tag:theconversation.com,2011:/fr/topics/nigel-scullion-28391/articlesNigel Scullion – The Conversation2018-11-30T03:48:20Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1063452018-11-30T03:48:20Z2018-11-30T03:48:20ZWhy Tony Abbott’s appointment as Indigenous envoy was a diplomatic blunder and policy failure<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246133/original/file-20181119-44280-1l39pmj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Abbott's previous policies on Indigenous issues were characterised by funding cuts, exclusions and silencing – all of which makes his role as envoy highly questionable to Indigenous communities.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mick Tsikas/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This piece is part of a series on race and racism in Australia. The series examines this complex and incendiary topic, and the role it plays in contemporary Australia. You can read the rest of the series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/race-and-racism-62794">here</a></em></p>
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<p>When Indigenous Referendum Council member Megan Davis stood on the red sands close to Uluru and read the <a href="https://www.1voiceuluru.org/the-statement/">Uluru Statement from the Heart</a> in May 2017, she was enacting a tradition steeped in Indigenous cultural and political significance. </p>
<p>It was not just a response to politicians’ requests to consult the Indigenous community on constitutional recognition, it was a powerful political act, enshrined in a message carried by elders and subsequently inscribed in art. </p>
<p>Following substantial months-long consultations, Davis, as envoy of the people, delivered a message to the nation concerning the resetting of “inter-tribal” relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Australia. The Uluru Statement from the Heart was an act of Indigenous diplomacy solemnised in song, dance and ceremony. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246135/original/file-20181119-44280-d1p59i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246135/original/file-20181119-44280-d1p59i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246135/original/file-20181119-44280-d1p59i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246135/original/file-20181119-44280-d1p59i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246135/original/file-20181119-44280-d1p59i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246135/original/file-20181119-44280-d1p59i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246135/original/file-20181119-44280-d1p59i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Megan Davis has called the government’s rejection of constitutional recognition ‘gutting’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Peter Eve/Yothu Yindi Foundation handout</span></span>
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<h2>The history of Indigenous envoys</h2>
<p>Historically, such ambassadorial moments were the glue of politics and negotiations between Indigenous peoples. They built cohesion and peace, facilitated inter-community exchanges and allowed for the settling of disputes. </p>
<p>As messengers, envoys were critical to this diplomatic mesh. Carefully selected, they were highly respected members of their tribes. They often possessed the ability to speak different dialects and were skilled negotiators. They were the <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b4235825;view=1up;seq=10">bearers of important information</a>, such as the deaths of leaders, appointments of successors and important gatherings and ceremonies like marriages, burials, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corroboree">corroborrees</a> and initiations. </p>
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<p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/indigenous-recognition-in-our-constitution-matters-and-will-need-greater-political-will-to-achieve-90296">Indigenous recognition in our Constitution matters – and will need greater political will to achieve</a>
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<p>Given their significance, it is little wonder that many Indigenous peoples described former Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s recent appointment as special envoy in Indigenous affairs as <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-29/indigenous-leaders-voice-anger-at-tony-abbott-envoy-role/10179436">deeply disrespectful</a>. </p>
<p>On every level this was an act of egregious political misjudgement, as many Indigenous people have <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/indigenous-leaders-blast-morrison-s-special-envoy-offer-to-abbott-20180827-p5003k.html">been quick to note</a>. </p>
<h2>Why Abbott’s appointment was controversial</h2>
<p>Not only was Abbott’s appointment hasty, ill-planned and unsolicited, it lacked a key requirement for the role - the wider support of his own community. </p>
<p>Beyond lacking all merit, Abbott’s previous policies on Indigenous issues had been characterised by funding cuts, exclusions and silencing. His <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-04/analysis-how-not-to-spend-$5-billion-in-taxpayers-dollars/8240968">Indigenous Advancement Strategy</a> was <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=21473&LangID=E">criticised</a> for its destructive consequences to governance within Indigenous communities. Someone who had caused such injury and grief in the past, stripped communities of their capacity for self-determination and seemed so lacking of respect in their own community was largely unwelcome. </p>
<p>There were some, however, who were willing to give Abbott the benefit of the doubt and saw an opportunity in his role. </p>
<p>For them, his task was clear. In accordance with tradition, he needed to come with models and messages of agreement-making and considered responses to the Indigenous peoples’ own message, as conveyed by the Uluru Statement. He needed to bring news of progress on <a href="https://theconversation.com/indigenous-recognition-in-our-constitution-matters-and-will-need-greater-political-will-to-achieve-90296">constitutional recognition</a> and the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-10/makarrata-explainer-yolngu-word-more-than-synonym-for-treaty/8790452">Makaratta Commission</a> – the Indigenous-inspired body to facilitate agreement-making and help reset relations. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-new-way-to-recognise-an-indigenous-nation-in-australia-101189">A new way to recognise an Indigenous nation in Australia</a>
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<p>He needed to engage in dialogue, be open to consultations, and most importantly, listen. </p>
<p>As Dennis Walker, the Ngarrindjeri Regional Authority chair, <a href="https://indaily.com.au/news/2018/10/24/envoy-abbott-to-receive-mixed-reception-from-sa-aboriginal-leaders/">believed</a>, Abbott would come to listen to Ngarrindjeri about their concerns: economic development, stable governance and developing better relationships with non-Indigenous political leaders. For Jeffrey Newchurch, the Kaurna Nation Cultural Heritage chair, Abbott’s visit <a href="https://indaily.com.au/news/2018/10/24/envoy-abbott-to-receive-mixed-reception-from-sa-aboriginal-leaders/">presented an opportunity</a> to discuss important issues affecting them, like burials, social cohesion and how to build good intergovernmental relationships. </p>
<p>Yet, this is not how Abbott saw his job. Disregarding cultural protocols, he arrived with dictates and outsider rules, and a specific agenda aimed at <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/nitv-news/article/2018/08/30/abbotts-indigenous-envoy-focus-school-attendance-outdated?cid=inbody:making-it-up-as-they-go-along-burney-on-abbotts-envoy-plan">improving school attendance</a> and performance in remote communities. </p>
<p>Even in this, his apparent lack of knowledge, a critical trait of the position, was apparent. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/rights-and-freedoms/projects/rural-and-remote-education-inquiry">Over a decade’s</a> <a href="https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-social-justice/publications/social-justice-reports">worth of reports</a> <a href="https://www.pmc.gov.au/resource-centre/indigenous-affairs/understanding-family-perspectives-school-attendance-remote-communities-evaluation-remote-school-attendance-strategy">into remote schooling</a> have overwhelmingly stressed the connection between education, language and culture, and the importance of family and community involvement for children. Education programs succeed when Aboriginal people are the architects of their own policies and services. Partnerships between the people and governments must be based on local priorities, and these must be mutually understood. </p>
<p>The proposals Abbott arrived with - <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-01/tony-abbott-touring-remote-indigenous-communities/10454144">more police in the communities and learning in English</a> - only demonstrated his ignorance. </p>
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<p>Abbott’s ignorance was compounded by the impropriety of another white elder of his tribe. Earlier this month, news broke of Indigenous Affairs minister Nigel Scullion’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/nov/15/minister-approved-460000-indigenous-funding-for-fishing-and-cattle-groups">approval of grants</a> to a fishing industry lobby group from a fund intended to address disadvantage in Indigenous communities. </p>
<p>Scullion <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/nov/07/nigel-scullion-offered-to-fund-dispute-over-indigenous-land-claim-fishing-group-says">transferred significant sums</a> to the Northern Territory Amateur Fisherman’s Association to pay their legal fees in disputes over Aboriginal land claims. </p>
<p>As the former Indigenous affairs minister, Dr Jak Ah Kit, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/nov/03/indigenous-groups-call-for-investigation-into-scullion-fund-stoush">said</a>, this was totally against the rules. Aboriginal elders are skilled negotiators of their resources, particularly their fisheries. There had been no consultations or efforts to negotiate with them. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246137/original/file-20181119-44255-18fqq88.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246137/original/file-20181119-44255-18fqq88.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246137/original/file-20181119-44255-18fqq88.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246137/original/file-20181119-44255-18fqq88.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246137/original/file-20181119-44255-18fqq88.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246137/original/file-20181119-44255-18fqq88.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246137/original/file-20181119-44255-18fqq88.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion has defended his dispersal of grant money to a fishing lobbying group.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Chloe Erlich/AAP</span></span>
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<h2>Diplomatic blunder and policy failure</h2>
<p>Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/indigenous-leaders-blast-morrison-s-special-envoy-offer-to-abbott-20180827-p5003k.html">appointment</a> of Abbott as special envoy was more than a diplomatic faux pas. It was a diplomatic blunder and a policy failure. </p>
<p>In <a href="http://politics.oxfordre.com/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.001.0001/acrefore-9780190228637-e-426">foreign policy parlance</a>, a diplomatic blunder results from a judgement blinded by bias and ignorance, while a policy failure is caused by behaviour that is both costly and has undesirable and unanticipated consequences. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/abbott-is-quietly-failing-on-his-pm-for-aboriginal-affairs-promise-26948">Abbott is quietly failing on his 'PM for Aboriginal affairs' promise</a>
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<p>Abbott’s bias and ignorance are palpable and demonstrable. And the policies he pushed — more police in the communities and learning in English — <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-06-25/over-policing-to-blame-for-indigenous-prison-rates/1332486">would be costly in the human and economic sense</a>. Investing in policies that aren’t wanted and don’t work will do nothing to reset intergovernmental relations.</p>
<p>Abbott and the federal government would do well to learn from the examples of deliberative and democratic governance demonstrated by the Indigenous political negotiations leading up to the Uluru Statement. </p>
<p>These negotiations demonstrated how politically astute Indigenous elders are. The network of regional dialogues were not about political platitudes of the sort Abbott said to the Anangu – “<a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/nitv-news/article/2018/11/02/tony-abbott-says-thank-you-putting-invasion">thanks for putting up with the invasion</a>” — but a recipe for action. </p>
<p>Abbott could also learn from the likes of Megan Davis, whose diplomatic credentials, by contrast, are impeccable.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106345/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alison Holland does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The proposals Abbott has pushed as envoy - more police in Indigenous communities and learning in English - demonstrates his ignorance and unsuitability for the job.Alison Holland, Senior Lecturer in Australian History, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/864082017-10-30T00:18:11Z2017-10-30T00:18:11ZWhy the government was wrong to reject an Indigenous ‘Voice to Parliament’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192142/original/file-20171026-13367-16x3jf2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Indigenous people feel powerless in their own country, as articulated in the Uluru Statement from the Heart.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Indigenous leaders have decried <a href="https://theconversation.com/turnbull-government-says-no-to-indigenous-voice-to-parliament-86421">Malcolm Turnbull’s rejection</a> of the Referendum Council’s recommendations as a “<a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-26/indigenous-advisory-body-proposal-rejected-by-cabinet/9087856">real kick in the guts</a>”, having “<a href="http://radio.abc.net.au/programitem/pgOVn2ED5V?play=true">broken First Nations’ hearts</a>”, and derailed the process and likelihood of Indigenous constitutional recognition.</p>
<p>The council <a href="https://www.referendumcouncil.org.au/final-report">had recommended</a> a referendum be held to change Australia’s Constitution to establish an Indigenous “Voice to Parliament”. While details were to be worked out in discussion with Indigenous communities, it was envisaged that such a body would empower Indigenous people to have a voice on legislation and policy that affects them. </p>
<p>This idea followed an 18-month process of <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-why-300-indigenous-leaders-are-meeting-at-uluru-this-week-77955">consultation and debate</a>, including six months of regional dialogues with Indigenous people across Australia. At these dialogues, Indigenous people documented their feelings of voicelessness in Australian politics. </p>
<p>The process culminated in a <a href="https://theconversation.com/listening-to-the-heart-what-now-for-indigenous-recognition-after-the-uluru-summit-77853">constitutional convention</a> at Uluru, where around 250 delegates agreed to the <a href="https://www.referendumcouncil.org.au/sites/default/files/2017-05/Uluru_Statement_From_The_Heart_0.PDF">Uluru Statement from the Heart</a>.</p>
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<p><em><strong>Further reading: <a href="https://theconversation.com/listening-to-the-heart-what-now-for-indigenous-recognition-after-the-uluru-summit-77853">Listening to the heart: what now for Indigenous recognition after the Uluru summit?</a></strong></em></p>
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<h2>Why was the Voice to Parliament rejected?</h2>
<p>Turnbull, Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion and Attorney-General George Brandis <a href="https://twitter.com/SabraLane/status/923438240807370752">set out</a> the three reasons why cabinet rejected the Voice to Parliament. </p>
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<li><p>First, the government did not believe such a body was “desirable”, arguing that the “radical” proposal undermines equality and the principle of one-person one-vote. </p></li>
<li><p>Second, the government considered it was unclear how the Voice to Parliament would work. </p></li>
<li><p>Third, and consequently, the government argued that it would “inevitably become seen as a third chamber of parliament” and would therefore not be “capable of winning acceptance in a referendum”. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>These reasons mirror those of an Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) <a href="http://ipa.org.au/publications-ipa/research-papers/four-reasons-reject-referendum-council-recommendations">research brief</a> that was distributed to all federal MPs in July this year. The IPA argued an Indigenous voice to parliament is “radical”, “divisive and undemocratic”, and “vague”.</p>
<p>The IPA noted further that “Indigenous Australians already have a voice to parliament” – like all citizens, they have an opportunity to vote in elections. </p>
<h2>Are these reasons fair?</h2>
<p>The government’s reasons have been attacked as “<a href="http://radio.abc.net.au/programitem/pgOVn2ED5V?play=true">dishonest</a>” and “<a href="http://radio.abc.net.au/programitem/pgOVn2ED5V?play=true">disingenuous</a>”. </p>
<p>The Voice to Parliament was widely regarded as <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-17/referendum-council-advises-vote-on-indigenous-voice-parliament/8716242">modest change</a>. Instead of a judicially enforced prohibition on racial discrimination, the body was designed to provide “<a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=LjIuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT80&lpg=PT80&dq=Megan+Davis,+%E2%80%98Self-Determination+and+the+Right+to+be+Heard%E2%80%99&source=bl&ots=s7ciPfqAKv&sig=jWiUqKhttyvqV6zULr8h8zkxssc&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwju_97ZpI_XAhWBo5QKHa9MDEYQ6AEIOjAD#v=onepage&q=active%20participation%20in%20the%20democratic%20life%20of%20the%20state&f=false">active participation in the democratic life of the state</a>”. </p>
<p>This is important. The body would actually rectify a persistent democratic fault in Australian society. Although Indigenous people enjoy “<a href="https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/30680424.pdf">full equality</a>” in the electoral arena, their position as an <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/noel-pearsons-proposal-for-recognition-is-vindicated-by-history/news-story/e6d3c845458fd6b92f088d3ae3b7cca8">extreme numerical minority</a> makes it difficult for them to be heard by government. </p>
<p>As the Uluru statement articulates, Indigenous people feel powerless in their own country. A Voice to Parliament <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-17/referendum-council-advises-vote-on-indigenous-voice-parliament/8716242">would merely empower</a>:</p>
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<p>… the First Peoples of Australia to speak to the parliament and to the nation about the laws and policies that affect them.</p>
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<p>In this sense, such a body would not challenge Australian democracy. It would instead realise its ideals. For this reason, it was supported by many <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/mundane-end-to-historic-reform-to-recognise-indigenouse-australians/news-story/34805b59dd516345718c2af50a36005b">constitutional conservatives</a>. </p>
<p>Further, it is unfair to dismiss the proposal as lacking detail, as it was shaped to allow parliament to design the body. In any case, issues of design had not been ignored. The <a href="https://www.referendumcouncil.org.au/sites/default/files/2017-07/Report%20to%20the%20Referendum%20Council-%20First%20Nations%20Voice%20Design%20Report_0.pdf">Cape York Institute</a> provided a 78-page report to government detailing design options. </p>
<p>Finally, in defending the decision not to proceed to a referendum, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-26/indigenous-advisory-body-proposal-rejected-by-cabinet/9087856">Scullion said</a> the government knew it “would have absolutely zero chance of success”. It is unclear, however, how the government knows this for certain. </p>
<p>Scullion explained further that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I don’t need evidence … we have done a lot of polling, not on this particular [] matter, but on other matters.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Ultimately, it is impossible to tell whether the body would achieve support at a referendum. Although many <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/jul/21/most-voters-support-indigenous-treaty-and-constitutional-recognition-survey">surveys</a> <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-20/vote-compass-indigenous-recognition/7428030">indicate</a> <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-10/major-parties-close-to-agreement-on-referendum-council/6925842">support</a> for constitutional change, they were all conducted in the absence of a specific proposal. No polling has been done on a Voice to Parliament.</p>
<h2>Where to now for constitutional recognition?</h2>
<p>A Voice to Parliament is not yet dead. At the <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/bill-shorten-announces-support-for-constitutional-voice-to-parliament-20170805-gxpzmr.html">Garma Festival</a> in August, Bill Shorten committed to the body, recognising that it represents a strong consensus aspiration of Indigenous people. </p>
<p>However, without government support, a referendum will not be held. </p>
<p>The government has said it will establish a joint parliamentary committee with the opposition to examine alternative proposals for constitutional change to benefit Indigenous people. It <a href="https://twitter.com/SabraLane/status/923438240807370752">remains</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… confident that we can … develop constitutional amendments that will unite our nation rather than establish a new national representative assembly open to some Australians only.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But it is difficult to see how this is possible. </p>
<p>Indigenous people were asked directly what recognition meant to them. They have responded, and the government has dismissed their views. It is likely, then, that Indigenous people will campaign against a proposal devised by parliament. They will continue to push for a “voice”. Their struggle does not end. </p>
<h2>Treaty, now?</h2>
<p>The Uluru statement also proposed the establishment of a Makarrata Commission. The commission would supervise a process of agreement-making between Indigenous people and governments, and truth-telling about Australia’s colonial past.</p>
<p>It is not yet clear whether Turnbull supports these proposals. However, to some degree, it is immaterial. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/will-treaties-with-indigenous-australians-overtake-constitutional-recognition-70524">Steps toward treaties</a> have already been made in several Australian states and territories. Indigenous people in <a href="https://www.vic.gov.au/aboriginalvictoria/treaty.html">Victoria</a> and <a href="https://statedevelopment.sa.gov.au/aboriginal-affairs/aboriginal-affairs-and-reconciliation/initiatives/treaty-discussions">South Australia</a> are discussing how negotiations with state governments should be conducted. The <a href="https://dcm.nt.gov.au/supporting-government/office-of-aboriginal-affairs/our-priorities">Northern Territory</a> has also committed to a process of treaty negotiations. </p>
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<p><em><strong>Further reading: <a href="https://theconversation.com/will-treaties-with-indigenous-australians-overtake-constitutional-recognition-70524">Will treaties with Indigenous Australians overtake constitutional recognition?</a></strong></em></p>
<hr>
<p>Treaties <a href="https://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2016/july/1467295200/megan-davis/seeking-settlement">are constitutional recognition</a>. They can also be realised without a referendum. </p>
<p>Treaties have long been a desire of Indigenous people. However, they have re-emerged in recent years as Indigenous people have become <a href="http://indigenousx.com.au/treaty-vs-recognition-the-importance-of-self-determination/#.WfJrimcbOOZ">frustrated</a> at the national process of constitutional recognition. It is only natural that efforts will redouble in this area. </p>
<p>But while treaties are important, they will not empower Indigenous peoples at the national level. A Voice to Parliament remains a key aspiration.</p>
<p>In the <a href="https://www.referendumcouncil.org.au/sites/default/files/2017-05/Uluru_Statement_From_The_Heart_0.PDF">Uluru statement</a>, Indigenous people invited non-Indigenous Australians to:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The Turnbull government has chosen to ignore this call. But there’s still time for the rest of us to accept this invitation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/86408/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Harry gratefully acknowledges the support of the Lionel Murphy Foundation, the Sir Anthony Mason PhD Award in Public Law, and the Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship for funding this research.</span></em></p>The rejection of the Referendum Council’s Report has derailed Indigenous constitutional recognition. Treaties at the state and territory level offer a clear path forward for meaningful reform.Harry Hobbs, PhD Candidate, Constitutional Law and Indigenous Rights, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/691382016-11-24T03:01:42Z2016-11-24T03:01:42ZWhy the Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage report is still largely a story of failure<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/147090/original/image-20161122-14944-1ik1x2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Official data continues to record substantial failures in improving the wellbeing of Indigenous Australians.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Dave Hunt</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The fairly negative <a href="http://www.pc.gov.au/research/ongoing/overcoming-indigenous-disadvantage/2016">seventh report</a> on Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage, released last week, claimed to:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… measure the wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>However, this biennial effort continues to record mainly no changes or some increased deficits in wellbeing. The language has changed, in response to Indigenous group concerns, from emphasising gaps to reporting strengths. But official data continues to record substantial failures.</p>
<h2>What did the report show?</h2>
<p>Data collected by the Productivity Commission showed progress in three of seven targets and two of six headline indicators. </p>
<p>Of the 38 strategic areas for action, there was progress in:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>six of eight early child development measures;</p></li>
<li><p>four of four economic participation measures;</p></li>
<li><p>two of eight governance, leadership and culture measures;</p></li>
<li><p>two of eight healthy lives measures;</p></li>
<li><p>one of three education and training measures;</p></li>
<li><p>one of three home environment measures; and</p></li>
<li><p>zero safe and supportive communities measures. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>The latter five indicators show a serious lack of both data and change. Importantly, however, these categories also show where government processes fail to connect appropriately with the problems and communities involved. </p>
<p>The governance, leadership and culture scores indicate a lack of community and cultural participation in decision-making, and a lack of funders’ access to cultural knowledge.</p>
<p>The data raises core questions of why, despite substantial spending, serious difficulties continue. </p>
<p>The report claims to have been used by governments and the broader community to understand the nature of Indigenous disadvantage and inform the development of policies to tackle the issues. But the results suggests this is not occurring. </p>
<p>Continued health, education and community deficits suggest a failure to use the data collected over more than a decade to reformulate various funding processes.</p>
<p>Therefore, despite the substantial costs, time and goodwill involved, the report fails to achieve its stated intentions.</p>
<h2>The broader context</h2>
<p>While some of the state and territory governments are recognising problems with their processes, and have started to act on these, recent Commonwealth funding changes <a href="http://indigenousx.com.au/senate-inquiry-calls-for-major-overhaul-of-failed-ias/#.WDI2h7J94vA">have not taken</a> research findings into account and have failed to seriously engage Indigenous communities or individuals – with problematic results.</p>
<p>There are no signs that Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion has taken any notice of either validated research data from government sources or informed feedback from a range of Indigenous-run services over the past few years. </p>
<p>The latter have been critical of current policies and funding processes that are top-down decision-making, short term and – most importantly – failing to engage and partner with communities and culturally appropriate service deliverers.</p>
<p>This report contributes to a record, over time, of the failure of those with power to seriously tackle both the formal evidence and community feedback on what works. </p>
<p>Past and current inequities of Indigenous peoples have deep roots that require attention. We can only hope the increased awareness of Indigenous traditional and professional expertise in these areas will be acknowledged and recognised.</p>
<h2>Not all bad news</h2>
<p>The report did find limited but significant gains that matter. These included:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>mortality rates for children improved significantly – particularly for 0-1-year-olds, whose mortality rates more than halved;</p></li>
<li><p>education improvements such as increases in the proportion of 20–24-year-olds completing year 12 or above and the proportion of 20–64-year-olds with or working towards post-school qualifications; and</p></li>
<li><p>the proportion of adults whose main income was from employment increased from 32% in 2002 to 43% in 2014-15, with household income also increasing over this period.</p></li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/69138/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eva Cox is an /Adjunct Professor affiliated with Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning at UTS , </span></em></p>Why, despite substantial spending, do serious difficulties continue to plague efforts to improve Indigenous wellbeing?Eva Cox, Professorial Fellow, Jumbunna IHL, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/635902016-08-05T02:12:37Z2016-08-05T02:12:37ZVIDEO: Michelle Grattan on the new Senate<figure>
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</figure>
<p>University of Canberra Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) Nicholas Klomp and Professorial Fellow Michelle Grattan discuss the week in politics including the Senate results, Tom Calma calling for Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion’s resignation, Malcolm Turnbull’s decision not to nominate Kevin Rudd for the UN secretary-general position, and Turnbull’s meeting with Bill Shorten.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/63590/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The University of Canberra’s Nicholas Klomp and Michelle Grattan discuss the week in politics.Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/634062016-08-02T08:13:31Z2016-08-02T08:13:31ZPolitics podcast: Tom Calma says Nigel Scullion should go<p>The royal commission into the Northern Territory’s youth detention and child protection systems has had a shaky start. The Four Corners program that spurred the federal government into action has also raised questions about its previous knowledge of reports of abuse at the Don Dale detention centre. </p>
<p>Chancellor of the University of Canberra Tom Calma, who is co-chair of Reconciliation Australia and an NT Aboriginal elder, tells Michelle Grattan that there was “little to no interest” by the federal government and Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion into the numerous reports of abuse leading up to the Four Corners program. </p>
<p>He says it was “pretty much swept under the carpet at the Northern Territory level” and that the NT government should not be co-sponsors of the royal commission. </p>
<p>“You don’t get the opportunity to have an independent royal commission very often and to have one where one of the major defendants is going to have to be the Northern Territory government … in all consciousness they should just withdraw from the process and leave it up to the independent commissioners,” he says.</p>
<p>Calma questions Scullion’s level of interest in his portfolio and calls for the appointment of a new minister. </p>
<p>“His [Scullion’s] interest in Indigenous affairs has really got to be questioned - and why he doesn’t take note of the various reports that are out there, why he limits his consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to a small handful of people who aren’t representative,” he says. </p>
<p>“From an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspective our hand is extended to government. It’s not being embraced and that’s what’s got to change. And if that means we’ve got to change ministers to somebody who’s going to be much more responsive, who’s not going to have an attitude that consultation is about telling people what the government wants to achieve … the current minister is really not doing a good enough job.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/63406/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The royal commission into the Northern Territory's youth detention and child protection systems has had a shaky start.Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/600472016-06-17T01:57:46Z2016-06-17T01:57:46ZState of the states: how local politics in the Northern Territory could muddy the federal vote<p><em>Ahead of polling day on July 2, our <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/state-of-the-states-2016">State of the states series</a> takes stock of the key issues, seats and policies affecting the vote in each of Australia’s states and territories.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>The Northern Territory is but a petite player in federal politics. It has only two lower house MPs and two senators, the fewest of any of Australia’s jurisdictions. </p>
<p>But NT politics is never dull, with two headline-grabbing resignations during the federal campaign so far: one involving a local MP, the other a Labor senator. </p>
<p>Last weekend, Territory Sports Minister and Assistant Treasurer Nathan Barrett <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-11/nt-minister-nathan-barrett-resigns-amid-sex-video-allegations/7502236">resigned from cabinet</a> and said he would <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/state-politics/more-to-come-says-nt-sex-scandal-mp-nathan-barrett/news-story/c3baa33b32b99d40529d26c88640e3d7">quit politics</a>, after <a href="http://www.ntnews.com.au/news/northern-territory/sports-minister-nathan-barrett-admits-sending-female-constituent--sexually-explicit-videos/news-story/5742bca2cbe8ce83f34fcd71d865851c?nk=5ccf14ef1fcd83b6bfe4a2862a38a2fe-1465778273">The NT News revealed</a> the married father of three had sent videos of himself engaged in a sex act to a constituent. It was the <a href="http://www.ntnews.com.au/news/opinion/labors-path-to-election-victory-clearer-after-nathan-barrett-sex-video-controversy/news-story/8ae39dafbd86dd414f2873b1d32eea1f">latest hit</a> to Adam Giles’ Country Liberal Party (CLP) government.</p>
<p>Last month, Labor was left scrambling to find a new candidate, two weeks into the official campaign, after <a href="https://theconversation.com/nova-peris-quits-parliament-after-single-term-59894">senator Nova Peris’s sudden resignation</a>. Her unexpected departure followed <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/labor-senator-nova-peris-a-frontrunner-for-afls-top-indigenous-job-20160523-gp1vuo.html">news</a> that she was among the front-runners for a job with the AFL.</p>
<p>But the departure of Peris, who wasn’t that popular, is unlikely to make much difference to the NT senate result. Needing only 33% (plus one) of the two-party preferred vote, both major parties are virtually guaranteed a senator each: CLP senator and Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion and new Labor candidate, former NT minister and journalist Malarndirri McCarthy. That means the only real contest is for the two lower house seats, Solomon and Lingiari. </p>
<p>What makes the election here different from the rest of Australia is that an <a href="http://www.ntec.nt.gov.au/2016%20Territory%20Election/Pages/default.aspx">NT election</a> will be held just eight weeks after the federal poll. So the two elections have become closer than should be normal in terms of significant issues.</p>
<h2>Key issues in the NT’s two lower house seats</h2>
<p>In some respects the Territory mirrors the national election contest. <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/federal-election-2016/guide/solo/">Solomon</a>, comprising the adjacent cities of Darwin and Palmerston, is one of the Coalition’s most marginal seats nationally. And the issues that matter are much the same as for the rest of Australia.</p>
<p>For example, the Coalition’s policy of keeping existing negative-gearing rules for residential property has a deal of support in Darwin. Here, senior public servants and businessmen traditionally invest for their retirement in housing elsewhere, mostly in Queensland.</p>
<p>The NT government is spending a lot of infrastructure money in Palmerston, such as for a new hospital. This is mostly paid for by the federal government, so for this election it is a Coalition “sweetener”; for the NT election on August 27, it will become an NT government initiative.</p>
<p>I predict a Labor gain in Solomon. Current CLP member Natasha Griggs is once again up against Labor’s Luke Gosling. In the last election, Gosling managed to secure a small swing to his party and almost took the seat, despite the national landslide to the Abbott Coalition.</p>
<p>Griggs’ hopes of re-election are also undermined by the minor parties and independents, which – aside from the Greens and some independents – mostly comprise people from her side of politics. The resulting leakage of preferences will damage the Coalition’s chances. </p>
<p>In <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/federal-election-2016/guide/ling/">Lingiari</a>, Labor warhorse Warren Snowdon – the member for most of the past 30 years – will probably win the seat for one last time. He is a deft campaigner in Aboriginal communities. During the last election he won them on the threat to their child payments of Abbott’s childcare payment scheme. His returning CLP opponent is Tina MacFarlane, who is best known in the Mataranka-Roper area.</p>
<p>Snowdon looks likely to be aided by a reduced vote for the CLP in Darwin and Alice Springs. The only sleeper issue in Lingiari is a record low enrolment, which will affect the Aboriginal communities’ vote.</p>
<h2>Back-to-back polls make it harder for the CLP</h2>
<p>Pundits, apparatchiks and political scientists have long wondered about the relationship between federal and state issues in elections. A hopeful truism is that the voters are sensible enough to differentiate between the issues at both levels. For the NT in this federal election, I am not so sure that will hold.</p>
<p>On June 6, <a href="http://www.ntnews.com.au/news/northern-territory/clp-popularity-in-alice-springs-takes-hit-in-latest-poll/news-story/917d31be55a2dfa4acca76bd8339f684">The NT News reported</a> on an opinion poll ahead of the August 27 Territory election, which showed much-lower-than-usual votes for both the CLP and Labor (CLP 28%, ALP 24%).</p>
<p>The significance of this is that, if accurate, Labor’s vote has declined by a third, but the CLP vote is halved from traditional levels. According to the survey, the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-03-05/lambley-resigns-as-deputy-nt-leader/4554614">ex-deputy chief minister</a> and former CLP member <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-17/robyn-lambley-quits-clp-to-sit-as-independent/6554140">turned independent</a> Robyn Lambley had a <a href="http://www.ntnews.com.au/news/northern-territory/clp-popularity-in-alice-springs-takes-hit-in-latest-poll/news-story/917d31be55a2dfa4acca76bd8339f684">net approval rating of 40%</a> in Alice Springs.</p>
<p>That poll also showed a larger-than-usual primary <a href="http://www.ntnews.com.au/news/northern-territory/clp-popularity-in-alice-springs-takes-hit-in-latest-poll/news-story/917d31be55a2dfa4acca76bd8339f684">vote for small parties and independents</a> ahead of the Territory poll – though not for the Greens, whose support appears to be declining in tandem with the majors. Some of these independents, including the new <a href="http://1territory.party/">1 Territory Party</a>, are splinters on the right. They will attract normally CLP voters, but may not return preferences to the CLP. 1 Territory may even out-poll the Greens.</p>
<p>The Territory’s CLP government is unpopular for a variety of reasons. In 2013, it <a href="https://theconversation.com/darwinian-politics-its-survival-of-the-fittest-for-the-top-job-in-the-territory-12810">overthrew the chief minister</a>, Terry Mills, who had brought it to power after only four months in office. Abbott-like, the government introduced an ineffective post-election horror budget. It lost most of its Aboriginal members, who are now (bar one) independent MLAs.</p>
<p>The parliamentary party then <a href="https://theconversation.com/nt-spill-has-local-roots-pre-dating-any-queensland-induced-panic-37098">tried to overthrow</a> the present chief minister, Adam Giles, but failed because he refused to resign. Pure vaudeville!</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126418/original/image-20160614-12948-1vdupst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126418/original/image-20160614-12948-1vdupst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126418/original/image-20160614-12948-1vdupst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126418/original/image-20160614-12948-1vdupst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126418/original/image-20160614-12948-1vdupst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126418/original/image-20160614-12948-1vdupst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126418/original/image-20160614-12948-1vdupst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126418/original/image-20160614-12948-1vdupst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Thousands of US Marines are regularly based in Darwin.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/us-pacific-command/26388480550/in/album-72157666033920520/">U.S. Pacific Command/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The government has privatised the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-24/nt-government-confirms-$424m-tio-sale/5912838">Territory Insurance Office</a> and <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-07/darwin-port-deal-funds-quick-hit-to-nt-economy/7228000">leased Darwin’s port</a> for 99 years to a Chinese company with <a href="http://www.aspistrategist.org.au/landbridge-darwin-and-the-prc/">links to the People’s Liberation Army</a>. The Darwin port decision set off alarm bells among a number of defence analysts, and left former United States deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage “<a href="http://www.afr.com/news/politics/us-stunned-by-port-of-darwin-sale-to-chinese-20151116-gl0omf">stunned</a>”.</p>
<p>The government also <a href="http://www.ntnews.com.au/news/northern-territory/nt-speaker-kezia-purick-holds-government-ministers-in-contempt-of-parliament-over-misleading-ads/news-story/172d320529058c855b7bd195938c3d79?nk=5ccf14ef1fcd83b6bfe4a2862a38a2fe-1465515324">tried to sack</a> the present Speaker, Kezia Purick, who is now an independent and leading a popular revolt against the CLP over rural planning issues. </p>
<p>Some of these matters will surely figure in the federal election.</p>
<p>Looking beyond the federal election, it’s also important to note that the Territory’s population is stagnant: emigration is only just being covered by natural increase and overseas immigration. The <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/state-politics/nt-budget-2016-territory-prepares-for-poll/news-story/66e006b1b30297f2f5fdff8659e91e02">economy is expected to worsen</a> next year, exacerbating out-migration. That means that in the next federal redistribution, the NT is likely to lose a lower house seat and become a single electorate, as it has been in the past.</p>
<p>So, even if it wins both seats at this federal election, Labor is likely to lose at least one seat at the next.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This is the last piece in our State of the states series. <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/state-of-the-states-2016">Catch up on others</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/60047/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>In the past two years Rolf Gerritsen has received commissioned research funding from the Northern Territory Departments of Education and Local Government</span></em></p>Territorians will go to the polls for the next Northern Territory election only eight weeks after the July 2 election – blurring the lines between local controversies and how people vote federally.Rolf Gerritsen, Professorial Research Fellow, Northern Institute, Charles Darwin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.