS statistics, the current unemployment rate for non-Indigenous West Australians is 4.2 per cent, yet for Indigenous West Australians, the unemployment rate is a staggering 22 per cent."

"I think it's really concerning that many Australians turn a blind eye to Indigenous disadvantage and worry more about poverty and development issues affecting people in other, third world, countries, when the traditional owners of our country face similar and complex issues.

"A ‘light bulb' moment for me occurred during a work trip to Kalgoorlie when I was at the Barrack gold mine, one of the most profitable gold mines in the world. I was standing on the edge of the super pit and looked across at the Ninga Mia Aboriginal community camp, with people living in tin huts with no power, plumbing or heating.

"I felt sickened and disgusted with the level of poverty in parallel with the infinite wealth of the gold mine. This wasn't something I expected to see in my own country and I felt that, by being a witness to these circumstances, that I was somehow complicit."

Ms Kriznic said that experience inspired her to take every opportunity to work to improve the rights and conditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.

She said a job was a great start in addressing disadvantage. "We need to promote the University to employers who might think that the only people here are academics. In fact, there are more non-academic staff and I want to help to swell the numbers of Indigenous staff."

Ms Kriznic said she felt it was a privilege to work with Aboriginal staff on campus, in particular the Dean of the School of Indigenous Studies, Winthrop Professor Jill Milroy, and the Director of Indigenous Student Services, Marilyn Strother.

"It might seem strange to some people that a non-Indigenous person is working on Indigenous recruitment but I say that addressing their disadvantage is not just the responsibility of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people, but should be the business of all staff across the University."

Published in UWA News , 23 July 2012