Themes
Conference Papers
Session EDE1.1 Employment, development and service delivery: sustainable futures?
1. Frank McKeown: Mining on Aboriginal Land in the Northern Territory – The Intergenerational Dilemma: ‘We must say yes for our children’
Full paper | Audio | Video | Slideshow
Under the mining provisions of the Aboriginal Land Rights Act (NT) 1976, mining companies must first obtain the consent of the Traditional Aboriginal Owners to Exploration Licence Applications [ELAs], before mineral exploration can take place on Aboriginal land. Should the Traditional Owners refuse, the so- called ‘veto’ stands for up to five years. After the moratorium period, the mining company is entitled to put its proposal to the Traditional Owners again, and may repeat this process every five years. In this paper I explore the reasoning behind the decision of two Aboriginal groups in the Northern Territory, who had hitherto opposed mineral development, to accept proposals for exploration and mining on their land. Whilst employment and income opportunities were important factors influencing the decision of the two groups, in both cases the overriding concern was a fear of the incapacity of the younger generation of land owners to deal with the issue in the future. Senior Aboriginal men were fearful that if they continued to ‘veto’ the ELA their children would be forced to deal with the application after their death. The Aboriginal leaders considered that this would lead to poorer outcomes, due to the younger generation’s inferior knowledge of both ‘Whitefella’ and ‘Blackfella’ business. The fear harboured by the Aboriginal leaders touches on several themes of the conference, such as leadership and inter generational communication, and I hope to explore some of them in this paper.
Author bio: Frank McKeown is a Consultant Anthropologist, and Adjunct Research Fellow, Centre of Socio-Legal Research, Griffith Law School. BA [Hons], LLB [Hons], and PhD in anthropology. Over thirty years research experience in South East Asia [Indonesia and Malaysia] and Australia, including more than thirty mining agreements in the northern and central regions of the NT, the Western Desert of WA, and Cape York Peninsula of Queensland.
2. Brian Gleeson: Connecting the dots – how the National Partnership Agreement on Remote Service Delivery reflects the needs of young and old
Full paper | Audio | Video | Slideshow
In December 2008, governments signed the National Partnership Agreement on Remote Service Delivery, thereby agreeing to implement a new approach in 29 remote Indigenous communities. A critical element of the new approach is the development of a socio-economic baseline of information to inform both the development of Local Implementation Plans as well as providing the capacity to effectively measure progress. This new evidence base also provides population projections at the local area level for a number of focus populations, including youth and older people. This presentation will provide a brief overview of the Remote Service Delivery approach and the role of the Coordinator General for Remote Indigenous Services. It will provide a brief overview of the information in the baseline mapping reports, with a particular focus on the population projections. It will then look at how the changing demographics are reflected in Local Implementation Plans by focussing on what is proposed in a few communities, and early results. Some early lessons from this important initiative will be discussed including the implications of using an evidence based policy and service implementation in driving an Indigenous reform agenda.
Author bio: As the Coordinator General for Remote Indigenous Services, Brian Gleeson oversees all Government activity relating to the delivery of services to the 29 Remote Service Delivery communities. Prior to his current position, he worked at the United Nations in three senior positions, the latest being as the Head of the United Nations in Libya. Mr. Gleeson has also worked in the UN Secretariat and the World Health Organisation, and consulted to the UNFPA, UNICEF, WFP, OCHA and UNESCO. Before the United Nations, he had over 30 years experience in the Australian Public Service where his role began as a Postal Officer and ended as First Assistant Commissioner, APS Human Resources Policy Division for the Australian Public Service Commission.
3. Laura Egan: Job creation through microenterprise in remote Aboriginal communities
Full paper | Audio | Video | Slideshow
In remote communities it is often lamented that there are very few opportunities, outside of school, for young people to engage in learning and development, or to contribute to their communities in a fulfilling way. Microenterprise, however, is providing the younger generation with a tool to create these opportunities and to respond to issues they experience in their community in a creative and sustainable way. Enterprise Learning Projects (ELP) works to create opportunities for individuals to develop the skills, experience and confidence necessary to develop their ideas into sustainable income generating enterprises. In this presentation, I will draw on examples of ELP’s work supporting enterprise development in Yarralin community in the Northern Territory. I will share stories of how enterprise development is creating opportunities for the younger generation to participate in the economic and social development of their communities. One such example is the op-shop the women have established to enable access to affordable second hand goods. ELP’s experience to date indicates that the frequent analyses of remote communities as places that are devoid of economic drive and opportunity for young people is not necessarily the case. The right opportunities can be motivational to the younger generation, which means looking beyond macro-level economic development prescriptions to a much more grounded approach that starts with the question ‘what ideas do you have?
Author bio: Laura Egan is the Founder and Director of Enterprise Learning Projects (ELP), an organisation dedicated to supporting and promoting grassroots microenterprise development in remote Aboriginal communities. Laura’s passion for microenterprise development was ignited during her time working with an NGO in India in 2005, where she was involved in developing economic empowerment initiatives for women. Returning to Australia in 2006, Laura took a role as Youth Development Officer with the Shire of Ngaanyatjarraku in remote Western Australia. Laura began to use enterprise as a vehicle to create opportunities for young people in the Ngaanyatjarra Lands, and was instrumental in supporting the start up of a bush medicine soap making enterprise. More recently, Laura partnered with Ngaanyatjarra Council to facilitate training in hospitality and assisted with the start up of Healthy Take-away catering enterprises in two communities in the Lands. Laura holds a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Commerce and a Postgraduate Certificate in Indigenous Studies. Laura was a student at the School for Social Entrepreneurs in Melbourne in 2010, where she was awarded the honour of ‘Melbourne Social Entrepreneur of the Year’.