Arthur Beetson is a Centrelink Ambassador for Indigenous servicing. The Rugby League legend talks face-to-face with communities about how service delivery can be improved and tailored to better meet the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

 
Arthur, father of four and grandfather of seven, grew up in the central Queensland town of Roma. He is known as one of the biggest and best Rugby League players of the 1970s and was the first Aboriginal person to captain his country in a major sport.

His career highlights include playing in the 1966 and 1970 Rugby Ashes Test Series, World Series matches in 1968, 1972, 1975 and 1977, the Kangaroo Tour in 1973, consecutive premierships wins with Eastern Suburbs Rugby League Club in 1974 and 1975 and captaining the historic State of Origin victory at Lang Park in 1980. He was awarded an Order of Australia medal in 1987 for his service to rugby league and was recognised as Rugby League’s seventh ‘Immortal’ in 2003.

Arthur is one of a number of Centrelink’s Indigenous Ambassadors who complement an already extensive network of Indigenous specialist staff and further strengthen the Government’s commitment to working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The Indigenous Ambassadors Programme informs Indigenous Australians about payments and programmes available from Centrelink.

For more information about the Indigenous Ambassadors Programme, visit Centrelink’s website at
www.centrelink.gov.au   and look under ‘Indigenous Programmes’ from the ‘Indigenous Australians’ section.

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