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Assignment Task

 

Indigenous Policy Agendas
Task  
                        
Analyse the common themes presented throughout the information provided to you that impacts on government policy-making to better the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples? Consider what needs to be done differently for better outcomes and critique the impediments to change. Prepare a Powerpoint or other audio-visual presentation with oral recording and any annotations or notes that help to demonstrate your understanding.
 
Preparation              
You will need to research and critically read the literature to ensure you have a thorough understanding of the key issues and factors that impact upon policy related to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
 
Presentation            
You should produce a maximum of 15 power point slides a recorded voiceover and any annotations and notes you fell will help demonstrated understanding. Refer to your sources used in the text using a accepted referencing style (eg APA or CDU Harvard) and create a reference list at the end of the document, either as a slide or as an annotation in the notes section of PowerPoint.
 
Try to make slides interesting - it is recommended there be a maximum 15 – 20 words of text on any one slide. Make sure that each focusses on one issue/idea or topic. Make sure that sound is clear and concise. 
 
Learning Modules
The Ever-changing Indigenous Policymaking Landscape
This first part will provide you with some understanding of the ever-changing policy landscape that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and policy makers have been subjected over an extensive period of time and continually struggle to navigate. This module will mainly focus on the significant and continual changes over the past 15 years from the abolishment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) in 2004 through the“new” arrangements of transferring Indigenous policy and program responsibility to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet in 2013-14, and to the most recent changes, the establishment of the NIAA and the appointment of the first Indigenous Minister.

Getting started
Coordination was recognised as a key element of the new approach and was to be driven by a lead agency through the Office of Indigenous Policy Coordination (OIPC), originally established within the then Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs in 2004. OIPC’s functions included being the primary source of advice on Indigenous issues to the Government, coordinating and driving whole?of?government innovative policy development and service delivery across the Australian Government, and overseeing relations with state and territory governments on Indigenous issues.
In 2006, the Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaCSIA, now FaHCSIA) became the lead agency for Indigenous affairs. The OIPC was transferred and its functions absorbed into the department’s organisational structure. In the 2012–13 Portfolio Budget Statement FaHCSIA is described as: the lead agency in the Australian Government for Indigenous Affairs, which coordinates the Australian Government’s contribution to the Closing the Gap strategy agreed by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) in 2008.
In 2013, with the new incoming conservative Liberal Government, the Prime Minister at the time, Tony Abbott, announced major policy reform for Indigenous Affairs that has more or less involved further bureaucratic reshuffling (otherwise referred to as machinery of government changes or MoG). The Indigenous Affairs portfolio has been moved out of the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA), and into the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet where Abbott could directly oversee it. The Indigenous Affairs portfolio remains with the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet in 2020, though in 2019 a new agency (the national Indigenous Australians Agency -NIAA) was created to bring cohesion to various element of Indigenous Affairs. Whilst it is lead by the first indigenous Minister for Indigenous Australians, there is some concern that the creation of the agency has 'demoted' Indigenous Affairs to something less than a portfolio of a Government minister.

What New Arrangements?
In the following paper Arabena asks the question “Are the ‘New Arrangements’ really new? Arabena argues that the new arrangements announced back in 2004 were not really new and that they echoed sentiments that have been expressed for at least three generations by those non-Indigenous people who have shaped government policy. The rhetoric of Government reshuffling of policy and program responsibility of Indigenous Affairs will be in terms of improving the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people remains to be seen. 
Arabena, K 2005 Not fit for modern Australian society: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the new arrangements for the administration of Indigenous affairs, Canberra, AIATSIS. 

Who is Making the Decisions and Who is Informing Them?
This part will give you an understanding of who makes decisions on policy and who informs them in that process. You will note that it is often a contentious issue about how and with whom Government tends to align itself often based on who supports the Government’s ideology and agenda of the day. 
Who do you think are the sorts of people who are influencing the decisions in Canberra at the moment?
Following the abolition of ATSIC, there have been regular and controversial changes to the Indigenous “informant bodies” of government. Since 2004 Government has changed Indigenous bodies from ATSIC to the National Indigenous Council (NIC) to the National Congress of Australia’s First People (Congress) to the newly established Prime Ministers’ Advisory Council.
The National Indigenous Council was appointed by the Howard Government in 2004 to provide advice and strategies on Indigenous issues to improve outcomes for Indigenous people. The members of the NIC were hand-picked for their expertise in specific policy areas and did not represent specific regions, organisations or agencies. The NIC was executed by the Howard Government in 2007 following re-election. 
See http://www.crikey.com.au/2007/12/05/national-indigenous-council-knackered/?wpmp_switcher=mobileThe National Congress of Australia's First Peoples is a representative body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. The Congress was incorporated as a Company Limited by Guarantee in April 2010. As a company the Congress is owned and controlled by its membership and is independent of Government. Congress members include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peak bodies and national organisations, organisations and individuals.
In 2013 Prime Minister Julia Gillard at the time risked a backlash from Labor members and caused a stir across the political divisions after moving to dump Senator Trish Crossin and install the inexperienced Nova Peris to become the party's first Indigenous federal member. To explain her decision to appoint Peris, Gillard claimed she had made a "captains pick".  Peris had little to no previous political experience.
In December 2013, the Minister for Indigenous Affairs the Hon. Senator Nigel Scullion (the Minister) announced that his government is unlikely to release to the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples (Congress) the $15 million approved in the 2013 Budget. This funding was intended for a three-year period to 2017 to allow Congress to consolidate its autonomous operations and to develop independent capital through fundraising, investments and sponsorship. See Statement from Congress

National Board: First Peoples Voice will not be silenced December 19 2013. http://createsend.com/t/r-087BB9A11C0C74DA2540EF23F30FEDEDSee https://www.liberal.org.au/latest-news/2013/11/23/membership-prime-ministers-indigenous-advisory-councilIn 2016 Bill Shorten announced leader Pat Dodson as his replaceent for outgoing Western Australian senator Joe Bullock. Pat Dodson has an extensive history influencing Indigenous policy, he is known as the 'father of reconciliation'.
2016 also saw Aboriginal journalist and correspondent Stan Grant step into the political space. Grant addressed an audience in Sydney on the impact of colonisation and discrimination as part of the IQ2 series held by The Ethics Centre. We will look at this speech later in the Unit. Grant hasn't previously been politically outspoken but his recent speech continues to receive an overwhelming response that has seen him spiralling into the political limelight and for a moment it seemed he would succumb to the allure of stepping into the political arena.  
Coincidentally, in November 2013, Prime Minister Abbott hand-picked 12 of the most powerful business and Indigenous figures in the country to provide advice on Aboriginal economic reform. This group was nicknamed by media as the “Indigenous dozen”. The council met three times a year with the Prime Minister and senior ministers and will inform the policy implementation of the government. 
The former Prime Minister Abbott aimed to personally take charge of the Indigenous affairs area declaring that: "It is my hope that I could be, not just a prime minister, but a prime minister for Aboriginal Affairs. The first I imagine that we have ever had". https://theconversation.com/will-tony-abbott-be-a-prime-minister-for-aboriginal-affairs-17985Abbott's agenda was vague and his engagement selective and nothing much changed with the ascendancy of Malcolm Turnbull to the Prime Ministership. Some people have suggested he was hamstrung by the more conservative wing of the Liberal parliamentary party, but there was little evidence of his ability to make any changes and his rejection of the Uluru Statement from the indigenous constitutional Convention and the establishment of an Indigenous Voice to Government is very telling.

Think Tanks
One of the defining characteristics of Indigenous policy during the Howard era was the emerging influence of conservative think tanks. A think tank (or policy institute, research institute, etc.) is an organization that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most policy institutes are non-profit organisations. Other think tanks are funded by governments, advocacy groups, or businesses, or derive revenue from consulting or research work related to their projects. Think tanks such as these have promoted policy changes in Indigenous affairs over recent years.
Councils and Advisory Boards

The Prime Minister's Indigenous Advisory Council (IAC) is still in operation (at least in name), though it is also a good indication of the value placed on it, that the latest reference to the group meeting is a Communique from February 2019. How seriously is the group's advice taken if they are either not organising themselves to meet or are not resourced well enough to do so. With a new Minister for Indigenous Australians now in place under the current Prime Minister, has the IAC been disbanded (doesn't seem to be from the information on their website) and there doesn't seem to be any evidence of any action from the new Advisory Council as yet, though given they were announced in November 2019, bushfire emergencies and COVID-19 pandemic may have taken precedence both in the news and in the actions of government. It will be interesting to see what becomes of the Council when things return to normal.
Indigenous Higher Education Advisory Council (IHEAC), renamed The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Higher Education Advisory Council (ATSIHEAC) in 2012, provides advice to the Australian Government on enhancing outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in higher education and research. it is an example of the sorts of advisory councils that inform Government on various issues.

 

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