DIMIA Annual Report 2004-05
Outcome 4
Outcome Four seeks the economic, social and cultural empowerment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in order that they may freely exercise their rights equitably with other Australians.
This outcome was transferred from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) and refl ected the former responsibilities of ATSIC.
The three outputs associated with this outcome were either no longer undertaken in 2004-05 or transferred to other agencies. Their status is:
- Output 4.1: Policy and Advocacy-Not undertaken in 2004-05, except through Regional Councils
- Output 4.2: Evaluation and Audit-Transferred to Department of Finance and Administration
- Output 4.3: Home Loans-Transferred to Indigenous Business Australia.
Departmental staff in ICCS supported Regional Councils in their continuing role to 30 June 2005.
Readers are referred to the ATSIC annual report for further information. The department continued to support two measures/administered items:
- Aboriginals Benefit Account (ABA)
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Land Fund.
The 2004 Budget measure, Indigenous Women's Development, is reported under Outcome 5.
A further measure affecting this outcome, Indigenous Australians-Better Service Delivery, relates to the Australian Government's new arrangements in Indigenous affairs from 1 July 2004. The department's role under the new arrangements is reported under Outcomes 3 and 5.
Sharing a community's cultural history
The Roma ICC says regular community meetings and a whole-of-community focus on an issue helped the Aboriginal people of Mitchell, a small town 600 km west of Brisbane, to develop their SRA.
The issue identified in Mitchell was that, with the passing of elders, knowledge of their history and stories would be lost. A lot of that community history was associated with the Yumba, a former reserve near the town.
The community came together to discuss their concerns, and decided what was the most important issue for them. A reference group then worked with the ICC and kept the community informed.
The Mitchell SRA will develop an Interpretive Walking Trail at the Yumba, so the Yumba story can be shared with school children, tourists and the local community. When completed, the trail will be an important tourist attraction, helping the local community to generate income and provide life skills through training, work experience and employment.
Volunteers from the local CDEP will clean up and build the walking trail, and the community will promote the trail to local schools and tourist operators. They will also approach schools, local businesses and TAFE to organise training and work experience.
Local Indigenous artists and storytellers will work with community members to record the Yumba story.
The Australian Government is providing funds to construct the trail and a caretaker's cottage and to record the Yumba story in language and art. The Government is also funding a Heritage Tourism Officer who will work with the caretaker to maintain the trail.
The negotiations were successful because the focus was on addressing the issue, not on who would get the funding, and the issue was of concern to the whole community, not just part of it.