Social Justice Report 2006
Information Sheet 3: Indigenous participation in decision making
When it comes to ‘good policy’ in Indigenous affairs, a core requirement is the effective participation of Indigenous peoples in all decisions that impact on their lives. In practice, this means governments have a responsibility to actively involve Indigenous peoples in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies that affect them, and to make the necessary changes to avoid or address any adverse impacts.
This is reflected in the object of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Act 2005 (Cth) – namely,
‘to ensure maximum participation of Aboriginal persons and Torres Strait
Islanders in the formulation and implementation of government policies that
affect them’.
This Social Justice
Report concludes that there are insufficient mechanisms at the regional and
national levels to enable effective Indigenous participation. This is a
fundamental flaw in the new arrangements and it requires urgent
attention.
Governments risk failure if they develop and implement policies about Indigenous issues without engaging with the intended recipients of those services. Rather than being caught up on compliance with the absolute minutia of individual agreements, governments need to urgently address the need for systems to support long-term and sustainable improvements in Indigenous peoples’ lives.
The importance of regional Indigenous participatory mechanisms in the new arrangements
The federal Government has released guidelines indicating the parameters of the support it will provide for Regional Indigenous Engagement Arrangements (RIEAs). These guidelines replace the government’s earlier commitment to support Indigenous representative structures at the regional level. This constitutes an important change in approach, from an emphasis on representative regional structures, to regional processes and agreements, particularly Regional Partnership Agreements (RPAs).
The previous 2005 Social Justice Report noted the considerable progress that had been made in negotiating regional representative arrangements and structures. It went on to recommend that the Australian Government, in partnership with state and territory governments and Indigenous peoples, negotiate and put in place regional representative arrangements by 30 June 2006. However, only two RPAs have been signed over the past 18 months, and progress towards the establishment of regional representative structures has effectively stalled.
The absence of appropriate mechanisms for the participation of Indigenous peoples in the new arrangements is a significant policy failure. It is inconsistent with Australia’s human rights obligations, existing federal legislation, and the governments’ own policies.
Indigenous participation in decision making at the national level
Since the
abolition of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) in
2005, there has been no representative Indigenous body at the national level.
The federal Government has continued to use the National Indigenous Council
(NIC), a body appointed by the government, as the primary source of advice on
Indigenous policy.
There are two principal concerns regarding Indigenous participation in national decision-making processes over the past 12-18 months:
- Reforms have been introduced extremely quickly
with limited processes for consultation and engagement from Indigenous
peoples. During the course of some reform processes, the
government has stated that it is under no obligation to consult with Indigenous
peoples – this has contributed to the emergence of a culture within the
federal Government that does not place sufficient value upon Indigenous
engagement and participation.
- Government has continued to distance Indigenous peoples from processes for agreeing to policy priorities. This has occurred as a result of the federal Government pursuing bilateral agreements with each state/territory government which set the key priorities for inter-governmental cooperation, but do not provide for Indigenous input.
This lack of engagement with Indigenous peoples contradicts the central policy aims of the new arrangements, which include commitments to partnerships, shared responsibility and mutual obligation.
Governments will face greater difficulties in realising their intended goals if those goals are not shared by Indigenous communities. The absence of a national representative body exacerbates this situation. For example, government departments are struggling to know how to consult and with whom, and departmental staff are observing the frustration, disengagement and bewilderment of Indigenous peoples.
The exclusion of Indigenous input into
setting policy priorities has also been exacerbated by the federal
Government’s negotiation of bilateral agreements and ‘strategic
interventions’ with its state and territory counterparts. This approach
puts strategic decision-making clearly in the hands of state and federal
governments, and only allows Indigenous involvement after the basic
decision to intervene has been made. In other words, priorities are determined
by outsiders (governments), then the insiders (Indigenous communities) are
invited to participate in the detailed planning and implementation.
This approach does not provide a sound basis
for ‘ownership’ by Indigenous people of initiatives that are
designed to address disadvantage. It is also inconsistent with the various
commitments made by governments through the Council on Australian Government
(COAG) process relating to the need for effective Indigenous participation.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Social Justice Commissioner has committed to work with Indigenous organisations
and communities to identify sustainable options for establishing a national
Indigenous representative body as a follow-up action over the coming
year.
