Competent indigenous leadership crucial to change

Initially, that role will be played by ATSIC’s regional bodies (due to be abolished in mid-2005). After that, the ICCs will work in partnership with whatever representative structures local indigenous people decide to put in place within their regions.

This is radical stuff, and where this attempt differs from past failures is that there are a whole lot of important drivers of change, including a commitment from the highest levels of the bureaucracy.

The approach is imbued with recognition that indigenous people themselves, and their direct engagement in finding solutions, are the vital ingredients of positive change.

The road to hell in this area is definitely paved with good intentions. We must be honest and open about the reality that attempts will fail if competent, legitimate indigenous structures are not equipped to fulfil their end of the deal.

Those of us who are working to engage constructively with the governments in these uncertain times are urging leaders, both publicly and privately, to allow sufficient time for effective indigenous governance structures to be developed regionally and nationally.

Until now national representative structures have been imposed by governments. The National Aboriginal Conference, Aboriginal Development Commission and ATSIC were not indigenous creations.

What is possible now is something quite different as models of representative leadership are being discussed across Australia by indigenous peoples themselves, with support from Reconciliation Australia and the Australian Indigenous Leadership Centre.

This is an historic process and needs time.

The federal government must be prepared to support consultative processes in the hope that truly representative voices will emerge, designed by the indigenous people of Australia and therefore able to provide leadership to desperately needy regional communities and in the defining national debate about our shared future.