Catholic Diocese of Broome

A Place at the Table

Consultation has been much in the news lately, and there was a pretty strong representation of Kimberley people at the recent 2020 Summit in Canberra to provide their ideas on Indigenous affairs into the future. One of the things that was obvious about the Summit was that it was not really representative, and in fairness it did not claim to be. It was to be a gathering of the ‘best and brightest’, each to share their one big idea for the future.

One of the restraints upon this gathering was that those who were nominated or who nominated themselves had to provide their own means of travelling to Canberra and were responsible for their own accommodation. This would have prevented many from attending for a start. One wonders how many good ideas might have been lost because of this limitation. How could this have been overcome?

We could have had some preparatory meetings with those who were nominated and shared our ideas with them before they set off for the Capital. As far as I am aware, there were no meetings called in the Kimberley to speak with our local ‘delegates’. This is surely an oversight on the part of those who went? On the other hand, they were not chosen as representatives of anyone, so why would they need to consult?

Being in Government is a different story. Our politicians are our elected representatives and they are there to represent their electorates, not just those who voted for them. When it comes to Indigenous affairs, the Government will have a difficult task to achieve the goals that it has set for itself in terms of ‘bridging the gap’ between Indigenous living conditions and life expectancy and those of the general population. This theme was raised several times in the course of the recent Summit. The Northern Territory intervention was also raised – as an example of how not to go about making changes. So what is the alternative?

Surely it is time for the new Government to reconstitute a national representative body of Indigenous advisors who are truly accountable to their constituents for the advice they provide, and to the Government for the funds they might spend. It is becoming even more necessary to have such a body to ensure that all Indigenous people gain a place at the table when decisions are being made in relation to resources exploration and harvesting in areas where they hold title or negotiating rights. And it will be essential for Indigenous voices to be heard when decisions are being made about how the profits from the resources boom will be spent.

In this process we must not neglect to ensure that those who for good reasons of their own are not affiliated with peak bodies and local land councils have their opinions heard as well. This applies equally to the non-Indigenous people who also suffer the consequences of loss of access to amenities when governments become all too keen to reap an economic harvest by raping the natural environment.

Nobody would pretend that achieving all this is going to be easy, but it will not be made any easier by governments going it alone because they think they know what is best for the rest of us.