Page 706 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 19 March 2019
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
and be refreshed, the overarching commitment to self-determination and equitable outcomes will endure.
In line with the principles of self-determination, consultation with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community to develop the new agreement was driven by the elected body, with support from the office for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs. Ms Fanning has noted that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are some of the most over-consulted people in the country. The elected body was committed to recognising this in its conversations with the community and gave detailed consideration to previous consultations over the last decade, to identify longstanding and priority issues as a starting point for engagement on the agreement.
Community conversations commenced in March 2018 and included a range of public and well publicised forums, including the opportunity to contribute through an online survey, from May to July, via the your say website. The elected body and office for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs held consultation validation sessions during the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art fair at AIATSIS in December last year. These sessions confirmed that the core priorities and draft agreement reflected the broad community’s priorities. The clear view from the consultation was that family is the foundation for a healthy, independent and culturally rich community. Strong family and community connection is at the heart of success in all other facets of life.
The new agreement includes 10 focus areas. The four core focus areas are: children and young people; community leadership; cultural integrity; and inclusive community. The six significant focus areas are: lifelong learning; justice; economic participation; health and wellbeing; housing; and connecting the community.
Action plans have been developed against each of the focus areas. These include high-level targets, both national closing the gap targets and local targets developed by the elected body. The establishment of targets will enable the ACT government and, most importantly, the community to track our progress. They will form the basis for the outcome’s framework, which will include strategic indicators to guide reporting to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander subcommittee of the ACT strategic board. Progress will be publicly reported via an annual statement by the Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs.
The action plans, as the name suggests, include a series of priority actions which deliver on the aims of the focus area. These initiatives came about through direct consultation with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community and through the day-to-day work of the elected body and its members’ deep connections to the community. While the agreement will endure over 10 years, the action plans will be refreshed by each new elected body. This will allow future elected bodies and governments to refine targets and establish new priority actions as circumstances change.
As I noted earlier, the elected body made it very clear to the government that this agreement would not be signed unless the action plans were developed and contained meaningful initiatives that would result in tangible change for the community.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video