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Inquiries and Reports - Australia
Legal, Constitutional and Administrative Review Committee
Legislative Assembly of Queensland
11 September 2003
...
One of the most significant messages from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people put to the committee during this inquiry is that: ‘[w]e are not simply a minority group - we are the original inhabitants of this country’. As original inhabitants, Indigenous people established the first systems of government. Yet, in more than 130 years of Westminster-style government in Queensland, there has only been one Aboriginal elected representative in the Queensland State Parliament - Mr Eric Deeral. There has not yet been a Torres Strait Islander representative in State Parliament.
Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals and organisations are politically active and experienced in participating in decision-making and other democratic processes. Major advances in Indigenous rights and quality of life issues have been achieved through the tireless lobbying by Indigenous elders and activists. However, this activity has not translated into Indigenous people being elected to Parliament or local councils in sufficiently representative numbers.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples must be further involved in processes which result in policies and legislation of direct relevance to them, particularly regarding issues that affect their day to day lives, such as housing shortages, poor health, domestic violence, crime and unemployment.
For this to occur, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples need to be actively engaged in all levels of government as a matter of priority. This includes support for Indigenous women. Indigenous women have played an important leadership role through efforts to, for example, keep families and communities strong by curtailing violence and substance abuse. Yet, it was acknowledged that few women have sought, or gained roles as elected representatives.
The committee’s aim in this report is to recommend achievable and workable strategies to increase Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ participation in various aspects of the democratic process. Underpinning these strategies is the strong view put to the committee that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people must be supported to participate in existing processes and that separate measures run the risk of being tokenistic and divisive.
These strategies focus on:
The committee recommends that the effect of the strategies contained in this report be evaluated after three state electoral cycles or after nine years, whichever is the later. In this way, governments, political parties and Indigenous and non-Indigenous people will be accountable for making democratic processes inclusive of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
...
In matters of reconciliation, great leadership and vision is required to make progress. Mr Bill Lowah, respected Torres Strait Islander elder, made the following comment to the committee:
Parliament should not only be a place where Acts of Parliament are proclaimed, but also a place where acts of courage and vision are performed.
I commend this report to the Parliament and ask that all members demonstrate such courage and vision in considering the issues and recommendations made by the committee.
It is time for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to have a more prominent place within democratic processes. It is time for more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to get involved and get their ‘hands on’ elected roles in local and state government in Queensland.
Karen Struthers MP
Chair
...
It is clear from the committee’s research and consultation that there is a need for increased participation by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in all levels of government and the various processes which feed into those levels.
In this report the committee recommends a range of achievable and workable strategies to enhance the participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Queensland’s democratic processes. These strategies centre around:
As a whole, these strategies represent a package which can bring about significant reform.
The committee acknowledges that while it is imperative that governments, political parties and others adopt both the spirit and the letter of the recommendations which follow, greater participation will only be achieved if Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples further accept personal and collective responsibility for working towards overcoming the social barriers that currently prevent participation and for embracing the opportunities created.
The Legal, Constitutional and Administrative Review Committee, or its appropriate successor, should:
As a step towards constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, the Legal, Constitutional and Administrative Review Committee should consider the issue of a preamble for the Constitution of Queensland 2001 and, in particular, inclusion in that preamble of due recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Given the need to conduct wide public consultation regarding this issue, the Queensland Government should appropriately resource the committee to effectively carry out this task.
Political parties have the potential to play a key role in improving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ participation in the political process including representation at all levels of government. It is therefore important that the leaders of all Queensland political parties encourage their party to adopt and implement an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ political participation action plan based on the committee’s model plan to increase Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ participation in the political process. The specific actions, which are detailed further in table 1, entail:
The evaluation to be undertaken after three state electoral cycles or nine years, whichever is the later (see recommendation 1), should examine measures that political parties have taken to improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ participation in their processes, the success of those measures and whether there is a need to take further action.
Given the strong link between education about democratic processes and participation in those processes, the Minister for Education should review the nature and extent of civics and citizenship education for all students in Queensland schools and consider whether more can be done to:
To enhance accountability for the teaching of civics in the context of an inclusive history, the Minister for Education should request the Ministerial Council for Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs to expand the national civics test to test knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ perspectives of citizenship and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander governance.
To enhance and encourage the involvement, interest and participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, particularly youth, in parliamentary processes, Parliamentary Education Services should:
The Queensland Government should provide additional funding to the Parliamentary Service for use by Parliamentary Education Services to develop and implement relevant programs and material.
To enhance and encourage the involvement, interest and participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth in local government, the Minister for Local Government and Planning, in conjunction with the Local Government Association of Queensland, should:
The Attorney-General should raise with the federal Special Minister of State the need to reinstate funding to the Australian Electoral Commission to carry out activities aimed at encouraging enrolment and electoral education in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in urban areas.
The Electoral Commission Queensland should continue enrolment and electoral education campaigns targeted to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The Queensland Government should provide any necessary funding to ensure the sustainability of such campaigns.
Increased, effective participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in democratic institutions and processes might be achieved through specific employment and training strategies in such institutions and processes. To this end:
(a) the Speaker of the Queensland Parliament should review the Parliamentary Service’s employment and training policies to ensure that those policies encourage the employment and training of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Parliamentary Service, including in electorate offices;
(b) the Queensland Electoral Commissioner should review the Electoral Commission Queensland’s employment and training policies to ensure that those policies encourage the employment and training of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people; and
(c) the Minister for Local Government and Planning should request all local governments to: (i) review their employment and training policies to ensure that those policies encourage the employment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people; and (ii) report back to the Minister regarding the results of their review.
Recommendation 11 – Leadership Training
The committee commends the leadership training activities that Indigenous people have been involved in the development of, for example, the Cape York Institute. To enhance Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ involvement in democratic institutions and processes, the committee encourages the inclusion of content regarding civics, democracy and the political process in such leadership activities.
To enhance Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ participation in local government, the Minister for Local Government and Planning, in conjunction with the Local Government Association of Queensland, the Aboriginal Coordinating Council and the Island Coordinating Council, should examine the development and implementation of specific strategies and programs to encourage more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to stand for election to local government. In particular, these agencies should consider establishing:
The participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in local government should be considered as part of the evaluation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ participation in democratic processes to be conducted after three state electoral cycles or nine years, whichever is the later: see recommendation 1.
Once the current review of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (‘ATSIC’) is complete, the Queensland Government should examine the role of ATSIC in relation to state matters.
In conducting this examination, the Government should also consider the wider issue of efficiencies in service delivery for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across the levels of government.
To enhance the direct input of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to government and, therefore, democratic processes, the Premier should convene two Indigenous Community Cabinets each year for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The committee appreciates that government consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities is not necessarily undertaken in a way which is culturally appropriate. However, wherever possible, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders should provide information to their communities and take an inclusive approach to engaging community members in consultation.
In consulting with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, governments should, to the greatest extent possible, adapt processes and timeframes to ensure that cultural differences are appreciated and respected.
The Premier, as the minister responsible for the Legislative Standards Act 1992 (Qld), should introduce an amendment to s 4(3)(j) of that Act so that the ‘fundamental legislative principle’ example in that subparagraph requires that legislation ‘has sufficient regard to Aboriginal tradition, Island custom and any particular effect the legislation might have on Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander peoples’.
The Premier, as the minister responsible for the Parliament of Queensland Act 2001 (Qld), should introduce an amendment to s 89(a) of that Act so that the Legal, Constitutional and Administrative Review Committee’s area of responsibility about legal reform includes considering whether Queensland law has sufficient regard to Aboriginal tradition, Island custom and any particular effect the law might have on Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander peoples.
When setting its inquiry agenda, the Legal, Constitutional and Administrative Review Committee should more actively consider its area of responsibility regarding whether Queensland law has sufficient regard to Aboriginal tradition, Island custom and any particular effect the law might have on Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The Queensland Government should provide the Parliamentary Service with additional funding to appoint two Parliamentary Indigenous Liaison Officers within the Parliamentary Service to perform a range of advisory, education and protocol functions as they relate to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples including:
Given the minimal support expressed during public consultation for a separate Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Assembly, such an Assembly should not be established in Queensland at this stage.
The Queensland Government should ensure ongoing discussion with the Federal Government and Torres Strait Islanders (both homeland and mainland) and other residents of the Torres Strait about greater autonomy in the Torres Strait. Such discussion should examine what powers, roles and responsibilities might be further devolved from State to Torres Strait regional level to enhance autonomy in the Torres Strait.
Given the degree of opposition to dedicated seats expressed during public consultation, dedicated seats for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should not be established in Queensland either at the state or local government level at this stage. However, the need for dedicated seats may be one of the issues revisited if the representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in democratic processes has not improved after three state electoral cycles or nine years, whichever is the later: see recommendation 1.
The question of whether Queensland’s current electoral system, based on single representative electoral districts, is the most effective system to represent the diverse interests of the Queensland community, including the interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, should be revisited as part of the evaluation of the effect of strategies on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ participation in Queensland’s democratic processes: see recommendation 1.
...
The inquiry process does not stop with the handing down of this report.
It is the committee’s intention that this inquiry will broaden interest in, and action on, strategies to enhance Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ participation in democratic processes.
This report has been tabled in the Queensland Parliament for Parliament’s consideration. The State Government is required by law to respond to the committee’s recommendations in this report. Ministers to whom the committee’s recommendations are directed must table a response to the committee’s recommendations within three months of the report being tabled.[1] Ministerial responses must set out any recommendations to be adopted and the way and time within which they will be carried out, and any recommendations not to be adopted and the reasons for not adopting them.[2] Copies of ministerial responses are posted on the committee’s website once tabled.
Even when these formal procedures have taken place, the committee urges all people to keep the issues discussed in the report alive and actively pursue implementation of strategies which will enhance Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ participation in democratic processes. Indigenous and non- Indigenous peoples should call political parties and other bodies to account for action recommended in this report. The committee undertakes to actively monitor the effect of its recommendations.
The committee urges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to be actively involved in democratic processes. In particular, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should seek to take up positions in political parties, encourage those who show leadership potential and support the efforts of those who seek election. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who do seek election and are unsuccessful should not be deterred but stand again.
The recommendations in this report largely require the government to take action. However, all people must take responsibility for their own participation in democratic processes. In this regard, Indigenous and non-Indigenous Queenslanders, political parties, the Parliament and the government will be called to account for steps taken to ensure the State’s first peoples are given a proper voice in democratic processes when an evaluation is conducted after three state electoral cycles or nine years, whichever is the later, as recommended in this report.
The committee is determined that this report will lead to positive outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and raise awareness of issues among non-Indigenous Queenslanders so that further progress can be made towards a reconciled community.
...
The full text of the Report is available online via the Queensland Parliamentary Committee’s website at <http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/Committees/Comdocs/LegalRev/
LCARCR043.pdf>.
This Report follows an Issues Paper by the Legal, Constitution and Administrative Review Committee, which was extracted in the last edition of the Australian Indigenous Law Reporter (AILR 8.2).
[1] Or table an interim response within three months and table a final response within six months of the report being tabled: Parliament of Queensland Act 2001 (Qld), s 107.
[2] Parliament of Queensland Act 2001 (Qld), s 107(3).
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URL: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/AUIndigLawRpr/2003/44.html