Aboriginal self-determination and autonomy

Self-determination is a term used to describe that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people take matters into their own hands.

To be successful in self-determination Indigenous people need

• support,
• the freedom to be ambitious and creative, and to be themselves,
• knowledge of what has and hasn't worked elsewhere,
• permission to make mistakes, and
• a stable policy environment that encourages and supports Indigenous solutions.

Self-determination is not about letting Indigenous peoples run programs designed by someone else. Many Australian governments have been quick to determine what's 'best' for Aboriginal people failing to consult them in the process. But "initiatives developed on the ground, by the people for the people, have a far greater likelihood of working. It's a model for self-determination," says Linda Burney, NSW Community Services Minister and Wiradjuri woman [4].

"We've settled our governance arrangements by ourselves; it's been many years of work by people who have been prepared to put their differences aside and work together on shared goals. The fact that we've taken ownership of the problem is 50 per cent of the solution," adds Sam Jeffries, head of the Murdi Paaki community leader group [4].

We are the people we've been waiting for. —Mary Victor O'Reeri, Aboriginal community of Billard, Western Australia [5]

Aboriginal self-determination requires to Aboriginal people to drop their perceived roles of 'victims' and 'powerless' people and get together to take matters into their own hands. "It's about how we've neglected each other and made up excuses," says Mary Victor O'Reeri from the Western Australian community of Billard [5].

Self-determination in the US

There is &ample evidence" that the US policy of self-determination, formally adopted in the 1970s, is the only US Indian policy ever linked to sustained improvements in socioeconomic conditions in Indian communities [10].

The North American experience shows that self-determination pays off, provided that Indigenous tribes not only assume responsibility for their own affairs but invest time and energy in building governing institutions that can capably exercise decision-making power and that have the support of their own peoples. Non-indigenous governments must then take self-determination seriously.

Aboriginal people & the right to vote

When Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania and South Australia framed their constitutions in the 1850s they gave voting rights to all male British subjects over 21, which included Aboriginal men. And in 1895 when South Australia gave women the right to vote and sit in Parliament, Aboriginal women shared the right. Only Queensland and Western Australia barred Aborigines from voting. [15]

Very few Aborigines knew their rights so very few voted. In the 1890s, Aboriginal men and women voted at Point McLeay, a mission station near the mouth of the Murray, in South Australian elections and voted for the first Commonwealth Parliament in 1901.

But voting rights for Aboriginal people were cut back in the first half of the 21th century. It wasn't until 1962 when the Menzies Liberal and Country Party government gave the Commonwealth vote to all Aboriginal people in 1962 [15]. Western Australia gave them State votes in the same year. Queensland followed in 1965. With that, all Aborigines had full and equal rights. In 1971 the Liberal Party nominated Neville Bonner to fill a vacant seat in the Senate. He was the first Aboriginal man to sit in any Australian Parliament.

Voting challenges

While in theory Aboriginal people have 'full voting rights', in practice things look different.

Many of them are not recognised by Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) enrolment criteria. If they live in remote communities they may not have a fixed residential address but a main remote community address. Current legislation does not recognise the special circumstances of Aboriginal culture.

If Aboriginal (or non-Indigenous) people are incarcerated they are only allowed to vote if their sentence is less than three years.

Keepin' It Cool…

A poem celebrating 40 years of Aboriginal voting rights.

Keeping it cool 
Keeping it strong 
Can start 
The lyrics 
For this song

Proud of heritage 
Real history today 
Stand up 
Be counted 
As history is made

The oldest race
Australia be proud
Dance it
Sing it
You've got to be loud!

Our connection to country
Sunrise and sunset 
From outback 
To coastline 
Our seasonal net

40 years of voting 
It's real and true 
Marching 
And sharing 
Our point of view

Poem by Zelda Quakawoot, Mackay, QLD [14]. Read more Aboriginal poems.

Aboriginal political parties emerge

Aboriginal self-determination is best expressed in parties created by, and for, Aboriginal people. Aboriginal political activity increased in November 2009 when Marianne Mackay and Noongar/Yamatji man Glenn Moore launched the Aboriginal Party at Derbarl Yerrigan, in East Perth, Western Australia [11]. Every candidate of that party identified as Aboriginal.

At about the same time social justice advocate Gerry Georgatos founded the Ecological and Social Justice Group which led to the formation of the Ecological and Social Justice Party. The party's core principles were ecological sustainability, social justice and the remedy of Aboriginal discrimination. It aimed to give Aboriginal people a voice and support their right of self-determination. They aimed to have at least 25% of their endorsed candidates be Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders. [11]

Both parties merged to the Ecological, Social Justice, Aboriginal Party (ESJAP) in January 2010 with Glenn Moore as its inaugural president, Marianne Mackay as Party Secretary and Gerry Georgatos as Party Leader. In May the ESJAP counted 925 members.

The ESJAP contacted the Australian Electoral Commission for registration as a political party, a process which can take up to three months. Unfortunately an election was called by Prime Minister Julia Gillard for August 21st, and the ESJAP could not register in time to be able to have their party name on the federal ballot.

We need to educate our people about the power of our right to vote. There is no limit to what we can achieve through activating people and raising their awareness to the part they can play in restoring our rights and privileges as Australia's First People. —Glenn Moore, Interim Party President, Ecological, Social Justice and Aboriginal Party [12]

The First Nations Political Party forms

Meanwhile, in the Northern Territory the First Nations Original Peoples Party (FNOPP) was lead by Maurie Ryan, grandson of prominent Aboriginal rights activist Vincent Lingiari, and Ken Lechleitner [12].

The FNOPP and ESJAP parties united in May 2010, federally registered as the First Nations Political Party (FNPP), bringing their combined membership base to over 2,000 people [11].

Due to an early election call in 2010 the FNPP missed out being formally registered for the election. Instead its candidates stood as independents.

Governments before us have continuously forgotten about Aboriginal people, so by coming together ourselves and working together to make the foundations as strong as possible, we can achieve for our people what we have for so long sought. We have been ignored for too long and now its our turn to turn the tables. —Marianne Mackay, Ecological, Social Justice, Aboriginal Party [11]

Read more

• Read about Aboriginal politics including the Wave Hill Walk-Off
• Learn about the history of Aboriginal parties and self-determination on the website of the Ecological, Social Justice, Aboriginal Party
• Check out the site of the First Nations Political Party

Self-determination in tourism

A high number of tourists to Australia want to interact with Aboriginal people and learn about their culture. This seems to match with what Aboriginal people want—the tourist industry is what they felt was compatible with their cultural, economic and social goals [2].

Aboriginal spirituality is high on the list of many tourists visiting Australia, so much so, that some propose to take local traditional tourism to another level and promote it as spiritual tourism to teach people about the spirituality of the region [8].

"A spiritual tourist is a person who travels as a tourist for spiritual growth or development, without overt religious compulsions," says Farooq Haq, a business lecturer at Charles Darwin University [8].

Tourism is a good way to [pass on cultural knowledge] and it helps to build pride in our young people and helps them to have confidence when talking with whitefellas. —Dillon Andrews, Bungoolee Aboriginal Tours, Fitzroy Crossing, Western Australia [2]

Aboriginal representative bodies

Aboriginal self-determination is strongly linked to a representative body. Contrary to New Zealand's Indigenous Maori people who have a strong history of unity which helped them face their invaders as one, Aboriginal people of Australia have always been fragmented and acted more locally not the least because of the multitude of languages.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC)

In 1990 the Australian government established the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC). The government body formally involved Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the processes of government affecting their lives.

In the early 2000s the ATSIC became more and more embroiled in controversy over its finances, powers and the activities of its last chair. One problem of the commission was that it had to provide some services and it was often blamed for poor delivery, even if the commission wasn't responsible for everything it was blamed for. In March 2005 the Howard government succeeded in abolishing the ATSIC.

"ATSIC wasn't perfect," says Russell Kapeen, a Bundjalung man from northern New South Wales and one of the Chairs of the Koori Mail Aboriginal newspaper. "But at least it was blackfellas governing blackfellas in a sense, and that's something we should be working towards again." [7]

National Congress of Australia's First Peoples (NCAFP)

In 2009, nearly five years after the abolition of the ATSIC the Australian government announced that it would support a new national representative body for Aboriginal Australians.

The National Congress of Australia's First Peoples emerged from a series of Aboriginal community meetings throughout the country, peak body talks, a national forum and written submissions [6].

Indigenous people wanted the new body to be independent from government, highly credible, and properly resourced. It should give advice, advocate, monitor and evaluate government performance on Indigenous issues, but not deliver services or programs (like ATSIC did).

The main thing that keeps me interested in this process is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been the ones that designed and constructed this model. —Sam Jeffries, inaugural full-time Co-Chair of the NCAFP [9]

The National Congress of Australia's First Peoples will

• be established as a company to be independent of the government,
• have a National Executive elected by an annual congress with representatives from key Indigenous organisations, individuals and community representatives;
• have guaranteed equal representation of men and women for both office holders and delegates,
• feature an Ethics Council to oversee its integrity and ethics of office holders.

Critics of the NCAFP, including high-ranking politicians, reiterated time and again that they don't want to have "just another ATSIC", an argument rejected by the chairs.

"It is not a service delivery body; it's a representative body chosen by the people, not chosen or appointed by government, and it will conduct its own business through processes that the body has established itself," says Dr Kerry Arabena, the other inaugural Co-Chair [9]. "We are using private company law to fulfill our public citizenship potential. That's really important; we're using private law to fulfill a public outcome."

Successful Aboriginal businesses

Imparja Television

Imparja Television is an Aboriginal-owned broadcasting station in Alice Springs, NT, operating since June 1988. Its services include National Indigenous Television (NITV) which was launched in mid-2007, and eight Aboriginal radio stations [3].

Nine Imparja has the largest broadcast area in Australia, covering 3.6 million square kilometres across six states and territories with an estimated audience of 430,000 people. It comes free-to-air and competes with the national market for advertising revenue.

Indigenous Business Australia (IBA)

Indigenous Business Australia is a government agency which

• assists and enhances Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander self-management and economic self-sufficiency and
• advances the commercial and economic interests of Indigenous people by accumulating and using capital assets.

One of the tasks of IBA is to help Aboriginal people achieve home ownership. In 2001 Indigenous home ownership was at 32% while the national non-Indigenous average was 68% [1]. IBA wants to raise this rate to 40%. In 2008 its customers come from NSW (29%), QLD (27%), NT (16%), VIC (10%) and WA (8%).

Indigenous Business Australia

Australia's first Aboriginal business book

Check out Neil Willmett's book How to Start a Successful Aboriginal Business in Australia which is Australia's first Aboriginal business book. A guide for every Aboriginal small business starter and owner.

[1] 'Homing in on an untold story', NIT 10/7/2008 p.24 [2] 'Tourism on the agenda', Koori Mail 429 p.37 [3] 'Imparja's new Alice studios officially open', Koori Mail 427 p.50 [4] 'West has some of our very best', Koori Mail 448 p.42 [5] 'A call to action', Koori Mail 458 p.6 [6] 'Govt to fund First People's Congress', Koori Mail 465 p.4 [7] 'Bundjalung man is right at home', Koori Mail 473 p.21 [8] 'Darwin could be 'spiritual mecca'', Koori Mail 473 p.33 [9] 'Co-Chairs ready to lead way', Koori Mail 475 p.4 [10] 'Can Australia follow Obama's lead?', Reconciliation News 5/2010 p.19 [11] esjap.org.au/History.html, visited 7/8/2010 [12] www.treatyrepublic.net/content/aboriginal-political-parties-unite, visited 7/8/2010 [13] www.firstnationspoliticalparty.org, visited 7/8/2010 [14] 'Keepin' it Cool', Koori Mail 481 p.24 [15] 'Indigenous people and the vote', www.aec.gov.au/voting/indigenous_vote/aborigin.htm, visited 8/8/2010