Social Justice Report 2006: Information Sheet 6: Recommendations

Social Justice Report 2006

Information Sheet 6: Recommendations

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The Social Justice Report 2006 contains the following nine recommendations and one follow up action.

Chapter Two:

The new arrangements for Indigenous affairs – facilitating Indigenous access to government services

Recommendation 1: Directed to federal Parliament

That there be established a regular federal parliamentary committee of inquiry into the progress of the new arrangements in Indigenous affairs and progress in achieving whole-of-government service delivery to Indigenous communities.

This inquiry should be conducted every two years. Its terms of reference should include identifying:

• Progress in addressing existing inequalities in Indigenous peoples' access (both urban and remote) to mainstream services (including the adequacy of processes to ensure that Indigenous specific expenditure supplements mainstream expenditure rather than substitutes for this expenditure);
• Progress in ensuring that processes are targeted so as to address existing need;
• Effective, sustainable and representative mechanisms for the participation of Indigenous peoples at the local, regional and national levels;
• The adequacy of performance monitoring and evaluation mechanisms for the new arrangements, including the adequacy of data collected to evaluate progress in addressing Indigenous disadvantage; and
• Whether the new arrangements are meeting the commitments made by the Australian Government through COAG to overcome Indigenous disadvantage.

The committee's terms of reference should also require it to report on the extent to which the new arrangements in Indigenous affairs comply with human rights-based approaches to development and engagement with Indigenous peoples.

The committee's inquiry processes should be required to maximise participation by Indigenous peoples, including by consulting widely with Indigenous communities and organisations.

Recommendation 2: Directed to the Council of Australian Governments, National Indigenous Council and Ministerial Taskforce on Indigenous Affairs

That there is acknowledgement by government of the importance of a human rights-based approach to development in order to effectively implement the new arrangements and the achievement of effective and sustainable improvements in Indigenous living standards and well-being.

This requires acknowledgement of the importance of Indigenous forms of social organisation on the basis of mutual respect and good faith and for supported processes, including through capacity building initiatives, to ensure that the aspirations of Indigenous peoples are able to be voiced.

Recommendation 3: Directed to the Office of Indigenous Policy Coordination

That, in exercise of its coordination and monitoring role at a whole-of-government level, the Office of Indigenous Policy Coordination:

• Identify and promote best practice examples of improving accessibility of mainstream services as achieved through individual programs (such as Medicare and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme equivalent access arrangements) as well as through whole-of-government coordination initiatives (such as ICCs and SRAs); and

Develop its proposed Indigenous urban strategy with the full participation of Indigenous communities and peoples in urban localities, and with the inclusion of explicit targets and benchmarks for improved access to programs.

Chapter Three:

Addressing the fundamental flaw of the new arrangements for Indigenous affairs – the absence of principled engagement with Indigenous peoples

Recommendation 4: Directed to the Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) and Secretaries Group on Indigenous Affairs.

That the Secretaries Group request the Australian Public Service Commissioner to conduct a confidential survey of staff in Indigenous Coordination Centres to identify current issues in the implementation of the new arrangements and the challenges being faced in achieving whole-of-government coordination. This survey should be conducted by the APSC in furtherance of the Management Advisory Committee's Connecting Government report.

Recommendation 5: Directed to the Ministerial Taskforce on Indigenous Affairs and National Indigenous Council

That the Ministerial Taskforce on Indigenous Affairs acknowledge that the absence of mechanisms at the regional level for engagement of Indigenous peoples contradicts and undermines the purposes of the federal whole-of-government service delivery arrangements.

Further, that the Ministerial Taskforce direct the Office of Indigenous Policy Coordination to address this deficiency as an urgent priority, including by:

• consulting with Indigenous communities and organisations as to suitable structures, including by considering those proposals submitted to the government for regional structures;
• utilising the ‘expert panels' and ‘multiuse list of community facilitators/ coordinators' to prioritise consideration of this issue; and
• funding interim mechanisms to coordinate Indigenous input within regions and with a view to developing culturally appropriate models of engagement.

Further, that the National Indigenous Council request the OIPC to report quarterly on progress in developing regional engagement arrangements and the mechanisms put into place to facilitate Indigenous participation in this process.

Chapter Four: International developments on the rights of indigenous peoples – Closing the ‘protection gap'

Recommendation 6: Directed to the Office of Indigenous Policy Coordination

That the federal Government identify a focal point to coordinate, on a whole-of-government basis, its Program for the Second Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples. The focal point should consult with Indigenous organisations in determining the activities to be undertaken for the Decade, in accordance with the goal, objectives and Program of Action for the Decade. The government's program should specifically respond to the items identified in the Program of Action for the Second Decade, rather than being a general thematic response. The program should also be operational within this financial year.

Further, that the government allocate specific funding for the conduct of activities for the Second Decade, as determined through the consultations with Indigenous peoples.

Recommendation 7: Directed to the Office of Indigenous Policy Coordination and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

That the federal Government specify the process for consideration of funding for engagement in international deliberations and identify focal points within each federal department or agency (for example, the relevant contact point within the Department of the Environment and Heritage for engagement on issues relating to the Convention on Biological Diversity).

Recommendation 8: Directed to the Indigenous Peoples Organisations Network and Australian Council for International Development

That the non-government sector, led by members of the Australian Council for International Development as appropriate, engage with Indigenous organisations and the IPO Network to build partnerships for the implementation of the Second International Decade (as well as highlighting the relevance of the Millennium Development Goals to the situation of Indigenous peoples in Australia).

Recommendation 9: Directed to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, AusAid and Office of Indigenous Policy Coordination

That the Department of Foreign Affairs, in conjunction with the Social Justice Commissioner, conduct regular briefings for all agency heads on developments on the rights of Indigenous peoples, including the right to development (including the human rights-based approach to development), Millennium Development Goals and Second International Decade for the World's Indigenous People. The Secretaries Group on Indigenous Affairs would be the appropriate body to receive these briefings. Further, that AusAid be invited to contribute to the Secretaries Group on Indigenous Affairs to identify lessons that can be learned from Australia's international development activities for policy making on Indigenous issues within Australia.

Follow Up Action by Social Justice Commissioner (Chapter Three)

The Social Justice Commissioner will work with Indigenous organisations and communities to identify sustainable options for establishing a national Indigenous representative body.

The Commissioner will conduct research and consultations with non-government organisations domestically and internationally to establish existing models for representative structures that might be able to be adapted to the cultural situation of Indigenous Australians, as well as methods for expediting the establishment of such a body given the urgent and compelling need for such a representative body.