Overcoming Indigenous exclusion: Very hard, plenty humbug. CAEPR Policy Insights Paper 1/2019

Michael Dillon, Neil Westbury

    Research output: Book/ReportCommissioned reportpeer-review

    Abstract

    The systemic and structural issues that underpin the longstanding policy failures of governments in Indigenous Affairs are central to the nations future. The strategic policy choices facing both policymakers and Indigenous interests are complex and challenging. Our aim is to provide a high level and accessible overview of the policy and political forces which operate in the Indigenous policy domain. We begin with an analysis of the lessons of the last 30 years which emerged from the nations experiment with a legislated Indigenous voice from 1990 through to the mid 2000s when the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) came into existence, and was ultimately dismembered and disbanded. We then turn to the current national debate on future Indigenous policy around the Uluru Statement from the Heart and the proposals for a constitutionally entrenched national Indigenous Voice to Parliament and a truth telling process termed a Makarrata. We draw on the emerging literature on political settlements to develop the argument that Indigenous exclusion is deeply structural in nature, and will not be easily reversed by a single policy or constitutional change. We examine a number of case studies of systemic exclusion. It will require systemic reform, which given the risks will need to be pursued incrementally and sustained over time. We provide a high level overview of the steps leading to the current state of play in constitutional recognition of Indigenous peoples in Australia, and make various suggestions for the design of the proposed Indigenous Voice, drawing in the first instance on the lessons from the nations experience with ATSIC. We conclude that while greater inclusion in key national institutional frameworks will be challenging, it is also the only way forward that is truly in the national interest.
    Original languageEnglish
    Place of Publicationhttps://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/handle/1885/164010
    Commissioning bodyCentre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research
    Number of pages110
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2019

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Overcoming Indigenous exclusion: Very hard, plenty humbug. CAEPR Policy Insights Paper 1/2019'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this