Speeches: 2005
Local government and reconciliation
Local government is very pleased to be here to participate in this important event - an event that will - we hope - pave the way forward for reconciliation to achieve real and lasting change in the coming years.
Address to Reconciliation Australia's National Reconciliation Planning Workshop
Councillor Genia McCaffrey
Australian Local Government Association
31 May 2005, Canberra
I acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we meet to today - the Ngunnawal people, and their elders both past and present. I also acknowledge the work of Reconciliation Australia and the critical role it plays in bringing our nation closer together.
Local government is very pleased to be here to participate in this important event - an event that will - we hope - pave the way forward for reconciliation to achieve real and lasting change in the coming years.
In our increasingly self-centred and disposable society, nothing can be more important than promoting concepts such as care, inclusion, trust and compassion. Nothing can be more important than bringing people together to address disadvantage. Nothing can be more important that creating opportunity for the present and hope for the future.
ALGA's policy approach to Indigenous issues
In the past, local government was part of the problem. Today, we want to be part of the solution.
Local government has been a strong participant in the reconciliation process over the past few years. Reconciliation has featured strongly in the National Agenda for Local Government - a document that brings together the resolutions passed by successive National General Assemblies of Local Government over the past ten years. Through it, local government recognises the need for a partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities to help address the needs of whole communities throughout Australia. This must include the direct participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities in local and regional, economic and strategic planning and development.
Partnerships are - of course - something that local government is good at. With a limited resource base, we have always sought to bring people together to achieve change and progress. That's true whether you're a community government council in the remotest part of the Northern Territory, or a municipal council in the middle of Melbourne. Indeed, there are many examples of genuine partnerships that have been developed between local government and Indigenous communities with the aim of improving outcomes and the overall health and well-being of local communities.
ALGA seeks to expand the concept of partnerships, particularly through our growing relationship with the federal government. Partnerships are about treating each other as equals, not one sphere of government - or one group of people - dictating and directing the actions that will be taken by another.
Local government has reaffirmed its commitment to improved service delivery and outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We continue to encourage councils to develop their own management plans or agreements in consultation with Indigenous communities, to address the specific service needs of those communities, and report regularly on outcomes. Importantly, local government endorses and supports the vision of a united Australia promoted by the former Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation which - and I quote - "respects this land of ours; values the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage; and provides justice and equity for all". We also supported the ATSIC recommendation that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures be recognised in the Australian Constitution, a document that has precious little to say about Indigenous people and absolutely nothing to say about local government. This is something - I might add - that should be fixed - and fixed soon.
Local government takes a very practical and visible approach to issues of reconciliation. We recognise, for example, that where developments impact on local Indigenous cultural heritage, councils must exercise leadership in ensuring that local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are consulted and their needs, aspirations, cultural and spiritual values are taken into account in planning processes.
Local government also accepts a responsibility to ensure that the traditional owners of land are consulted and actively involved in environmental planning and management processes. On the issue of native title, local government recognises its validity and continues to urge local communities to seek a consensual response to native title rather than promoting litigation and legislative intervention.
Local government has called on Australian governments to ensure a swift and fair process and satisfactory remedy to native title claims, and for financial support to councils to assist full community participation in that process. For our part, we promote the negotiation and effective implementation of local and regional agreements on native title and other issues affecting relationships between Indigenous and non-indigenous Australians.
At the national level, ALGA is an active member of the Ministerial Council for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, and in the past worked very closely with ATSIC, and bodies such as the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, the Native Title Tribunal and others on a wide range of matters affecting the lives of Indigenous Australians.
The work of ALGA over the past few years has focused on four key components:
- Reconciliation
- Improving the delivery of local services and facilities to Indigenous communities
- Strengthening the linkages between all three spheres of government to address Indigenous needs
- Native Title and agreement making.
Local government has a long history of involvement with reconciliation and - in many senses - led the way towards fostering reconciliation at the local level. We have worked with the former Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation - and have done much to promote important national occasions, including Sorry Day activities and NAIDOC week activities.
Many councils, and indeed ALGA itself, conduct and include Indigenous welcomes to all major events. Many hundreds of councils now permanently fly the Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander flag. Several councls have developed agreements with local Indigenous communities to improve local services and facilities for Indigenous people in their communities. Many of these are now documented on the 'Agreements, Treaties and Negotiated Settlements Database' at www.atns.net.au Some may say these activities are purely symbolic. But many councils and their communities know that these activities form the basis of trust and respect for each other. These symbolic statements also lead to more tangible and practical outcomes such as local agreements and improvement to services for local communities. At the local level, councils continue to provide leadership on reconciliation and build partnerships and mutual trust within their communities.
Strengthening links between councils and Indigenous communities
ALGA has focussed much of its work on the development of resource material to assist councils in strengthening the links between themselves and their Indigenous communities. Examples include our 'Working Out Agreements' document - a practical guide to agreements between local government and Indigenous Australians, and the publication 'Justice and Equity for All' - documenting Local Government and Indigenous partnerships. We also work closely with state and territory local government associations to share information on specific initiatives.
Strengthening the links between the three spheres of government to address Indigenous need
As a full member of the Council of Australian Governments, ALGA supported an initiative requiring all ministerial councils to develop reconciliation action plans. ALGA is a member of no less than 13 separate ministerial councils and, as such, actively participates in the development of these plans. For example, ALGA has the 'lead role' in the development of the Local Government and Planning Ministerial Council action plan.
This initiative is important. For the first time, ministerial councils are required to address Indigenous issues - federal, state and territory government agencies can no longer simply leave it to the department of Aboriginal affairs, or the like, to deal with Indigenous issues. Indigenous issues are now core business for all agencies.
COAG has now agreed on three priority areas for governments:
- investing in community leadership and governance initiatives
- reviewing and re-engineering programs and services to ensure they deliver practical measures that support families, children and young people
- forging greater links between the business sector and Indigenous communities to help promote economic independence.
In addition to pursuing these priorities, all governments, in their own ways, continue to support reconciliation and promote recognition, respect and understanding between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. COAG has also recognised that governments have an important role to play in supporting the efforts of community-based reconciliation and capacity building movements.
Conclusion
Local government has been active in a range of important issues to Indigenous Australians. It's important to realise that a large part of the local government family is made up of Indigenous councils. And an increasing number of councillors are Indigenous Australians. Indeed, some 14 per cent of all councillors are Indigenous people, though I acknowledge that the majority of these are from Indigenous community councils, mostly in the Northern Territory.
We need to do all we can to encourage Indigenous participation in local government at all levels. We must do all we can to drive reconciliation. We must do all we can to work in partnership with Indigenous people - and with the other spheres of government - to achieve meaningful change. And we must do all we can to break down barriers and ensure that local government remains part of the solution to Indigenous disadvantage - not part of the problem.
Thank you.
Cr Genia McCaffrey
Australian Local Government Association
31 May 2005
Canberra
