Mr MITCHELL - 1994-11-22
As the minister is aware, economic development of Aboriginal land and employment generation in Aboriginal communities are increasingly important issues, but criticism continues to be levelled at the vast expenditure with frustratingly poor results. What is the government doing to help to improve the effectiveness of the delivery of programs in this area? What part does cross-cultural education play in this process?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I thank the member for his question even though it is a particularly complex one to address. In his statement announcing the establishment of the Ministry of Aboriginal Development in October 1992, I remind members that the Chief Minister stated:
History and experience indicate that establishing economic enterprises for Aboriginal communities is difficult. The failures, normally fostered by
government programs, litter the landscape. A priority task of the new minister and the office will be to examine what has been done to promote
self-sufficiency, what is working, what is not and why not.
In the same statement, the Chief Minister emphasised the importance of upgrading cross-cultural awareness across the board in the Northern Territory Public Service.
Page 289
Members would be aware that the issues of economic development and employment generation in Aboriginal communities are not solely the realm of the Northern Territory government. That said, relevant agencies in both the Commonwealth and Northern Territory governments have been working towards a common goal in this area. Four of the bigger projects include the Office of Aboriginal Development's survey of agencies assisting Aboriginal communities with economic projects and the establishment of ATSIC's Industry Advisory Committees in the tourism, arts and craft, and rural industry fields. Northern Territory officers were made available to participate on these committees and, recently, ATSIC released draft strategy documents for comment. Another initiative is the establishment of the Department of Industries and Development's Aboriginal Business Advisory Service in collaboration with ATSIC to assist the commission in analysing business proposals to ensure that projects are not unwittingly set up to fail.
Recently, we saw the production of the very important discussion paper, Aboriginal Tourism in the Northern Territory, compiled by the Northern Territory Tourist Commission and the Office of Aboriginal Development. Early next month, there will be further discussions with ATSIC and the land councils aimed at establishing a task force to advance the matter. Also in December, the Office of Aboriginal Development will host a seminar designed to enhance understanding of Territory agencies that are able to contribute to Aboriginal economic development. The seminar will use a professional facilitator, and specialised economists and business consultants.
To answer the member's second question, the Office of Aboriginal Development commissioned the Aboriginal Resource Development Service (ARDS) in 1993-94 to carry out some studies in the cross-cultural area. Members will be familiar already with the term 'demystification'. The importance of this work is that it identifies the need for interaction between traditional social organisation and contemporary economic development. Hopefully, application of this knowledge will assist Aboriginal people to better understand mainstream economic and political processes. Importantly, it may assist government agencies, and others who work in this field, to better understand traditional structures and to search out appropriate modifications to conventional business practices.
I believe this whole process of cross-cultural education, including our attempts to come to terms with understanding what it means, is one of the most significant developments in Aboriginal affairs being undertaken in Australia, and it is proper that it should be. My own discussions with quite senior traditional Aboriginals, particularly in north-east Arnhem Land, has been particularly encouraging. They believe in many ways that, if this process is successful, it will provide at least 1 key that will enable us to break through the very frustrating barrier that we all confront in attempting to address Aboriginal problems. This applies not only to ourselves but to every part of Australia and to the federal government. A great deal of money is being spent to attempt to support and assist Aboriginal advancement and development in Australia. It is a matter of continual frustration when, to put it bluntly, it appears that money is being thrown down the drain.
Increasingly, we are discovering our lack of understanding of the realities of Aboriginal law and culture, in particular the over-emphasis on the spiritualism of Aboriginal law and culture. Although it is important, certainly it is not the totality of Aboriginal society. Like any society, Aboriginals have their own political and economic systems. We believe that an understanding and appreciation of them will assist us significantly in
Page 290
developing programs that are not inconsistent with Aboriginal law and cultural practice. Similarly, we are discovering the misconceptions of what I refer to as our mainstream economic and political structures, particularly by remote and traditional Aboriginal communities. We must avoid misconceptions as we attempt to communicate with each other. That is absolutely critical to our efforts to find effective directions and solutions.
The work by ARDS is a continuing project. We have received some particularly encouraging results from the work at a very early stage, but much has yet to be done. Certainly, it will involve equally the work that is being undertaken currently in respect of cross-cultural education, initially with the Department of Health and Community Services, the Department of Education and my Department of Lands, Housing and Local Government - the 3 key service delivery areas of government - to improve the understanding and approach by government officials in dealing and working with Aboriginal communities. In relation to the development of programs within the communities, we need to improve the people's knowledge and confidence in being able to deal with the wider Australian community. The aim is to achieve effective economic development and break the existing welfare dependency cycle in Aboriginal communities.
Page 291
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I thank the member for his question even though it is a particularly complex one to address. In his statement announcing the establishment of the Ministry of Aboriginal Development in October 1992, I remind members that the Chief Minister stated:
History and experience indicate that establishing economic enterprises for Aboriginal communities is difficult. The failures, normally fostered by
government programs, litter the landscape. A priority task of the new minister and the office will be to examine what has been done to promote
self-sufficiency, what is working, what is not and why not.
In the same statement, the Chief Minister emphasised the importance of upgrading cross-cultural awareness across the board in the Northern Territory Public Service.
Page 289
Members would be aware that the issues of economic development and employment generation in Aboriginal communities are not solely the realm of the Northern Territory government. That said, relevant agencies in both the Commonwealth and Northern Territory governments have been working towards a common goal in this area. Four of the bigger projects include the Office of Aboriginal Development's survey of agencies assisting Aboriginal communities with economic projects and the establishment of ATSIC's Industry Advisory Committees in the tourism, arts and craft, and rural industry fields. Northern Territory officers were made available to participate on these committees and, recently, ATSIC released draft strategy documents for comment. Another initiative is the establishment of the Department of Industries and Development's Aboriginal Business Advisory Service in collaboration with ATSIC to assist the commission in analysing business proposals to ensure that projects are not unwittingly set up to fail.
Recently, we saw the production of the very important discussion paper, Aboriginal Tourism in the Northern Territory, compiled by the Northern Territory Tourist Commission and the Office of Aboriginal Development. Early next month, there will be further discussions with ATSIC and the land councils aimed at establishing a task force to advance the matter. Also in December, the Office of Aboriginal Development will host a seminar designed to enhance understanding of Territory agencies that are able to contribute to Aboriginal economic development. The seminar will use a professional facilitator, and specialised economists and business consultants.
To answer the member's second question, the Office of Aboriginal Development commissioned the Aboriginal Resource Development Service (ARDS) in 1993-94 to carry out some studies in the cross-cultural area. Members will be familiar already with the term 'demystification'. The importance of this work is that it identifies the need for interaction between traditional social organisation and contemporary economic development. Hopefully, application of this knowledge will assist Aboriginal people to better understand mainstream economic and political processes. Importantly, it may assist government agencies, and others who work in this field, to better understand traditional structures and to search out appropriate modifications to conventional business practices.
I believe this whole process of cross-cultural education, including our attempts to come to terms with understanding what it means, is one of the most significant developments in Aboriginal affairs being undertaken in Australia, and it is proper that it should be. My own discussions with quite senior traditional Aboriginals, particularly in north-east Arnhem Land, has been particularly encouraging. They believe in many ways that, if this process is successful, it will provide at least 1 key that will enable us to break through the very frustrating barrier that we all confront in attempting to address Aboriginal problems. This applies not only to ourselves but to every part of Australia and to the federal government. A great deal of money is being spent to attempt to support and assist Aboriginal advancement and development in Australia. It is a matter of continual frustration when, to put it bluntly, it appears that money is being thrown down the drain.
Increasingly, we are discovering our lack of understanding of the realities of Aboriginal law and culture, in particular the over-emphasis on the spiritualism of Aboriginal law and culture. Although it is important, certainly it is not the totality of Aboriginal society. Like any society, Aboriginals have their own political and economic systems. We believe that an understanding and appreciation of them will assist us significantly in
Page 290
developing programs that are not inconsistent with Aboriginal law and cultural practice. Similarly, we are discovering the misconceptions of what I refer to as our mainstream economic and political structures, particularly by remote and traditional Aboriginal communities. We must avoid misconceptions as we attempt to communicate with each other. That is absolutely critical to our efforts to find effective directions and solutions.
The work by ARDS is a continuing project. We have received some particularly encouraging results from the work at a very early stage, but much has yet to be done. Certainly, it will involve equally the work that is being undertaken currently in respect of cross-cultural education, initially with the Department of Health and Community Services, the Department of Education and my Department of Lands, Housing and Local Government - the 3 key service delivery areas of government - to improve the understanding and approach by government officials in dealing and working with Aboriginal communities. In relation to the development of programs within the communities, we need to improve the people's knowledge and confidence in being able to deal with the wider Australian community. The aim is to achieve effective economic development and break the existing welfare dependency cycle in Aboriginal communities.
Page 291
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016