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Social Justice Report 2006: Information Sheet 6: Recommendations

Social Justice Report 2006

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  • 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.