antar- a better way

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18 case studies of successful Indigenous Australian community programmes run by Aboriginal people despite exclusion and under-investment by white Australia. By ANTaR - Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation, http://www.antar.org.au

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Page 1: ANTaR- A Better Way
Page 2: ANTaR- A Better Way

ANTaR acknowledges the generous assistance of the spokespeople and communities described in this collection. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us. Also, thank you to Sophie Peer for researching and writing the stories, Nick Goodger and Murray Bunton from Streetline Media for the design, and Dr Janet Hunt, Dr David Cooper, Louise Weber, Sally Fitzpatrick, Jacqueline Phillips and Kate Aubrey-Poiner for additional research and writing. Thank you to ANTaR’s Indigenous Reference Group for their oversight and wisdom and to Kaye Blackman, Compliance and Grants Manager at Amnesty International Australia, for her support. This publication was made possible by Amnesty International Australia.

ContributorsAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Mick Gooda, Susan Sandery of Laynhapuy Homelands Association, William Tilmouth and Jess Brand of Tangentyere Council, Graham Castine, Robin McConnel, Dr Ahmed Latif and Jeanette Kemp of Sunrise Health Service, Steve Moore, Alastair King, Casey Kelly and Henry Harper of Arnhem Land Progress Aboriginal Corporation (ALPA), John Greatorex, Roslyn Mal umba and Jackie Nguluwidi of Mäpuru Homeland, Morgan Hoyes of Traditional Credit Union, Susie Low of Warlpiri Youth Development Aboriginal Corporation (WYDAC), Megan Hunnam, Mandy Nardoo and Sharijn King of Waltja Tjutangku Palyapayi, Laurene Coller and Donna Ah Chee of Central Australian Aboriginal Congress, Dr David Cooper, Greg Henschke and Chips Mackinolty of Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory (AMSANT), Jared Sharp of Northern Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA), Jayne Weepers, Jane Hodson and Peter Barker from Central Land Council and Christina Davidson and Madeleine Challender of the Association of Northern Kimberley and Arnhem Aboriginal Artists (ANKAAA).

Thank you also to Priscilla Brice-Weller for her initial work on the A Better Way campaign.

suggested CitationAustralians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR), A Better Way: Success Stories in Aboriginal community control in the Northern Territory, ANTaR: Sydney, 2010.

PubliCation and CoPyrightThis book is copyright. The ideas, stories and knowledge that come from Indigenous people are considered by them to be their intellectual property. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, community development, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part of this publication may be reproduced by any process whatsoever (including any translation) without the written permission of the authors. The authors receive no royalties.

Copyright Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR) October 2010.

ISBN 978-0-9756003-4-4

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have distinct cultures and heritages. The terms Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Indigenous are used interchangeably throughout this volume. No disrespect is intended by the authors.

ANTaR seeks to treat Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ beliefs with respect. To many communities it is distressing and offensive to depict persons who have died. Indigenous people who may be offended are warned that stories in this volume may contain images of, or references to, deceased persons.

enquiries:

Telephone 02 9564 0594 Fax 02 9564 0195 Email [email protected]

Available online from: antar.org.au/abetterway Design and layout: Streetline Media Cover photo courtesy of Waltja

2 • 3 A Better Way

aCKnoWledgeMents:

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Contents:

8-9 the Key to healthy CoMMunitiesAboriginAl MedicAl ServiceS AlliAnce norTHern TerriTorY

10-11 rising to the ChallengeSunriSe HeAlTH Service

12-13 health is everyone’s businesscenTrAl AuSTrAliAn AboriginAl congreSS

14-15 dhudi dhaWu - 'the underneath story'ArnHeMlAnd ProgreSS AboriginAl corPorATion (AlPA)

4 glossary

16-17 doing good WorK With FaMiliesWAlTjA TjuTAngku PAlYAPAYi

5ForeWordbY Mick goodA: AboriginAl And TorreS STrAigHTiSlAnder SociAl juSTice coMMiSSioner

18-19 rangers, rhythM and resilienCelAYnHAPuY HoMelAndS ASSociATion inc.

6 introduCtionbY jAcQueline PHilliPS: AnTAr nATionAl direcTor

baCKgroundSuMMArY And PolicY conTexT of THe STorieS

20-21 Putting the braKes on Petrol sniFFingWArlPiri YouTH develoPMenT AboriginAl corPorATion

7

22-23 the land is alWays alivecenTrAl lAnd council

24-25 a CoMMon threadMäPuru HoMelAnd coMMuniTY

26-27 our Money, our WaysTrAdiTionAl crediT union

28standing strongASSociATion of norTHern kiMberleY And ArnHeM AboriginAl ArTiSTS (AnkAAA)

29 suPPorting selF-deterMination in an urban settingTAngenTYere council inc.

30-31 bridging the legal divideTHe norTH AuSTrAliAn AboriginAl juSTice AgencY (nAAjA)

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1. Definition drawn from the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, NACCHO - Broome Conference - December 1995, Available: http://www.naccho.org.au/definitions/communitycont.html . 2. Definition drawn from AMSANT. Available: http://amsant.com.au/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=66&Itemid=74. 3. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Social Justice Report 2009 at 109. 4. Department of The Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts 'The Indigenous Protected Area Program: Background Information' and Advice to Applicants', accessed at http://www.environment.gov.au on 11 October, 2010.

aCChos:Aboriginal Community-Controlled Health Organisations

atsiC:Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission

basiCsCard:The BasicsCard is a PIN protected card issued to people who are subject to compulsory income management to purchase groceries and essential items. A proportion of quarantined income will generally be put on the card, with people only able to buy a limited range of goods. The card is only accepted at licensed retailers.

CoMMunity Control:Community Control is a process that allows a local Aboriginal community to be involved in its affairs in accordance with whatever protocols or procedures are determined by the community. The term Aboriginal Community Control has its genesis in Aboriginal peoples’ right to self-determination.1 Communities identify their priorities, determine the nature of services to be delivered and participate in planning, implementation and evaluation of those services.2

CdeP:Community Development Employment Projects

dry or dry toWn:Alcohol free town

FahCsia:Department of Families and Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (Federal)

hoMelands:Homelands are located on Aboriginal ancestral lands with cultural and spiritual significance to the Aboriginal people who live there. The connections to land are complex and include cultural, spiritual and environmental obligations, including obligations for the protection of sacred sites.3

inCoMe ManageMent:Compulsory income management was introduced as part of the Northern Territory Emergency Response. Under the scheme, an individual’s social security income is ‘quarantined’ so that 50 per cent can only be spent on ‘priority needs’. These funds cannot be accessed as cash, but must instead be directed to payment of rent, bills, medical costs or groceries (see BasicsCard).

iPa:Indigenous Protected Area. An area of land or sea over which the Traditional Indigenous Owners have entered into a voluntary agreement for the purpose of promoting biodiversity and cultural resource conservation.4

nt:Northern Territory

nter:Northern Territory Emergency Response

rda:Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth)

yol u (or yolngu)The term for an (Aboriginal) person in the majority of Yol u-matha dialects. In recent times it has become the term used to refer to Yol u speaking people as a whole.

4 • 5 A Better Way

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glossary:

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ForeWord:

1. Definition drawn from the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, NACCHO - Broome Conference - December 1995, Available: http://www.naccho.org.au/definitions/communitycont.html . 2. Definition drawn from AMSANT. Available: http://amsant.com.au/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=66&Itemid=74. 3. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Social Justice Report 2009 at 109. 4. Department of The Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts 'The Indigenous Protected Area Program: Background Information' and Advice to Applicants', accessed at http://www.environment.gov.au on 11 October, 2010.

MiCK goodaAboriginAl And TorreS STrAiT iSlAnder SociAl juSTice coMMiSSioner

As Peter Yu, Marcia Ella Duncan and Bill Gray stated in their NTER Review Report, no matter how good the framework, no matter how much money is available, you cannot drive change into a community and unload it off the back of a truck. That is the lesson of the NTER. Deep-seated change - safe healthy families - must be grown up within the community.

Over many years one of the critical flaws of Indigenous policy has been the lack of serious engagement and participation of Indigenous peoples in policy development and implementation. This can most certainly be seen in the implementation of the NTER, where there was a lack of engagement of Aboriginal peoples in the initial development of NTER policies, as well as significant discriminatory aspects to the policies themselves.

I believe that the focus should now be on getting services delivered on the ground in a way that empowers communities. There is a continued need for services, particularly in relation to housing, health and education. However, this service delivery must involve community participation and involvement in decision-making and delivery. Policy making that affects Aboriginal communities must allow Aboriginal peoples the right to full and effective participation in decisions that directly or indirectly affect their lives. This is required by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It is also the key to successful outcomes.

The NTER faces another challenge. It is time to refocus the current intervention approach from an emergency response to a genuine and long-term community development approach to improve the lives of Northern Territory Aboriginal communities.

ANTaR’s publication showcases the success of community control and participation. The programs and services outlined in the publication show innovative ways of delivering services that are inclusive, and culturally appropriate. The services are based on principles of non-discrimination and equality, which recognise the cultural distinctiveness and diversity of Aboriginal peoples and communities. They also highlight the importance of a community development approach.

The stories contain the voices of Aboriginal Territorians telling their experiences as providers of programs that are sustainable and appropriate for the communities they serve. These are voices that have not often been heard in the debates surrounding the NTER.

ANTaR’s publication highlights success stories which demonstrate that change for the better is possible and that Aboriginal people themselves are identifying and implementing solutions. It shows that there is a better way. To that end, I commend this publication to you.

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introduCtion:

There has been much media attention in recent years on the serious challenges facing Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory (NT). This has been accompanied by a resolve by governments to do things differently. While attention to these challenges has been welcome, the role and voice of Aboriginal people and their communities in driving change has not enjoyed the same high profile.

The success stories detailed in this book demonstrate the potential that exists in NT Aboriginal organisations across a range of sectors to respond to the challenges facing their communities.

The working definition of successful ‘communities in control’ has been adapted from the reports, Describing an iceberg from a glimpse of its tip: a summary of the literature on achievements in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health1 and Achievements in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health: Final Report.2 Informed by this research, we have identified success in an Aboriginal community context as a program, project or intervention that produces – or could contribute to – a demonstrated improvement in the community. It may be measured by an improvement in outcomes, processes or infrastructure and must involve:

• Community participation at all levels including management

• Community participation that is actual and not symbolic

• Community control of both processes and outcomes

• Community control over how resources are allocated

• Sustainability of the project, organisation or initiative.

In recent years, Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory have had to adjust to seismic policy shifts. Governments have introduced a range of complex, overlapping policy changes including the Northern Territory Emergency Response, Closing the Gap in the Northern Territory, and reforms to remote service delivery and funding, Aboriginal housing, employment and local shires. These changes are explained in more detail on page 7 to provide some context for the stories in this publication.

While delivering some new investment and additional services, this new policy environment has created additional barriers to self-determination for Aboriginal people and organisations.

Many of the recent changes have involved a continuation of top-down policy processes that have excluded communities and Aboriginal organisations from decision-making roles. This is despite clear evidence from Australia and overseas that increased Aboriginal control is required to secure

better futures for Aboriginal families and communities. It is also despite the Australian Government indicating its support for the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), which affirms the right to self-determination.

Government policies have sometimes provided critical underpinnings that have enabled successful initiatives to be developed and built upon. An example in the Northern Territory is the Aboriginal Land Rights Act (Northern Territory) 1976 (Cth), which gives statutory recognition to Aboriginal ownership and control of about half of the land area in the NT.

History also shows many examples of innovative approaches developed by Aboriginal communities that have subsequently been recognised and adopted in mainstream policy, both here and overseas. Indeed, Aboriginal community control of primary health care delivery is now accepted by governments as the preferred model of service delivery in the NT (see pages 8-13).

Aboriginal communities have a strong desire to control their own affairs and to achieve self-determination. Despite claims that self-determination has failed, in fact it has never been genuinely tested in Australia with NT Aboriginal communities having had, at best, self-management. Further, the capacity of many Aboriginal organisations has been constrained by complex funding, legal and administrative challenges.

In recent years, we have heard repeated calls from government for individuals to take responsibility for themselves and their families. Such calls are often accompanied by claims that the past record in Aboriginal affairs has been nothing but failure.

Closer inspection shows that Aboriginal community initiatives have displayed great determination and ingenuity in their efforts to improve the lives of their communities. Today there is an impressive diversity of successful Aboriginal-controlled organisations, services and businesses involved in almost every aspect of community life and economic development.

This has not been an instant or recent occurrence. It has been achieved through decades of determination and a constant and continuing struggle for resources. It shows the enormous desire of, and potential for, communities to take ownership of problems and drive solutions with the right support from government, the private sector and civil society.

This booklet is a celebration of these successes. It is also a timely reminder to a new Federal Government that Aboriginal community control is critical to achieving sustainable outcomes for children, families and communities.

Jacqueline Phillips National Director, Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR)

6 • 7 A Better Way

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baCKground:

CoMMunity Control in the northern territoryThe success stories in this booklet are drawn from a wide range of Aboriginal controlled organisations in the Northern Territory, all with unique histories. In 2009 there were 664 Aboriginal organisations in the NT registered with the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations (ORIC), providing myriad functions.

Four statutory land councils controlled by Traditional Owners were established across the NT following passage of the Aboriginal Land Rights Act (NT) 1976. Their role is to protect and advance the interests of Traditional Owners in relation to land claims and native title and the ongoing management and development of Aboriginal land and associated communities. They have increasingly taken on community development roles. The Central Land Council (CLC) provides one of the success stories in this volume.

The homelands movement that began in the 1960s has spurred communities to develop their own resource agencies to provide infrastructure and support services to ensure their viability. These have also proved to be pivotal in providing employment and enterprise development opportunities. One of the largest and most successful is the Laynhapuy Homelands Association, featured in this volume. Organisations with similar purposes have been developed by town based Aboriginal communities, such as the Alice Springs based Tangentyere Council, also featured below.

Aboriginal community controlled health services (ACCHSs) and legal services have developed over several decades in response to the lack of adequate, culturally appropriate government services in the critical areas of health and justice. The ACCHSs sector has been extremely successful in the NT and two exemplary ACCHSs, Central Australian Aboriginal Congress (Congress) and Sunrise Health Service, together with the ACCHSs peak body, Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory (AMSANT), are featured below. The North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) provides an outstanding example of an Aboriginal legal service providing legal advice and representation as well as advocacy, policy and community education roles.

There are in addition to these a multitude of other Aboriginal organisations in the NT from which we have selected examples. These include organisations representing enterprises within a sector, such as Association of Northern Kimberley and

Arnhem Aboriginal Art (ANKAAA), that represents the interests of 43 community art centres. Other organisations have developed to meet community service and enterprise gaps. Arnhem Land Progess Aboriginal Corporation(ALPA) operates remote community stores, while the Traditional Credit Union (TCU) was established to address the lack of banking services in remote communities. Also included in this volume are Waltja Tjutangku Palyapayi (Waltja), that formed in response to a withdrawal of government funding and continues providing critical support for remote communities and families; and the Warlpiri Youth Development Aboriginal Corporation Mount Theo Program (Mt Theo), that has effectively tackled petrol sniffing and provides a nationally recognised treatment and diversion program. Mäpuru provides an inspiring example of a remote homeland community of 150 people that has taken control of its future, developing a food cooperative and cultural tourism enterprise and establishing its own independent school.

PoliCy ConteXtCritical to the viability and future of Aboriginal controlled organisations and the vital community development roles they provide are the government policies in which they operate. The experience of organisations featured here highlight significant problems with current government policy settings that pose a range of threats to the capacities of these organisations and ultimately, the economic viability of communities.

Recent years have seen a dizzying array of complex, overlapping policies applied to Aboriginal communities and organisations in the NT. While the measures introduced under the NTER have been rightly criticised for their lack of consultation and disempowering, racially discriminatory approach, it is arguably related national and NT Indigenous policies that threaten more serious long term impacts. A few examples related to employment, housing and education are emblematic of such concern.

Foremost is the abolition of the flexible, incentive-based jobs component of the Community Development Employment Program (CDEP) and its replacement under a reformed CDEP with welfare payments. This change is placing significant constraints on Aboriginal controlled organisations, threatening the viability of otherwise successful community enterprises and projects and significantly increasing unemployment and associated disengagement in regional and remote communities.

Policy changes at the NT and Commonwealth levels have resulted in the loss of two thirds of the Indigenous Community Housing Organisations (ICHOs) in the NT since 2009 and the transfer of control of community housing to the NT public housing authority. These changes forego an opportunity to expand the Aboriginal community housing sector and with it the capacity for significant long-term employment, training and enterprise opportunities.

Meanwhile, government Indigenous housing programs in the NT, such as the SIHIP scheme, have been criticised for poor design and implementation. Together with the imposition of unnecessary long-term housing leases to government, the refusal of the NT and Australian governments to fund new housing on homelands and smaller communities and the concentration of infrastructure and services funding on 20 ‘growth towns’, these policies have left communities feeling disempowered and uncertain of their futures.

Education too has been an issue of concern. The abolition of bilingual education in the NT and the continuation of the discriminatory policy of sub-standard, under-resourced Homeland Learning Centres in remote homelands has left communities frustrated that their vision of culturally appropriate quality education for their children is not shared by government.

The success story examples in this volume place each of these and other policy dilemmas in context and demonstrate the great potential that exists if governments can recognise and back the determination of communities and community controlled organisations to take on the challenges of developing sustainable, culturally relevant futures.

1. J Burns, N Thomson, J Brooks, S Burrow, E Kirov, B McGougan & A Valenti, Describing an iceberg from a glimpse of its tip: a summary of the literature on achievements in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet, 2002.

2. C Shannon, J Wakerman, P Hill, T Barnes, R Griew & A Ritchie, Achievements in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health: Final Report, Volume 1, Australian Government, 2002.

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One of the most important developments in Aboriginal community control has been in relation to primary health care in the NT. Currently over half the Aboriginal medical services in the NT are community controlled. On the back of the demonstrated effectiveness of these services, the NT and

Australian Governments have united on a plan to transition all NT Aboriginal primary health care services to community control over time.1

The Executive Officer of the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance of the NT (AMSANT), John Paterson explains:

“It’s a very significant achievement that demonstrates the capacity of Aboriginal communities, even those otherwise regarded as in crisis, to provide the leadership, governance and increasingly, the workforce needed to deliver the quality health services essential to closing the health gap.”

AMSANT is the peak body for Aboriginal community-controlled health services (ACCHSs) in the Northern Territory and has played a pivotal role in advocating for and supporting the development of community-controlled health. A crucial factor has been its membership of the Northern Territory Aboriginal Health Forum (NTAHF), a tripartite health planning body that brings AMSANT together with the health departments of the NT and Australian governments, forming arguably the most effective health partnership of any jurisdiction in Australia.

aMsant and the suCCess oF aboriginal CoMMunity-Controlled PriMary health Care in the nt

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CoMPrehensive PriMary health CareThe origins of this achievement lie in several decades of work by Aboriginal health services in pioneering a service delivery model based on multidisciplinary teams working in ACCHSs delivering a wide range of Comprehensive Primary Health Care services (CPHC).

The model of Aboriginal CPHC is based on a set of core functions that extend beyond primary care clinical services to the provision of an holistic, community development based approach to health and wellness. This includes allied health services as well as specialist services addressing areas such as mental health and alcohol and other drug issues. CPHC also emphasises health promotion and preventative approaches to dealing with key health challenges, such as maternal and child health and social and emotional wellbeing.

The close engagement with communities provided by Aboriginal Boards and Aboriginal staff such as Aboriginal Health Workers (AHWs), means that ACCHSs are able to provide more accessible, culturally safe services that are responsive to community needs, and to generate community action on complex issues such as suicide prevention and family violence.

ACCHSs have been successful innovators in developing cutting-edge approaches to the delivery of primary health care services (PHC), leading to significantly improved health outcomes. For example, the development of chronic disease care planning has been essential to tackling the unfolding epidemic of chronic diseases affecting Aboriginal communities.

A further core function of CPHC is the provision of PHC management and support services, which AMSANT provides in a variety of ways. A comprehensive Administration Manual for ACCHSs has been developed and is available online. AMSANT also operates a number of support units, including a workforce support unit, a Public Health Network to link and support clinicians, a

delivered Aboriginal community-controlled CPHC will deliver in excess of a thousand new skilled Aboriginal jobs in remote and regional areas of the NT provides a unique opportunity to enhance health service delivery at the same time as creating sustainable employment opportunities for remote communities.

Continuous Quality Improvement unit and an IT support unit for electronic patient records systems that enable more effective management, monitoring and improvement of service delivery.

leaders in e-healthAn important area of innovation by AMSANT and its members is in relation to e-health. Faced with the challenges of remote and often highly mobile clients they have developed best practice e-health systems that enable the coordinated treatment of patients, as well as real-time access to patient records in home settings, including in remote locations such as homelands and outstations. No longer is remoteness a barrier to providing quality care. Greg Henschke of AMSANT explains:

“We’re enabling people’s health records to follow them around wherever they go. And once you’ve got that information the clinicians, nurses, health workers, doctors know what treatment or medication has already been given and what needs to be done. And it enables, for example, the male Aboriginal Health Workers to go and see the men at their workplace and have a quiet word to them, just remind them that they haven’t had a health check in the last two years.”

AMSANT has been at the coalface of these achievements, and is currently working with its NTAHF partners on further reform of Aboriginal PHC in the NT. Over the past two years this has involved joint management of a $100 million program to deliver expanded CPHC services in the NT and to strengthen systems and the capacity of organisations to enhance community control and establish regional health service models.

Workforce issues remain a critical limiting factor. However, the realisation that properly

Title Image: Kylie Thorne at AMSANT’s Fresh Food Summit. Top Left: AMSANT’s Chippy Miller demonstrating bush wok cooking as Graham Dowling (AMSANT) and Katherine West Health Board Chairperson, Roslyn Frith look on. Top Right: Federal and NT Ministers Warren Snowdon and Kon Vatskalis join AMSANT’s Stephanie Bell and John Paterson at the Pathways launch.

Find out moreWWW.AMSAnT.coM.Au(08) 8944 6666

1. Northern Territory Aboriginal Health Forum, Pathways to Community Control, Accessed at http://www.nt.gov.au/ on 11 October, 2010.

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Images courtesy of AMSANT

aboriginal CoMMunity- Controlled health serviCes

Guiding principles include:

That health is holistic

That self-determination is paramount

The recognition of the impact of history in trauma and loss

Acknowledging the need for cultural understanding

The recognition of human rights

The recognition of the impact of racism and stigma

The recognition of the centrality of kinship

The recognition of different communities and needs

The recognition of Aboriginal strengths

That universal access to basic health care is essential

That high quality health care services are essential

That equitable funding for health care is essential

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sunrise health serviCe

Image courtesy of saine (sxc.hu)

Sunrise Health Service (Sunrise) delivers comprehensive primary health care (CPHC) to around 4,000 people in Katherine and surrounding communities. These ‘surrounds’ cover 143,000 square kilometres and at least ten language groups. Eight of the communities have health centres with permanent Sunrise staff and others are visited by the Sunrise team.

Aboriginal community control underpins everything that Sunrise does. The organisation is governed by an Aboriginal Board representing all the communities in which Sunrise works. Sunrise explains its philosophy in the following way:

“The premise is that if Aboriginal people can own and control the services provided to Aboriginal people, then self-determination can occur and empowerment result. When populations are empowered they have a voice and political standing.”

Nearly 70 per cent of the 150 Sunrise staff are Aboriginal and there are many established and flexible channels through which local people can provide their input into the services and direction of Sunrise. With this sense of ownership and involvement comes better health outcomes. People become more willing to engage with services, have health checks, attend workshops and absorb information that is developed in a

10 • 11 A Better Way

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collaborative and appropriate way, all of which have the potential to contribute to better health.

Graham Castine, Sunrise CEO explains part of the organisation’s success more than a decade on:

“Feedback to the communities and the service’s members are an important part of our operation if we are to maintain an effective service. A service where people are willing participators in not only attending for the emergency type services that are available at our health centres but to participate in preventative health measures within their control - things like child and adult health checks, care planning and strategies which are designed to impact on the health of the community.”

Sunrise receives most of its funding from the Northern Territory and Federal Governments but also has charity and corporate partners who provide assistance. In general, like so many other Aboriginal organisations across Australia, there is a constant cycle of funding applications and associated reports to be prepared.

little voiCes, strong CultureDelayed speech development amongst local children has emerged as a critical concern in the communities which Sunrise serves.

This is due to high rates of otitis media, a health problem not usually prevalent in the developed world and directly linked to poverty. Very broadly, it is a middle ear infection which, left untreated, causes a build up of fluid that leads to hearing loss and delayed speech development. Otitis media is a common complaint amongst infants and is exacerbated by poor living conditions such as overcrowding.

To respond to this problem, Sunrise developed the Learning to Talk, Talking to Learn Program (LiTTLe) aimed at developing and improving children’s spoken language. Currently the program operates in the communities of Bulman, Weemol, Barunga and Wugularr. In each community Sunrise employs two local people (Community Based Workers) to run the program. Sunrise provides training and support to the eight local staff - assisting in the development of weekly plans, providing a training book and activity cards. Sunrise is also supporting these staff to obtain Child Care Certificates through the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Education.

The LiTTLe program operates in school buildings, rather than women’s centres, in a deliberate attempt to seek to engage the whole family (mums and dads, aunties and uncles) in developing a child’s language skills. The program is aimed at children aged 0-4 and is based on developing skills in their home language, not English.

Activities vary daily and include indoor and outdoor play, real life situations and constant talking. One activity is to take the older children to the store, have them ask for what they want, identify items, colours, numbers and put language into context. The ‘teaching’ is totally inclusive with fathers dropping in for a cuppa and taking part and includes different activities developed for different age groups. Many of the parents involved in the program are very young and often their own school experience was not a positive one. By visiting the school for the LiTTLe program, parents become more comfortable and familiar with the environment. Robin McConnell, program coordinator explains:

Images courtesy of Sunrise Health Services

Above: The LiTTLe program. Images courtesy of Sunrise Health Service.

Find out moreSunriSe HeAlTH Service(08) 8971 1120WWW.SunriSe.org.Au/

1. Available at http://www.sunrise.org.au/sunrise/statement.pdf

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“Some of our mums are 15, often their own school experience was not a positive one and this (LiTTLe program) is a good way to get them here, make it comfortable and show them how important school is for their kids.”

Being a provider of integrated PHC, Sunrise ensures that the LiTTLe program also communicates a range of other important health messages such as the importance of regular health checks and hygienic practices.

the banatjarl stateMentIn July 2009, Sunrise hosted a meeting of Aboriginal males at the Blekbala Fathawan Health Summit. Over 100 males participated in two and a half days of meetings, workshops and discussions.

Participants came from all of the communities in which Sunrise works – encouraged to attend by their local health committees and Sunrise Directors, local people who are trusted and respected. The committees and directors recognised the need to build trust and make an event relevant by explaining the potential personal and community benefits.

Facilitators (mostly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males) came from all over Australia and ran sessions on physical activity, violence, alcohol and other drugs, sniffing, smoking, health checks and emotional and social wellbeing.

From the summit, participants decided to draft the Banatjarl Statement.1 This was a collaborative process to develop ways to improve individual and community health.

Recommendations in the statement ranged from big picture views on the NTER, integrated approaches such as employment and training pathways and more specific health initiatives such as the need for culturally safe spaces where males can receive health care treatment and information. A steering committee was formed to ensure the statement is translated into action. Sunrise and the Committee are currently awaiting feedback on a funding application to employ and train male Aboriginal Health Workers for men’s sheds and safe places. Sunrise and the Committee have an ongoing dialogue with the NT Department of Health which has been open to many of the approaches recommended in the Banatjarl Statement.

The Blekbala Fathawan Health Summit is specifically referred to as a ‘male’, not men’s summit. This is to avoid confusion

with use of the term ‘men’ to describe those initiated through ceremony. Teenage boys, middle aged males, senior men and

Elders all took part in the Summit.

Sunrise works on Jawoyn Country in Top Road communities (Werenbun,

Manyallaluk, Barunga, Wugularr, Bulman and Weemol) and Bottom Road communities (Mataranka, Jilkminggan, Minyerri, Kewulyi,

Ngukurr, Urapunga, Badawarrka and Wubalawun).

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12 • 13 A Better Way

The Central Australian Aboriginal Congress (Congress) was the first Aboriginal controlled health service established in the NT. Congress formed in 1973 after about 100 people from town and remote areas gathered to discuss how to safeguard and promote Aboriginal interests.

An Aboriginal Cabinet was elected to represent the people and, in 1973, presented the Commonwealth Government with a model for community-controlled health. Congress is an AMSANT member providing valuable knowledge and experience to other members.

Congress’ clients are Aboriginal people living in and around Alice Springs, although its support extends over 500 kilometres away.1

The first service provided by the Alice Springs based Congress was the ‘tent program’, giving shelter to the Aboriginal people without access to housing, living in town. In 1975 Congress began operating a health clinic

Central australian aboriginal Congress

Image courtesy of bcds-netau of sxc.hu

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from a house in town and recognised early that they would need to provide transport and welfare services as part of the service.

As Congress grew and gained additional funding, a range of ‘offshoots’ developed. Congress Alukura was set up in the early 1980s to provide maternity and women’s health services. From this grew Ampe Kenhe Apmere (Congress Child Care) that provides a physical space for mothers, families and children from newborn to school age to come and share and learn. The Centre aims to foster culture, community and understanding. In a comprehensive model of primary health care it is essential to consider the family and its crucial impact on the health of individuals.

Acknowledging that health clinics in small Aboriginal communities do not have the capacity and resources to manage administration, make funding applications or provide specialist and other services - Congress supports five smaller communities to meet these gaps. These five communities have incorporated health boards which have engaged the Congress to provide a range of healthcare services to nine communities, in some cases in collaboration with an existing NT government clinic and in others as the sole service provider on behalf of the board.

The aim is to work towards regionalised Aboriginal community-controlled health services across Central Australia to populations of at least 3,000 people with sufficient economies of scale to include the necessary administation and support services to internalise the role that Congress is currently providing.

Congress has a long history of advocating for Aboriginal self-determination and working to address health issues in a broader social and cultural context. In 1977, Congress Night Shelter was providing food and shelter to around 1,000 people in the wet season. In 1990 Congress bought McLeods' Store (Red Shop) and sought to stop alcohol sales from the store. When the NT Government refused to buy back the store’s existing liquor licence, Congress protested by tipping all of the liquor stock down the drain and letting the take-away license lapse. Red Shop then only sold healthy foods.

weekly and then a mixture of fortnightly and weekly at different points in the journey of the family and the development of the baby. Ongoing home visits allow for trust to build and for the mother to know that there is support and assistance she can rely on.

Home visits take an holistic approach to health care and are focused on the empowerment of mothers dealing with many of the determinants of health to better support the mothers themselves and the social, emotional and cognitive development of their children. They involve providing information on personal and environmental health, their role as mother, strengthening family and friends networks, looking at the mother’s long term goals and how they might be achieved. It also includes linking the young women to health services and authorities as needed. FPP benefits extend to the wider family and community simply by having a trained, regular visitor who earns trust and is able to identify possible risks or issues and can assist families to access support across a range of areas.

Images courtesy of Central Australian Aboriginal Congress

FoCus areas For CaaC:Social and emotional wellbeing centre

A pharmacy providing medicines at no cost to patients

A multi-disciplinary bulk-billing general clinic

Aboriginal health worker education

Male health program

Community health program

Public health and political advocacy

Remote health services

1. Central Australian Aboriginal Congress, Treaty & Health Position Paper, CAAC, Alice Springs, 2002. Available at http://www.caac.org.au/pr/index.php?cid=6 (accessed Aug 2010).

2. See S Bell, Speech at 'Congress ANFPP Launch' which refers to research by Prof. D L Olds, at http://www.anfpp.com.au/frontpages/congresslaunch

Above: Aboriginal Health Worker. Below: FPP Nurse Home Visitor program

With over 35 years of knowledge, evidence, relationships and experience Congress is a powerful voice for Aboriginal community-controlled health care with its inspiration remaining ‘Aboriginal health in Aboriginal hands’.

suPPorting MuMs to suPPort their babiesCongress is a provider of the Australian Nursing Family Partnership Program (referred to as FPP) aimed at assisting young mothers and their children. The focus is on empowering mothers and improving their confidence and parenting skills. In November 2009, the program gained an initial three-year Federal funding commitment which today enables employment of the equivalent of four full-time Nurse Home Visitors, two Aboriginal Community Workers, one Nurse Supervisor and one Administrative Support Worker. The Community Workers are local women who speak local Arrente language and, with the nurses, they work in Alice Springs, Santa Teresa and Amoonguna.

Current funding and support came after ten years of Congress lobbying. The program is based on a US program that has seen significant short and long term outcomes such as improved birth weights, reduced maternal smoking, reduced childhood mortality, neglect and injuries, and other community and family benefits. Of particular interest to Congress were the longitudinal research findings which showed that 15 year olds who had participated in the program as babies were twice as likely to still be in school, half as likely to engage in behaviours such as alcohol and drug consumption and unprotected sex, and less likely to have been arrested than those who did not participate. These adolescents are much more likely to have a healthy, active lifestyle which will help to prevent the burden of chronic disease in mid life. Overall, the US program saw a 50 per cent reduction in infant mortality.2

Congress started a preliminary and less robust version of the program in 2000 with mothers they identified as ‘at-risk’. While staff resources and understanding of the program were very limited in the program’s initial stages, there were real benefits for the mothers, children and families involved.

Today nurses and Aboriginal community workers conduct home visits to pregnant women carrying Aboriginal babies, starting their visits as early as 12 weeks and up to 28 weeks into pregnancy and continuing until the baby is two years of age. The aim of the program includes healthier and safer pregnancies, improved child and adult health and development and more positive family environments. Nurses and Aboriginal Community Workers develop an ongoing relationship with the women, strengthened by the visit being in the mother’s own environment. For the first month visits are

fooTnoTeS

Find out morePHone: (08) 8951 4400WWW.cAAc.org.Au

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The ‘underneath story’ is crucial to the success of the Arnhem Land Progress Aboriginal Corporation (ALPA). It is about relationships between people, connections to culture, country and community.

loCal ideas For loCal needsALPA was started by Arnhem Land Elders in 1972 when seven communities joined forces to buy their existing community stores from the church. ALPA is now run as a benevolent Corporation. Core to ALPA is the operation of five community-owned stores in Galiwin’ku, Gapuwiyak, Minjilang, Milingimbi and Ramingining. Yet there is much more to ALPA than stores.

ALPA also provides accredited training, information and assistance in areas of nutrition, budgeting, cooking, healthy living and store operations. ALPA is entirely self-funded, generating profits that stay in communities.

ALPA is governed by an Aboriginal Board of Directors, with representation from all member communities. Early in its history,

arnheMland Progress

aboriginal CorPoration

(alPa)

ALPA’s Board set out to develop guidelines to ensure that community interests informed all decision-making. Since 1985, it has been ALPA’s policy to subsidise the freight costs of fruit and vegetables aiming to make prices in communities similar to those in Darwin. ALPA has also recently started subsidising the freight on frozen, canned and dry fruit and vegetables along with healthy fresh dairy products. This commitment to nutrition and subsidies remains a core focus for ALPA today.

This is all part of the ‘underneath story’. More than 25 years on, ALPA’s organisational knowledge continues to be passed on. The Board understands the needs of the people it serves because they share history, culture and a desire to see the community flourish.

“We are Yol u and we recognise the law that has existed since time immemorial over our land and people. We will continue, as Directors, and through our Clan nations to seek recognition of our customary law and a harmony of laws in Australia which allows for order, good governance and peace for our people.”Resolution ALPA Board of Directors, 12 September 2007

Over the years ALPA has successfully diversified its income stream in order to remain self-sustaining. ALPA opened a large warehouse in Darwin which it presently leases to a wholesale supermarket chain. Income stability ensures the continuation of subsidies for healthy food and means there is more money to put back into the communities through improvements to the stores, employing more local people, delivering more training and continuing ALPA’s benevolent programs such as medical escorts, education and funeral costs.

ALPA’s Retail Consultants are another example of diversification. The consultants are paid by other communities to assist in opening and managing their own stores. Today ALPA manages 12 such enterprises and works with the communities to ensure that profits are directed in accordance with the wishes of local people and with respect to their culture.

ALPA has also entered into an MOU with Coles Supermarkets, which since 2000 has enabled knowledge transfer, training, and access to surplus equipment. Yol u trainees are able to spend time in Darwin with the prospect of further employment.

“We are a Yol u business organisation and proud of our achievements. We are part of the wider Australian society and business community and in this we break down discrimination, false images and operate in a spirit of reconciliation.”Rev Dr Djiniyini Gondarra, OAM - ALPA Chairman

14 • 15 A Better Way

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the alPa FoodCardGapuwiyak Elder Lucy Wanapuymgu recognised that health and nutrition strategies needed to be complemented by support for families to budget between payments and to make healthy food choices for their families. The ALPA FOODcard was developed as a voluntary tool to educate people and to keep money safe from ‘humbug’.1

Introduced in 2004 after extensive consultations, the FOODcard is entirely voluntary with users deciding how much of their income will be put on the card and whether it is for individual use only or to be used by family members as well (up to four photographs can be stored electronically per card). It was also agreed that only essential items, clearly identified in stores by coloured shelf tickets could be purchased with a FOODcard. Each card is also secured with a microchip. Lollies, soft drink and toys are not considered to be essential and over the years stores have seen a decline in purchases of these items.

With the introduction of compulsory income management in 2007, people on income support have had no choice but to use Centrelink’s BasicsCard, despite the proven success of the FOODcard trial. Unlike the FOODcard, soft drinks, chips and other non-essentials can all be purchased with a BasicsCard and a prescribed minimum proportion of income is quarantined.

“With the FOODcard program we were seeing changes. People were taking responsibility for their own

spending habits, we'd seen a big drop off in soft drink sales, but with the BasicsCard those sales went back up. We get criticism all the time that we sell cigarettes and we sell soft drinks, we shouldn't be doing it because it’s bad for them. That’s not up to us. We do our best to educate people, but people have to make the choice and take responsibility for their own decisions.” Steve Moore, ALPA, Stateline NT, 18 June 2010

the iMPaCt oF ‘real jobs For real Wages’ ALPA has always had a commitment to fully paid work. For Training Manager Henry Harper, the equation is simple:

“There are always Yol u people who need work and ALPA pays them a full wage for this work.”

ALPA is one of the largest financially independent Indigenous employers in Australia, with over 350 Yol u employees. Henry Harper, ALPA’s Training Manager, puts much of this down to relationships, knowing the communities, identifying youth who are ready to work and being able to employ people without skills. As he puts it:

“There is a sophisticated network that can work well if you can be flexible enough to use it.”

ALPA has an established mentoring program and works with local school principals to develop apprenticeship programs. The NT Department of Education and Training also funds an ALPA apprenticeship program.

In the 1980s ALPA established a training centre at Galiwin’ku. This offered a culturally appropriate living and working environment for around twenty trainees at a time, with the nearby Galiwin’ku supermarket offering ‘on-the-job’ training. Now a Registered Training Organisation, ALPA provides nationally recognised retail qualifications including Certificate II, III or IV in Retail Operations. Transferable skills are acquired along with a sense of opportunity, hope and pride. Communities are able to see their own people succeeding and they know ALPA is in it for the long term. Unlike many regional programs, this is not just a year-long trial and there are real job prospects at the end.

General Manager, Alastair King, describes how ALPA’s employment and food programs complement each other:

“Staff are given a quarterly bonus dependent on the store’s profits in that period. Many of our staff choose to put this bonus directly onto their FOODcard. They know that it means more money put aside for healthy living.”

Find out moreArnHeM lAnd ProgreSS ASSociATion (AlPA)WWW.AlPA.ASn.Au(08) 8944 6444

Images courtesy of ALPA

1. Humbug or humbugging is a term used in some parts of the country to describe the practice academics call 'demand sharing', which carries with it the obligation of reciprocity. Such sharing is highly valued in many communities and integral to maintaining kinship relations (see for example A Stojanovski, Dog Ear Cafe, Hybrid Publishers, 2010). Issues arise when someone feels overwhelmed to share their resources to the detriment of themselves or their families.

fooTnoTeAbove: The store team at ALPA Ramingining

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Waltja tjutangKu PalyaPayi

Waltja Tjutangku Palyapayi is Luritja language for 'doing good work with families' and this is Waltja’s mission.

Waltja grew from the Central Australian Family Resource Centre, which began in 1993 but lost its Federal funding four years later. Instead of closing down, members decided to incorporate as an Aboriginal association and continue their work in supporting remote communities to receive services they want and need and in a way that it is appropriate to them.

Waltja is governed by an annually elected Board of Management. These 20 Board members are all Aboriginal women from remote communities who meet at least three times each year and set overall goals and objectives. An Executive Committee of five people meets approximately every six weeks to make decisions on direction, projects and programs.

The women of Waltja have set the organisation’s objectives around addressing issues of social and emotional wellbeing, substance abuse, child protection, violence, health and safety. Waltja works across the Central Desert Region and staff travel from Alice Springs to remote communities and outstations to address gaps in service delivery, by providing programs for youth, the elderly, the disabled and family education and support.

resPeCt and dignity in diFFiCult tiMesMany people from remote communities need to come into town for specialist medical appointments, to visit family in hospital or to deal with administrative matters. The staff and directors of Waltja identified that people coming into Alice Springs often have problems in accessing funds and staying safe, well nourished and warm. Often people need to be in town for some time but do not have established networks there. They generally incur higher living costs than if they were at home and can be extremely vulnerable.

While people can apply for ‘emergency relief’ payments at Centrelink to get them through difficult periods, they must complete a range of forms and may require assistance with translation. Although the process is relatively quick, often people do not apply until they are really desperate.

The Commonwealth Government provides Waltja with some emergency funding to distribute, but this is only $7,000 for the year to cover people from six communities and associated remote area outstations. These funds can be accessed when people are in their community or in Alice Springs but it is stipulated that the money cannot be used for sorry business or to attend funeral services.

In order to deal with these circumstances in a more dignified and efficient way - the Waltja

16 • 17 A Better Way

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women instigated the Diary Cover project. Under the project, people in difficult financial situations can paint diary covers for a flat rate of $25 per cover, with remuneration paid in cash or in supermarket vouchers.

People can choose to paint at the Waltja Centre, where there is a dedicated verandah space or they can take some covers away and return them in their own time. The project has been highly successful with many people taking part and sales of the diaries going very well, especially at local markets. Supported by some short-term corporate funding, Waltja was able to build a warehouse to store artworks properly and to build a website with the hope of generating online sales.

real reCognition For researCh PartiCiPationAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are frequently expected to participate in research without being remunerated. For example, Elders and community leaders and representatives are often called upon to arrange meetings, facilitate consultations, provide interpreter services, locate interviewees and organise photos.

Working with the Cooperative Research Centre, Waltja has developed the Research Nintiringtjaku program, which translates as ‘becoming knowledgeable about research’. It is a process to enable senior Aboriginal people to gain skills and receive formal recognition and fair pay for their work, while supporting important research.

There are many positive impacts of the program, with Aboriginal people receiving nationally recognised qualifications and non-Indigenous people being made aware of consultation and research protocols. Importantly, the expectation that Aboriginal people should contribute their time and expertise for free is challenged and the need to obtain free, prior and informed consent is emphasised as a key community consultation principle.

Guides, training manuals and agreed procedures have been developed and Nintiringtjaku workers are today being consulted and paid in many research projects. The program plays a role in addressing social and emotional wellbeing while respecting dignity. Fair pay for doing a job is not a complicated concept, but one that Waltja has worked hard to ensure is respected by all.

Images courtesy of Waltja

Find out [email protected](08) 8953 4488

Top: Geraldine Mulda with young baby. Middle: Anne Marie and kids at Watawu. Bottom: Celebrating culture through songs.

Waltja’s logoThis logo was designed by Punata Stockman

from Mt.Liebig Community.

The three circles represent communities, Waltja Tjutangku Palyapayi and service

providers respectively. The feet depict Waltja workers travelling between communities and

service providers, sharing information and addressing gaps in service delivery through

referral, training and advocacy.

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“Being in our homelands, means that the land owns us, our identity comes from this land, our homelands have stories behind them, which is done on bark paintings, sung in our song lines, danced in our dances; our language comes from this land, and the history of our land has been handed down generation to generation.”2

Many of Laynha’s services and supports have historically relied on CDEP. Laynha currently manages 340 CDEP participants with unmet demand for a further 300-400 places. Under the CDEP reforms, these participants now receive income support payments instead of wages and many report feeling less valued as a result. This also means no ‘top up’ wages, and that income is quarantined under the compulsory income management scheme.

While Yirrkala and other Commonwealth nominated ‘growth towns’ receive program funding, more remote parts of the region will miss out under new Government policy.3 Layhna is also adapting to the recent implementation of the NT’s new shire structure. These factors have added new levels of complexity to the work of Laynha staff in providing essential services to a total population of around 1,200 people (in the Laynha Homelands).

the yirralKa rangersThe Laynhapuy Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) was formally declared in 2006 and recognises traditional ownership and management of the land and sea. Stage 1 covers 6,900 square kilometres in North East Arnhem Land, extending south from the Gove Peninsula to Blue Mud Bay.4 Yirralka Rangers are in the process of consultation in order to progress to Stage 2.

Day-to-day management is carried out by the Yirralka Rangers; locals who are paid to care for the rare flora and fauna of the area, the internationally significant wetlands as well as the endangered turtles and dugong.

The Rangers are vital to the protection of the environment and culture, and manage the land and sea in a way that is in keeping with Yol u ways while learning new skills.

Management activities include monitoring illegal fishing vessel patrols, monitoring marine habitats, managing feral animal populations and conducting ecological burning and fuel reduction.5

The Yirralka land and sea management program has developed linkages with schools to offer work experience to students and develop reciprocal learning relationships.

Mudinymudiny Dhamarrandji, a ranger in the Yirralka Ranger group based at Yilpara, says that becoming a ranger ‘changes lives, changes everything’, and keeps him busy and in work:

laynhaPuy hoMelands assoCiation inCorPorated (laynha)

The Laynhapuy Homelands Association Incorporated (Laynha) is located in Yirrkala and was established in 1985.

It provides service and infrastructure support to surrounding Homeland communities.

Membership of the Association is drawn from the clan estates of the Djalkiripuyngu, the Laynhapuyngu and the Miyarrkapuyngu areas of North East Arnhem Land.

Layhna is governed by a Board of 14 elected Yol u members from across the homelands and tends to mirror the kinship networks and regional interests of this membership. For Yol u, consensus building and negotiation are at the core of good governance.

Across a footprint of around 10,500 kilometres squared, Layhna is responsible for maintaining 27 homelands, 24 airstrips, numerous minor roads connecting the homelands to the Central Arnhem Highway and over 160 houses across the area.

Laynha is structured to support the provision of a range of services in the surrounding homeland communities, including:

• Maintenance and protection of country;

• Provision and maintenance of community housing;

• Employment and training program;

• Communications, IT and infrastructure services;

• Building, mechanical and civil works, transport and logistics;

• Provision of water and associated services;

• Airstrip and road maintenance;

• A range of health and social services, including health

prevention, dental, money management, aged care and disability services;

• Music and community arts programs;

• An aircraft charter service (Laynha Air);

• A Business Enterprise Unit;

• Youth Development Program;

• Community development programs;

• Governance, and capacity building programs; and

• Advocacy.1

18 • 19 A Better Way Garrangali Band. Image courtesy of Laynhapuy.

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history oF laynhaPuy

The homelands movement began in northeast Arnhem Land in the early 1970s, when senior Aboriginal leaders

decided to move back to their ancestral country.

For Yol u, homelands offered sanctuary from the negative effects of mining development, particularly alcohol. Moving back to country also allowed people

to protect clan estates from further disruption and give expression to Yol u ways of life and identity.7

From the beginning, homeland communities have had to be extraordinarily self-reliant.

Yol u have a history of fighting for recognition of their land and sea rights.

In 1963, they presented the Federal Government with The Bark Petition opposing the construction of a mine in Nhulunbuy. In 1972, the Yol u lost their High Court battle to stop the mine and Yol u

Elders had also been unsuccessful in their attempts to make Nhulunbuy a ‘dry town’. After this time, many Elders and their families decided to leave Nhulunbuy for their traditional land further north.

In moving, the families had to establish their own community and necessary infrastructure, building their own homes from materials sourced locally and clearing land for airstrips. The community also made a decision to be ‘dry’. In 1985, amidst continuing NT and nation-wide land rights struggles by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and knowing that coordinated service delivery would be of benefit across the area - the Laynhapuy Homelands Association Incorporated was formed.

Accepting the 2010 Reconciliation Australia Indigenous Governance Award for organisations over 10 years old, Laynhapuy chair Barayuwa Mununggurr said:

“It is a tribute to our old people who provided the vision for our organisation ... It is a tribute to our 1,200 members who supported us and struggled daily to sustain their

culture, land and sea country and their homelands. And it is a tribute to our clan and homeland leaders past and present who, for 25 years, have served as directors to develop the Laynhapuy Homelands Association, to develop

our homelands and to strive for self-determination.”

“They respect us. They ask us the questions … what’s good, what’s bad? … We learn how to take tourists and show them around ... how to cut bark and how to hunt … That’s what we are doing - protecting our land and sea and our culture and also sharing our culture and our land and sea.”6

garrangali CroCodile nestMudinymudiny is also a member of ‘Garrangali’. The band is made up of 11 Yol u men from Yirralka and Yilpara (Blue Mud Bay), a number of whom are Yirralka Rangers, and the others work on the CDEP program. The band has taken their music to audiences across the Territory and interstate and will tour internationally in 2011.

The band’s success is a Yol u success and shows the role that music can play in keeping culture strong, and communities resilient. It also shows the potential for music to generate significant income streams and economic benefits to communities, thereby building sustainable futures, particularly for young people.

Garrangali’s engagment with local Yol u and wider audiences supports the social and cultural link between tradition and music, and provides the link between community based music activity and participation in the commercial music industry.

The role of bands such as Garrangali is incredibly important as their music preserves and transmits language across generations. The fact that music attracts and engages so many young people means it is an important force in supporting the long term survival of language, and music sung in language raises awareness and appreciation of Indigenous languages in wider Australia.

Involvement in music can lead to a reduction in substance abuse, improved community health and cohesion and enhanced community pride in culture and young people.

Band members have developed skills through the Laynhapuy Homelands Association Incorporated Community Training Unit. Laynha has supported the men to obtain Certificates in Music from Charles Darwin University, develop a five year business plan, participate in music workshops, take part in drug and alcohol awareness programs, and gain literacy, numeracy and web skills.

Garrangali have taken advantage of the training available and have used the option of web based and digital platforms such as MySpace, Facebook, YouTube and podcasts to create, promote and sell music.

The development of music such as Garrangali is to an extent dependent upon broader social and economic progress taking place. The Indigenous contemporary music sector is a powerful force for social and economic

1. List developed from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Social Justice Report 2009 at 124, Laynhapuy Homelands Association Inc, Submission to Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, ‘Inquiry into the Appropriation (Northern Territory National Emergency Response Bill (No. 2) 2007-08’ and discussions with Laynhapuy Homelands Association.

2. Y Mununggurr, Laynhapuy Homelands Statement, 22 March 2009 in Social Justice Report 2009.

3. ‘Growth towns’ are those that are designated by the NT Government for targeted additional investment under its Working Futures policy. These are generally larger remote communities.

4. CAEPR, ‘Yirralka rangers’ web page at http://caepr.anu.edu.au/poc/partners/Yirralka.php. Visited on 8 September 2010.

5. Ibid.

6. ABC Katherine, ‘Being a ranger changes everything’, 2 September 2010, by F Brown, Maningrida at http://www.abc.net.au/local/videos/2010/08/27/2995634.htm .

7. F Morphy, ‘Whose Governance for whose good? The Lahnyapuy Homelands Association and the neo-assimiliationist turn in Indigenous policy’ in J Hunt, D Smith, S Garling, W Sanders (editors), Contested Governance: Culture, power and institutions in Indigenous Australia, CAEPR, Research Monograph No.29, 2008.

fooTnoTeS

Find out morelAYnHAPuY HoMelAndS ASSociATion inc(08) 8939 1800

progress, encouraging active engagement, and helping to address social and economic disadvantage.

"The positivity generated from Garrangali fills us all with pride and hope for the future … Acknowledging that the pathway can be particularly tricky to negotiate, but never underestimate the resilience and strength of the Yol u."Susan Sandery, Garrangali Manager

The band sings in English and in Yol u matha – taking their language far beyond North East Arnhem Land. All the band’s lyrics are inspired by their country, their Dreaming stories and the yidaki (didgeridoo). Their music, decision-making and activities are all self determined and benefit band members, their families and the wider community.

This year Garrangali won Best Album and Best Song at the Indigenous Music Awards.

LiSten to tHe muSiCgArrAngAli.bAndcAMP.coM

Page 20: ANTaR- A Better Way

WarlPiri youth develoPMent aboriginal CorPoration Mount theo PrograM (WydaC)

20 • 21 A Better Way

Yuendumu, a remote Aboriginal township on the edge of the Tanami Desert, was gripped by an epidemic of petrol sniffing among young people in the early 1990s.

By 1993 there were more than 70 regular ‘sniffers’ in Yuendumu, which has a total population of about 800-1,000. The community was suffering the fallout, including violence and property damage.

But in 1994, local Warlpiri Elders decided on a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to the problem. With the support of Traditional Owners, the local school, the Tanami Network and the local Community Government Council, young petrol sniffers were sent to Purtulu, Mount Theo Outstation - 160 kilometres from Yuendumu and 50 kilometres from the nearest main road - to recover, learn traditional culture and break their addiction.

At the same time, a comprehensive youth program was developing in Yuendumu to offer young people active and healthy alternatives to petrol sniffing, and to support young ‘graduates’ returning from Mount Theo.

The Mount Theo Outstation remains a powerful diversionary initiative. From a total of 35 clients cared for at Mount Theo in 2009, only one Yuendumu young man has returned to sniffing petrol, and no incidents have been recorded in Willowra, Nyirrpi or Lajamanu.

“The zero tolerance approach and a solid model of early intervention means there is an immediate response for any young person engaging in petrol sniffing.”Susie Low, WYDAC CEO

To date, the community-driven initiative has transformed the lives of more than 700 young Aboriginal people from communities in the region, and is regarded in Australia and overseas as a leader in petrol sniffing prevention.

Image courtesy of WYDAC

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Extending on this prevention work, the Jaru Pirrjirdi program – which means ‘strong voices’ – is now working with young adults in the community to address the underlying causes of petrol sniffing and help develop a strong, skilled and dedicated group of young leaders for Yuendumu.

An outcome of the strong personal development that is fostered in the Jaru Pirrjirdi program has been that 26 young people have been employed in a number of community organisations (a 61 per cent increase since 2008/09) and 58 people have been engaged in meaningful pathways in the community.

The success of the WYDAC Program comes from local Aboriginal people taking control and supporting one another, says WYDAC CEO Susie Low.

“From the beginning, the community has upheld Warlpiri values and used culturally appropriate ways of doing the work. The program received no outside funding until 1997; and all the early work was done on a volunteer basis. It is the families’ combined strength and determination that has allowed this program to prosper.”

The program is now used as a model for other remote communities in the Northern Territory.

The 2006 Commonwealth Senate Committee report into petrol sniffing highlighted the success of the WYDAC Program and recommended that funding be made available to interested communities to develop programs based on the same principles of intervention and support.

Mount theo outstation PrograM: treatMent& diversionBy community consent, young petrol sniffers are sent to Mount Theo for at least

youth PrograM: PreventionEach day of the week, Indigenous youth workers run an activities program for the young people of Yuendumu and Willowra (aged 4-17 years), including swimming,

Auskick, singing and dancing. The goal is to engage young people in fun and healthy

activities, reduce boredom and provide positive alternatives to petrol sniffing.

1. P Brown, Mt Theo Outstation Co-founder, Meeting at Mt Theo, 23 April 2009 in Social Justice Report 2009.

Far left & Middle Left: Johnny Japangardi Miller OAM and Peggy Nampijinpa Brown OAM, founders of the Mt Theo Program, celebrating their medals with NT Administrator 2003-2007 Ted Egan AO. Near Left: Peggy Nampijinpa Brown OAM and her grandson.

one month. Elders provide cultural healing and coordinate outdoor activities including gardening, traditional hunting, tracking, cooking traditional foods, fire-making, traditional painting, storytelling and trips to significant sites. These activities provide an environment for cultural strengthening and also a non-threatening forum to engage in discussion about the problems they are facing.

“They learn by themselves to behave, look to the future, and see how to treat their children. It is about bringing real change in young peoples' lives. If Mt Theo wasn’t there, we would have seen a lot more kids dying.”1

Peggy Nampijinpa Brown OAM

Non-Aboriginal youth workers visit the outstation approximately twice a week to deliver food and provide additional support. This has created an effective partnership between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people, with both groups sharing ideas and learning from one another.

After their time at the outstation, younger people return to the Youth Program (for up to 17 year-olds) and the older ones are encouraged to join the Jaru Pirrjirdi project.

Effective partnerships with law enforcement agencies, including the Yuendumu Police, have been established. Over the last few years young offenders have been sent to Mount Theo Outstation by the courts. Clients have also been referred by the Department of Community Corrections, the police, family members and self-referrals.

The distinctive identity of the Mount Theo Outstation within the Warlpiri community is a significant and contributing factor in the program’s ongoing success.

“Warlpiri youth widely express a perception of Mount Theo as a life-saving place, where young people are safely and appropriately looked after in a ‘proper’ Warlpiri way.”Susie Low, WYDAC CEO

WYDAC offers a number of programs including youth programs at Yuendumu,

Willowra, Nyirrpi and Lajamanu, the Warlpiri Education and Training Trust Youth and Media Projects, Jaru Pirrjirdi Youth Development Program, Warra-Warra Kanyi Counselling and Mentoring, the Mechanics Training Workshop and the Yuendumu Community Swimming Pool.

jaru Pirrjirdi ‘strong voiCes’: youth develoPMent ProjeCt

Extending on the prevention and treatment programs, Jaru Pirrjirdi

works with young adults (aged 17-30 years) to address the underlying issues

of substance abuse. This community leadership program aims to empower

young people to develop the necessary skills and capacity to be active leaders

in their own communities.

fooTnoTe

Find out moreWArlPiri YouTH develoPMenT AboriginAl corPorATionWWW.MTTHeo.org(08) 8956 4188

Page 22: ANTaR- A Better Way

The Central Land Council (CLC) was formed after the enactment of the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 (Cth) (ALRA),

the result of a long struggle for justice and land rights.

The CLC’s area covers the entire southern half of the

Northern Territory. Around 400,000 square kilometres

of this area (just under half) is recognised as Aboriginal-owned

land.

The area is divided into nine regions and includes 15 language groups. To ensure that the Aboriginal population living in the area - about

24,000 people - is represented on the Council, each region elects ten Aboriginal delegates. The 90 person

representative body meets at least three times each year with an Executive who meet more regularly.

The CLC is a Commonwealth statutory authority under the ALRA and a Native Title Representative Body under the Native Title Act 1993.

the broad FunCtions oF the ClCCore functions of the CLC include the recovery of Aboriginal land, native title claims, land disputes and compensation issues, protecting sacred sites and running the permit system for visitors onto Aboriginal land. The CLC operates an Employment Unit providing a vital link between employers and potential Aboriginal employees. This Unit provides training, mentoring and job readiness programs.

The CLC also plays a role as advisor and facilitator for Traditional Landowners wishing to engage with the formal economy. However, all decisions about the use of land remain with the Traditional Landowners. There are a variety of formal agreements about land use that can be reached between Aboriginal people, pastoral land owners, Traditional Landowners and corporations - these may lead to employment opportunities which can improve the prospect of Aboriginal people returning to and staying on country.

Under the ALRA, Traditional Owners’ consent is required for any exploration or mining on their land. The CLC plays a vital role in facilitating negotiations between mining companies and Traditional Owner groups, acting within the law under the direction of Traditional Owners.

the CoMMunity develoPMent unitThe Community Development Unit at the CLC assists Traditional Owners in identifying, creating and managing community development projects for the benefit of Aboriginal people and communities in the area.

Since 2005, the CLC has worked with groups to use royalty, rent and affected area payments from land use agreements for sustainable community development projects supported by Traditional Landowners. These projects include the Warlpiri Education and Training Trust Project (WETT), the Uluru Rent Money Community Development Project, the Granites Mine Affected Area Aboriginal Corporation Project, the Tanami Dialysis Support Service Project and the Wunara Mine Community Development Project.

The focus of the community development work that the unit undertakes is to achieve sustained community benefits for Aboriginal people from the money these agreements generate. Community participation and ownership is core to the success of the projects. Projects involve local people identifying the key issues they face, drawing on their knowledge about appropriate solutions and using their own resources to put these solutions into place. Projects such as the WETT project have significantly benefited the communities involved in them, producing tangible outcomes. For example a Learning Centre at Lajamanu has been built and is now operating, allowing access to library books and the internet. WETT has also engaged the Mount Theo Program to work on a youth media program and, in partnership with World Vision Australia and with some Australian Government funding, WETT has also set up an early childhood program.

22 • 23 A Better Way

Central land CounCil

Page 23: ANTaR- A Better Way

Caring For Country and Creating eConoMiC oPPortunitiesthe ClC ranger PrograMThe CLC Ranger Program is another example of the CLC’s work supporting Traditional Owners to fulfil their responsibilities to protect and care for country. The Ranger Program is currently operating in seven locations and has been running for over five years in some places. It is another highly valued example of community development, building on the environmental and cultural assets of the community.

The program employs approximately 100 Aboriginal men and women in full and part time roles. Rangers help to preserve culture by meeting their traditional obligations to country; they earn a real wage and they learn skills such as fire safety, fence building, soil and water testing, caring for sacred sites, culling feral animal populations, protecting endangered fauna and collecting rare flora. The CLC provides Rangers with the opportunity to gain formal qualifications. Over 80 per cent of all Rangers have completed an Occupational Health and Safety Training course and 70 per cent are currently enrolled in Conservation and Land Management certificate courses.

the northern tanaMi iPaIn 2007, the CLC, the Federal Government and the Lajamanu community signed the Northern Tanami Agreement, creating the largest Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) in the NT. The IPA is managed by a broadly representative committee of Traditional Owners and in 2008-2009 secured a five year funding contract from the Federal Government.

To reach agreement on this IPA, the CLC brought together each of the potentially affected Aboriginal groups. The Tanami mine, managed by Newmont, was already operational in the area and so the Lajamanu community and the CLC also involved the company in some land management discussions.

The Northern Tanami Agreement covers 40,000 square kilometres of country renowned for its unique ecosystem. The region is diverse, ranging from areas of sandstone, to desert wetlands and black soil plains. The land is home to the vulnerable bilby and Great Desert Skink, and the endangered Gouldian Finch. Within it are at least 30 threatened flora species. The area is the traditional home of the Warlpiri and Gurindji peoples and is now cared for by the Wulaign Rangers coordinated by the CLC.

Above: Opening of the Nyirrpi Learning Centre which is a Warlpiri Education and Training Trust (WETT) project funded by money from mining royalties. Image courtesy of Central Land Council

In the meantime, in 2007-2008 Ranger programs across the NT suffered a number of disruptions. The dismantling of CDEP had a negative impact on organisations which had participated in the program, with work often unable to be sustained. The roll out of local government reforms has also had an impact. As a result of the CDEP changes, the CLC took on 37 rangers from across the entire CLC region as employees to circumvent the difficulties brought about by CDEP’s removal.

In 2008, the Federal Government introduced a five-year employment initiative, Working on Country (WoC). With WoC as well as additional infrastructure and capital funding, the CLC is able to sustain its ranger activities, plan over the longer term and recruit and pay Aboriginal staff. However, this period of rapid change and uncertainty took a toll on the rangers, with cohesion not restored until 2009.

The Wulaign Rangers currently monitor for cattle and feral animal damage and conduct vegetation and threatened species surveys, fire mitigation work and country visits for cultural and natural resource management purposes. The Wulaign Rangers have also earned contracts from Newmont to survey local flora and fauna and carry out land rehabilitation. The Rangers have become mentors running a Junior Rangers program with the local school in Lajamanu where they can impart cultural knowledge, encourage respect and demonstrate the opportunities involved in caring for country.¹

The ‘business’ of the CLC is country - supporting Aboriginal people to return to their country, protecting country and ensuring that Traditional Owners and communities are heard, consulted and respected.

WarlPiri eduCation and training trust ProjeCt

(Wett)WETT was set up in 2004 as part of a mining

agreement CLC negotiated between the Aboriginal landowners and Newmont Mining

(a Tanami gold mining company). Under the agreement, Aboriginal people receive

royalties for mining on their land and they also receive funds into a trust for education and training. The CLC and the regional Warlpiri

controlled education body, the Warlpiri-patu-kurlangu Jaru Association, consulted with

the Warlpiri communities regarding program options. Through the consultation process early childhood care and development was identified as a high priority. Youth education was also identified as being a key concern. As educator Marlkirdi Napaljarri Rose from

Lajamanu in the north west of the CLC’s region explains:

“WETT is about using royalty money for further education and training for Warlpiri communities. We have been

talking about a lot of things that people have wanted to see, like a Warlpiri early

childhood program, a Warlpiri youth and media program and a Warlpiri Learning

Community Centre where we could go and do night school in our own community.

There are other things we are funding which are very important, like secondary

support for our children going to both our local schools and to boarding schools.”³

Marlkirdi Napaljarri Rose sits on the WETT advisory committee with members from

Willowra, Yuendumu and Nyirrpi and other education stakeholders.

indigenous ProteCted areas

Throughout the 1990s several Federal Inquiries were held into issues of Aboriginal

land management with the Federal Government was looking to develop a system of National Reserves. Discussions around the sustainability of Aboriginal people being able

to live on and protect their own land were ongoing. It was widely agreed that traditional

approaches were essential to the wellbeing of the land and that with the consent and support of Traditional Owners, more land could be classified as National Reserve.

This led to the creation of formally recognised Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs). Today there are 39 IPAs in Australia and over 30

more are in the process of being assessed and negotiated. For an area to be an IPA it

must meet all of the following criteria:

Land or seas owned by Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Peoples;

An area of significant biodiversity; and

The Traditional Owners enter a formal conservation agreement with the Federal

Government to manage the area.²

An IPA is a way for Indigenous communities to balance caring for country with

employment opportunities, land management and external economic interests in that land.

1. Central Land Council, Annual Report 2008-2009.

2. See http://www.environment.gov.au

3. See http://www.clc.org.au/Building_the_bush/wett.html

fooTnoTeFind out morecenTrAl lAnd councilWWW.clc.org.Au(08) 8951 6211

Page 24: ANTaR- A Better Way

Mäpuru is a homeland community, located in north-east Arnhem Land on Wolbukarra country and home to about 100 people. Yol u Elders decided to move back to this country over 40 years ago and built the community themselves. Like all Yol u communities, community Elders have ensured that the community has always been dry. Homeland decisions are made after consensus is reached between families in the community, with younger people deferring to the wisdom of Elders.

Yingiya Guyula, a Yol u man and lecturer at Charles Darwin University explains the importance of the homelands to the people of Mäpuru:

“Arnhemland is like the European Union, made up of many different nations, each clan-nation with their own language, each with its own national estate. Bringing everybody in from the homeland centres into the major settlements is not the right thing to do because people do not feel secure or happy living in another man’s land. Children are forced to go to school, but really they do not feel safe and [secure] on other peoples’ land.” 1

MäPuru Food CooPerativeIn 2002, the community established a food cooperative. The store stocks a range of healthy foods which are intended to supplement locally hunted foods in order to maintain strong culture and connection with the land. Unhealthy snack foods like chips and lollies are not sold at the store.

The store is a cooperative, which means that all store profits are returned to the community. It is managed by community member and school teacher, Jackie Nguluwidi.

“We are going forward for the future … children’s future…When I die they will have a store, weaving income and other businesses. We don’t yet recognise all the possibilities. Now we have a chance to teach and start other businesses.”2

Jackie Nguluwidi

In Mäpuru, telling one story means telling many. The shop is linked to the school, the vehicles, the weaving program and local tourism ventures. Each decision of the community is made thinking about the community as a whole and the flow on effects that may occur. For example, the logical place to open the store was in the same building as the school (Mäpuru Homeland Learning Centre) - in part because the manager, Jackie, worked at the school and it had a telephone and a storeroom. Even more importantly it was because teaching literacy and numeracy skills and ‘Western ways’ is much easier in a real life setting.

With the Federal Government’s NTER came the BasicsCard - and the government decision to reject the Mäpuru store application to accept the card. With a proportion of people’s incomes being compulsorily put onto this card, they had no choice but to shop elsewhere. From Mäpuru this meant Elcho Island, either an expensive flight or a one hour boat journey and a 40 minute drive each way. After much lobbying by Mäpuru Homeland on behalf of families

24 • 25 A Better Way

MäPuru hoMeland CoMMunity

Page 25: ANTaR- A Better Way

determined to stay on country, the Federal Government reversed its decision.

Responding to the Federal Government’s NTER and compulsory income management policy, Roslyn Mal umba, a Mäpuru Elder says:

“Why do they treat us badly? Here at Mäpuru, there is no gambling, alcohol or sexual violence towards children or any of the bad things that happen in towns and cities. We live peacefully together.”

The relative autonomy of Mäpuru Homeland is unique and Jackie explains a fundamental reason for this:

“We can only do this because we are living on our Home-Lands, we couldn’t do this on Elcho Island.” 3

a ProPer sChool For MäPuru The community paid for and constructed its first school in 1982, resourced as a Homeland Learning Centre.4 However, despite operating successfully for 27 years, and continued lobbying since 1998, the NT Government failed to provide proper school facilities and full-time teachers. In frustration, Mäpuru Homeland recently successfully approached the Northern Territory Christian Schools Association to set up an independent school. As a result, Mäpuru now has a school with two full time teaching staff, relevant curriculum, proper school equipment and improving infrastructure.

“There are about 50 children who willingly run to school everyday at Mäpuru homeland because it’s their home and they feel secure.” Yingiya Guyula

The ‘new school’ commenced in June 2010 and schooling will take place in a manner that is appropriate and meaningful to the children and the community. As an independent school, new NT regulations that curb teaching in first languages in favour of English do not apply.5 The school will have a flexible and realistic approach that gives learning a context. For example, students accompany Jackie to unload the stock for the store, they take part in stock-take, recording, making sales, using the EFTPOS machine and are gaining skills that would take much longer to learn in a conventional classroom setting. Students also take time out from ‘usual’ lessons to participate in cultural weaving and 'living on country' tours.

a CoMMon threadOver eight years ago, the women of Mäpuru started a tourism business, Arnhem Weavers, where non-Indigenous and Indigenous women come to the Homeland to learn about weaving and Yol u culture.

1. Statement from 'Yingiya Guyula from Liya-dhalinymirr clan of the Djambarrpuy u People', at http://stoptheintervention.org/facts/your-voice/yingiya-guyula-liya-dhalinymirr-clan-djambarrpuynu-people, accessed September 2010.

2. Cited at http://web.mac.com/banbins/banbins/mapuru.html

3. Elcho Island is also known as Galiwin’ku, and a number of Yol u clans live together there.

4. Homeland Learning Centres are a category of inferior government-provided ‘schools’ that do not have normal school infrastructure or full-time teachers and are found only in Aboriginal communities. There are approximately 50 Homeland Learning Centres in the NT.

5. English is not the first language of children at Mäpuru and the community has opposed the mandating of teaching in English arguing that bilingual teaching is more effective and culturally appropriate. The NT Government’s Compulsory Teaching in English for the first four hours of each school day policy means that the teaching and learning of Aboriginal languages and culture can only be scheduled in the afternoon. The Australian Human Rights Commission stated in their Submission to the Special Rapporteur in the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people 2009, that this policy is likely to seriously affect the bilingual education school model. Indigenous controlled education is essential in preserving remaining Indigenous languages.

Girls from the school take part in these trips with their grandmothers, mothers, aunts and relatives - they experience positive interaction with non-Indigenous women and teach these visitors some Yol u matha (language) and in turn learn more about Western ways. The Yol u women in Mäpuru are renowned for their skilled and aesthetically beautiful weaving. The tours involve collecting pandanus leaves, bark, and dyes from plant roots and then imparting their weaving skills.

Roslyn Mal umba explains the importance of this initiative to her:

"For the first time in our lives we are meeting visitors who are not service providers and public servants, paid to 'teach' and tell us how to do things … that hurts us inside. The weaving visitors are different. These women are respectful, not telling

Above: Baskets made from pandanus and natural dyes. Below: Yindiri & Yarrmiya travelled from Donydji to learn how the Mäpuru Coop operates. Left: Mäpuru Homeland Learning Centre fooTnoTeS

Find out more MäPuru HoMelAnd leArning cenTre & MäPuru food cooPerATive WWW.ArnHeMWeAverS.coM.Au/MAPuru WWW.culTurAlSurvivAl.org.Au

Images courtesy of Mäpuru

us what to do, but want to be with us and learn from us. For the first time my families are getting back dignity and self- esteem that can't be bought."

The weaving project has also generated funds for community projects. The program is based on the notion that the Yol u women have wisdom, knowledge and skills to impart. Participants leave with an insight into the oldest living culture in the world and ideas for a more sustainable future.

This community initiative has now expanded to include a tour for men’s business. Importantly, many people are returning again and again. As Roslyn Mal umba puts it:

“It’s not just about tourism anymore, it’s about relationships, long term relationships with good respectful people. That’s true reconciliation."

Page 26: ANTaR- A Better Way

Frustration with the lack of banking services available to Aboriginal people in Arnhem Land, in the North-East of the NT, inspired community leaders to develop their own solutions. Sitting down, talking, planning and the persistence of several Arnhem Land Elders led to the creation of the Traditional Credit Union (TCU).

Grants from the then Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) and the Arnhemland Progress Aboriginal Corporation (ALPA) enabled the credit union’s establishment. TCU’s first remote branch opened in 1995. Today there are 11 remote branches and a Head Office in Darwin with plans to expand to 20 remote branches by 2015.

TCU is the only Aboriginal-owned banking institution in Australia. The Board is made up of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. There is a combination of representation from the local communities, finance and law experts and those who have knowledge about culture and the needs of those who access the TCU’s services.

traditional Credit union

Images courtesy of TCU26 • 27 A Better Way

Page 27: ANTaR- A Better Way

indigenous Money MentorsTCU knows that to truly have an impact on financial literacy and on individual and family budget decisions, it needs to develop strong relationships with clients and be guided by the needs and priorities of each community.

With this in mind, the TCU has secured several newly funded Indigenous Money Mentor positions. The Mentors will develop financial solutions that best suit individuals or families. These roles will commence in 2011 and have a five-year Federal funding commitment. The aim is to recruit Mentors locally and by 2015 to have at least eight covering two or three communities each.

tiMe = reWardsCoordinating training for staff spread across vast distances and at least 11 different languages is a challenge. Rather than requiring staff to travel to Darwin for training, TCU trainers travel to local branches and provide individual, face-to-face training for new staff. Individual training ensures new staff are up to speed with relevant software, finance options and TCU processes and systems. As Morgan Hoyes, TCU’s Business Development Manager explains:

“Our training model is time and resource intensive but it works. Getting it right takes money, passion and time.”

Once staff have received their initial training there are further development options. Many TCU staff have been supported to take part in the nationally accredited Certificate II or III in Financial Services - delivered by TCU’s own accredited trainers.

TCU has remained in operation for over a decade because it is responsive to community needs. Looking forward, the TCU is working towards a model of community ownership. This will take time and resources and will mean involving Elders and community leaders even more in branch decisions. This is where TCU sees itself in the future. This vision aligns to the credit union structure where members - whether individuals, family groups or organisations - are the shareholders. As Morgan puts it:

“It’s about valuing community output and input.”

All TCU branches are located in remote areas that mainstream services often fail to reach. Customers can access complex information in a timely way in language they understand.

Before the TCU brought banking to remote communities, a basic banking transaction would have involved a long drive or a costly flight. For example, Milingimbi, the site of TCU’s first remote branch, is 500 kilometres from Darwin and 250 kilometres from the regional centre of Nhulunbuy. Given the high cost of transport to access banking services in larger towns, community people were often forced to rely on third parties to complete basic banking transactions, for example, having to ask others to cash cheques for them. In some places locals would have been completely without banking services during the wet season.

Over the last 20 years the presence of major banks in Arnhem Land has decreased. This is partly due to the challenges they faced in meeting the needs of local customers, including overcoming language barriers and providing flexible branch opening times to accommodate cultural factors.

By contrast, TCU staff speak the language of the community, they close for cultural business as directed by the community, they have procedures in place to allow several family members access to the one account and they employ local people.

TCU has been widely recognised for its contribution as a provider of training and employment opportunities to local Aboriginal people. In 2009, TCU was the winner of the Deadly Award for Employment Opportunities and has received Governance and other employment awards from the NT Government and Reconciliation Australia

MINYERRI

NGUKURR

NUMBULWAR

RAMINGINING

GAPUWIYAK

GALIWIN'KUMILINGIMBI

MANINGRIDAOENPELLI

WADEYE

WARRUWI

HEAD OFFICE

CASUARINA Find out moreTrAdiTionAlcrediT unionWWW.Tcu.coM.Au(08) 8999 0788

traditional Credit union Centres

Page 28: ANTaR- A Better Way

assoCiation oF northern KiMberley and arnheM aboriginal artists (anKaaa)

standing strong

The commercial success of the Aboriginal art movement is renowned and celebrated on the national and international stage. Less recognised, however, is the management of art production, support for artists and cultural enrichment that is provided by networks of Aboriginal owned and controlled Art Centres across Australia. In the Top End the Art Centres are supported by the Association of Northern, Kimberley and Arnhem Aboriginal Artists (ANKAAA). Governed by a board of Aboriginal Directors from across this region, ANKAAA services an area of one million square kilometres, supports 43 different Art Centres and assists over 3,000 artists, many of whom are nationally and internationally acclaimed.

Operating as the peak body for this region, ANKAAA is the ‘face and voice’ of an area that takes in the Kimberley, Tiwi Islands, Arnhem Land, Katherine and Darwin regions, where hundreds of languages and dialects are still practiced today and English is often the third or fourth language spoken.

Art Centres play a vital role in remote communities and the homelands of the NT. These Centres are not just places to make or sell art but are important ‘keeping places’ where cultural knowledge is shared and practiced and cultural identity is strengthened and maintained. Additionally, the Centres are spaces for education and training, and business meetings. For many communities, the Art Centre is one of the few local employers or the sole source of income-generation for financial independence.

The Aboriginal art industry is estimated to be worth $500 million annually and as a key player representing the interests of its members, ANKAAA’s leadership recognises that it is important to balance culture and financial business in everything it does. ANKAAA is an important example of the key role that peak bodies play in supporting the process of community development. Through advocacy, building capacity in communities and facilitating information and skills exchange (between different organisations) Art Centres have become centres of excellence and pride within their communities.

Fundamental and parallel to the rising success of the Aboriginal art movement was the Homelands Movement. The health benefits for people living on their homelands is documented and discussed elsewhere in this booklet (for example in AMSANT, Sunrise Health and Central Australian Aboriginal Congress stories); similarly, an interdependent relationship exists between the quality of art work produced by people ‘living on country’ on their homelands:

“People are doing their own patterns and designs and stories in their countries. We need to support them. They are respecting the country and telling wider Australia and the world why everyone should respect the country and not destroy it…it is all about the land and the art, and that we need to see more understanding about the importance of the homelands to art.” Djambawa Marawili, 2009 ANKAAA Chairman

To sustain the growth of Aboriginal art into the future, ANKAAA promotes the valuing of this special relationship to country that so clearly supports this creative process and the integrity of art produced. The value of the teaching that takes place in these homelands and community Art Centres by Elders and leading artists still needs greater recognition. The homelands are the heartland of the Indigenous art movement and are essential for the movement to survive and prosper. The transference of knowledge and skills that takes place in Art Centres has enabled continuation of important cultural knowledge, and maintained integrity of the artwork and the authenticity that buyers seek:

“Teaching happens right here on country between families and generations, and that is the right way because it teaches respect for country and culture.”ANKAAA Members' Values Statement, 2007.

One of the great strengths of ANKAAA is that it is governed by a full Board of Aboriginal Directors who meet at regular intervals.

ANKAAA staff deal with the logistics of these meetings; arrangements include addressing language barriers to ensure the Directors can engage in informed decision-making on strategic direction of the organisation. As the Chairman Djambawa Marawili stated in 2009:

“Why is ANKAAA really important? It is really important in being an organisation in which Aboriginal Executive Directors are the boss.”

Another strength is the governance model ANKAAA uses and the integrity in the process it follows to ensure meaningful engagement of the Directors and members. ANKAAA coordinates large-scale annual regional meetings across the four ANKAAA regions to guarantee member participation is strong and to define priorities for the organisation. These meetings also ensure that voices are heard in the lead up to the AGM, another significant event where members are supported to come together to contribute to good governance.

As a Finalist in the 2010 Reconciliation Australia Indigenous Governance Awards (won by Laynhapuy featured in this booklet), ANKAAA was proud to celebrate the strength and integrity of its leadership and the participation of its membership.

“As an Aboriginal art association, ANKAAA is now permanently standing strong. We need to keep on developing it for the young people to come along. We need to lead the young generation and teach them, show them the safest way to go, and where to live back in this Homeland today.” Djambawa Marawili, 2009 ANKAAA Chairman.

Find out more:ASSociATion of norTHern,kiMberleY And ArnHeMlAnd AboriginAl ArTiSTS (AnkAAA)WWW.AboriginAlArT.org

28 • 29 A Better Way

anKaaa’s Core FunCtions inClude:Consultation: listening to

members

Advocacy / Lobbying: talking up for members and art centres

Resourcing: helping and giving information

Training: teaching

Referral: putting members in touch with other organisations

and resources

Promotion: telling people about art centres and artists

Protecting artists interests: getting a fair deal.

Image courtesy of ANKAAA

Page 29: ANTaR- A Better Way

and related municipal services, Tangentyere Council runs a range of family and youth services, a night patrol, day patrol and youth patrol, a research hub, an art centre, an aged and community care program, a community banking facility and five not-for-profit enterprises.

This is all the more remarkable in that Tangentyere Council receives no core funding and is dependent on grants - as many as 100 at any time - predominantly from the Australian and NT Governments, with occasional grants from the Alice

Springs Town Council and philanthropic bodies.

“From our perspective, we want to have agency in our lives,

we want to have an opportunity to create an economic base, we don’t want to be under the welfare dripping tap for ever

and a day.” William Tilmouth, Tangentyere Executive Director.

CoMMunity hubsFunding uncertainty has also meant significant service delivery gaps, which Tangentyere has responded to with characteristic innovation. Their most effective response has been the establishment of Community Hubs that act as a soft entry point for Alice Springs based services to increase access to residents in the Town Camps.

Led by the community, the Hubs have become places of community strength, voice and vision. They provide a social hub for the community that effectively responds to the needs of families, including in areas such as family violence, education, child protection, substance misuse, health and wellbeing and financial management. They do this in a way that is empowering and builds on the strengths of residents.

There are currently three hubs servicing four Town Camps: the Yarrenyty Arltere Learning Centre (YALC), established in the mid-1990s; the Hidden Valley Community Centre, established in 2005; and a centre servicing the Karnte and Anthepe Town Camps that began operating on a part time basis in November 2009.

housingUntil recently, Tangentyere Council managed 208 houses on the Town Camps in their own right. In 2007, its Indigenous housing management program was recognised as achieving outcomes well above the national average across a range of health and safety measures.1

However, in December 2009, 14 of the 15 Housing Associations that hold perpetual

head leases over their Town Camps signed 40 year subleases of their land to the Commonwealth Government in return for a commitment of $100 million over five years to upgrade housing and essential infrastructure. The effect of the deal is that the NT housing authority will take control of housing on Town Camps, in line with the Commonwealth Government’s decision to transition all Aboriginal community housing in the NT to public housing.

This was not the outcome that Tangentyere and the Housing Associations had sought, instead arguing for continued Aboriginal control of housing in the Town Camps. Demonstrating their commitment to best practice community housing, Tangentyere established the first Aboriginal owned not-for-profit affordable housing company in Australia, the Central Australian Affordable Housing Company (CAAHC).2 With membership from the community, government and the private sector, CAAHC was presented as an alternate entity for holding the 40 year subleases.

The Commonwealth Government’s failure to back CAAHC in favour of government control is disappointing but not regarded by Tangentyere as the end of the story. With State and Territory governments elsewhere handing over their public housing stock to community housing companies, Tangentyere is convinced that the Government will eventually recognise the superior economic benefits and social outcomes that an affordable housing company such as CAAHC can provide.

Tangentyere Council is the major service delivery agency for the 18 Housing Associations known as ‘Town Camps’ in Alice Springs. Tangentyere’s remarkable story in many ways mirrors, in an urban context, the outstation resource agencies developed by remote homelands communities to ensure their independence and viability (see Laynhapuy story in this volume).

Tangentyere Council’s role is to provide culturally sensitive, sustainable services and programs in line with the decisions and aspirations of the approximately 2,000 residents of the Town Camp communities. These communities, comprising both local Traditional Owner groups as well as residents from traditional groups outside Alice Springs, have had to defend their right to exist as independent communities under the control of their residents.

“These are peoples’ homes, going back for four or five generations … Ownership on a communal level is something that people are proud of. Their fathers and grandfathers fought strong and hard to get the [Town Camp] leases.”William Tilmouth, Tangentyere Executive Director.

Over the past 30 years the Tangentyere Executive Council, drawn from each of the Housing Associations, has successfully steered the development of Tangentyere and the Town Camps in a way that meets the requirements of Aboriginal law and western administrative legislation and procedures.

For example, the internal planning of the camps reflects Aboriginal law and cultural values such as the need to provide areas for different family groups, temporary accommodation for people who have to leave houses following a death, the need for visitor camping and sacred site protection.

Tangentyere Council manages 208 houses on the Town Camps. In addition to housing

the Central australian aFFordable housing CoMPany

(CaahC)The Central Australian Affordable Housing

Company (CAAHC) was registered on 20 March 2009 and is the first Aboriginal owned not-for-profit affordable housing

company in Australia. Its aim is to reduce environmental health related illnesses and

alleviate homelessness in communities throughout Central Australia.

CAAHC is based on a social business model that delivers improved Governance,

a commercially sound business, an opportunity for increased government and private investment and improved capacity

to tackle the housing backlog.

CAAHC will contribute directly to improving the economic and social outcomes in

communities, including the provision of traineeships and real jobs.

1. Healthabitat, 'Comparison of house function rates by standard FHBH survey tests' (2006-2007), tables accessed at: http://www.healthabitat.com/newsPdfs2/TangentyereComparisons.pdf

2. While there are many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander housing organisations around the country, CAAHC is the first to be established as an affordable housing company. In this way it is able to take advantage of current mainstream community housing policy settings.

fooTnoTeS

suPPorting selF-deterMination in an urban settingtangentyere CounCil inC.

Image courtesy of Tangentyere Council

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The North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) is one of eight Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services funded by the Federal Government across the country. The other Aboriginal legal service in the NT is the Central Australian Aboriginal Legal Aid Service (CAALAS).

NAAJA’s mandate is to deliver high quality Criminal, Family and Civil law services to Aboriginal people in the Top End of the NT, as well as several other projects that are part of its Advocacy Section. NAAJA was formed in 2005 as a result of the merger of three separate legal services, NAALAS, KRALAS and the Miwatj Aboriginal Legal Service.

NAAJA services the Top End of the NT, from the Tiwi Islands in the Arafura Sea to the Tanami desert in the south. NAAJA operates in a difficult environment. Clients often live in remote communities and lawyers are required to travel hundreds of kilometres in a week to attend Bush Courts. Many of NAAJA’s clients speak English as a second, third or fourth language, and live in third world conditions where their legal problems are often enmeshed with broader social, health and economic issues.

“Our relationship with our clients, their families and

communities is close: based on trust. We

are in a unique position to present an intimate

perspective on the operation of juvenile justice laws, policies

and procedures on young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.”1

The organisation is committed to delivering the best possible outcomes for its clients, and although it has a team of professional and highly dedicated staff, it continues to face chronic under-funding.

naaja’s boardNAAJA has an experienced and dedicated Board comprising 12 Board members, with four representatives from each of the three regions that

NAAJA services – Darwin, Katherine and Nhulunbuy. The Board is entirely

Aboriginal-controlled. This ensures a level of accountability to community as well as a strong awareness of issues affecting Aboriginal people in the community.

NAAJA is committed to increasing its Aboriginal staffing levels. At present, nearly 50 per cent of NAAJA’s staff are Aboriginal. These include lawyers, Client Service Officers and administrative staff. An important difference from legal aid commissions and community legal centres is NAAJA’s Client Service Officers, who accompany clients through the legal process, acting as an intermediary between clients and the justice system. They assist to reduce the alienation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

CriMinal laW Disadvantage is deep in the NT, which has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world. On 2007-8 figures:

• The rate of imprisonment of adults in the Northern Territory was 568 per 100,000 adults, almost 3.5 times the national average rate of imprisonment of 164 per 100,000 adults; and

• 82% of the prison population was Aboriginal, despite the fact that Aboriginal people comprise only 30% of the NT population.

The figures have continued to increase since 2007. The rate of imprisonment of adults in the NT for the September 2010 quarter was 665 prisoners per 100,000 adults. This is

30 • 31 A Better Way

the north australian aboriginal justiCe agenCy (naaja)

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advoCaCy NAAJA’s advocacy work includes seeking to raise systemic law and justice issues of concern to Aboriginal people, usually arising through casework. NAAJA regularly meets with key stakeholders to raise ongoing issues, and also makes submissions to both Commonwealth and Territory Governments about a broad range of legal issues, which have most recently included priority areas such as the NTER, mental health issues, the Alcohol Court and child in need of protection matters. We also have two dedicated Welfare Rights Outreach solicitors who provide legal education, advice and casework assistance to clients on Centrelink matters, Income Management and tenancy issues, with a particular focus on assisting clients in remote communities.

NAAJA also seeks to deliver relevant and effective community legal education. In 2009, NAAJA released a DVD, 'Call me a Lawyer' in seven local languages: Kriol, Tiwi, Warlpiri, Anindilyakwa, Djambarrpuyngu, Gupapuyngu, Murrinh-Patha, as well as English. It explains rights and responsibilities in relation to interviews with police. The aim of the DVD is to make essential legal information accessible to clients. A second DVD in the series, ‘Court Terminology’, was released early in 2010. The ‘Court Terminology’ DVD covers essential legal process and language for Community Court Elders and Interpreters involved in the Magistrates Courts and will be available in English, Yol u matha and Kriol.4

restorative justiCe and innovative ProjeCtsNAAJA has recently concluded a research project on the NTER and the effect of additional police on remote communities. In collaboration with CAALAS, NAAJA launched a research report in April 2010 detailing the results of surveys with people living in the communities where 18 new police stations were built under the NTER.5

almost 3.5 times the national average rate of imprisonment of 168 per 100,000 adults.2

The 2009 report into Access to Justice by the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee confirmed that Indigenous legal services remain significantly under-funded and that this impacts upon Indigenous people’s access to justice.3 The funding of NAAJA is no exception. NAAJA represents clients in Darwin, Katherine and Nhulunbuy and across the Top End of the NT in bush courts. NAAJA acts for clients throughout the criminal process in the Magistrates Court and in the Supreme Court.

In 2009-10, NAAJA provided advice and representation to 10,125 Indigenous people. NAAJA solicitors handled 5,162 criminal matters and 711 family or civil matters. This does not include the additional 1,117 duty files which were also handled by NAAJA solicitors or the advice and preliminary assistance provided to clients.

Over the past five years there has been an increase of 27 per cent in the number of Criminal and Civil matters and 50 per cent in the number of family matters undertaken by NAAJA. The rate of increase is anticipated to continue to rise because of the large amount of case work emanating from the Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER). For instance, NAAJA have experienced a surge in traffic related charges from remote communities where new or additional police officers have been stationed.

NAAJA’s lawyers act as solicitor and counsel in complex Magistrates Court matters, including bail applications and complex pleas, as well as contested hearings and committal proceedings. In the Supreme Court, NAAJA acts as solicitor and counsel in pleas, trials and appeals and only brief counsel in the most serious of matters. NAAJA has appeared in 1,952 Supreme Court matters since 1 July 2007.

Civil and FaMily laWNAAJA assists clients in a broad range of civil and family law matters, including complaints against police, adult guardianship, child in need of protection applications, coronial inquests, mental health tribunal matters and family law.

The civil practice has been very proactive and innovative in turning situations of conflict into measures that will drive social change. As an example, NAAJA assisted a highly respected Elder of the Ngukurr Community in relation to a police complaint. NAAJA strongly supported, and actively participated in, a mediation process that led to the Ngukurr Mutual Respect Agreement, a groundbreaking document setting out the cross-cultural relationship between the Ngukurr Community and NT Police.

As well as this, NAAJA has in 2009-10 commenced other innovative projects, including:

• A Prison Support Officer project, where NAAJA has two Prison Support Officers based at Darwin Correctional Centre who assist prisoners with issues relating to parole, referrals to appropriate legal or other services and provide community legal education at the prison;

• An Indigenous Throughcare Project, to case manage prisoners six months prior to release from jail and for the first six months upon their release;

• Assisting Elders at the Lajamanu Community re-establish a Law and Justice Group to empower the community to play an active role in the conventional criminal justice system; and

• A mediation project in the Tiwi Islands to train local people to mediate local disputes.

Images courtesy of NAAJA

Find out moreWWW.nAAjA.org.AuindigenouS lAW ProgrAMS:WWW.Ag.gov.Au

1. Aboriginal Legal Service NSW/ACT, NAAJA, QLD Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Legal Service, 'Joint submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Inquiry into High Levels of Involvement of Indigenous Juveniles and Young Adults in the Criminal Justice System', January, 2010.

2. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Corrective Services 4512.0 Sep 2010.

3. Parliament of Australia Senate Legal & Constitutional Affairs Committee, Access to Justice, 8 Dec 2009. Available at http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/legcon_ctte/access_to_justice/index.htm

4. NAAJA, Court Terminology DVD. Available at http://www.naaja.org.au/

5. NAAJA & CAALAS, Researching on Policing in Aboriginal Communities, Themis Report, Available at http://www.naaja.org.au/

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coPYrigHT 2010 AnTAr. All rigHTS reServed.THiS PublicATion WAS MAde PoSSible WiTH THe

SuPPorT of AMneSTY inTernATionAl AuSTrAliA.