Protocols for the delivery of social and emotional wellbeing and mental health services in Indigenous communities
Melissa Haswell North Queensland Health Equalities Promotion Unit05 November, 2009 These guidelines have been written to fill a significant gap in resources available to Primary Health Care and Mental Health services.

The geography and demography of Indigenous migration: Insights for policy and planning
Nicholas Biddle Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research 05 November, 2009 The aim of this paper is to consider a number of related aspects of Indigenous migration including the propensity to move, population redistribution, migration patterns and flows, urbanisation and intra-urban migration.

The 2nd National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Family & Community Strengths Conference
LOCATION: The University of Newcastle, Callaghan Campus
ORGANISED BY: The Family Action Centre & SNAICC01 December, 2009 The Family Action Centre and SNAICC invite you to be part of The 2nd National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Family & Community Strengths Conference.
When: 1 - 3 December 2009Where: The University of Newcastle, Callaghan CampusThis conferences' principal sponsor is The Australian Government Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, other sponsor includes The University of Newcastle.
The conference will explore family-centred, strength-based community engagement in relation to:# nurturing cultural identity in childre

Sustaining at-risk Indigenous tenancies: a review of Australian policy responses
Paul Flatau Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute26 October, 2009 The key objective of the study is to outline and evaluate the operation and effectiveness of tenant support programs and other tenancy support measures in assisting at-risk Indigenous tenants.

Linking flexible delivery and community development: The Wugularr story
Stuart Anderson National Cente for Vocational Education Research26 October, 2009 NCVER's Academic Scholarship Program provided the opportunity for an investigation into the flexible delivery of vocational education and training (VET) in a remote Indigenous community.

An Aboriginal family and community healing program in metropolitan Adelaide
Australian Indigenous HealthBulletin26 October, 2009 This paper describes and evaluates the process, impacts and outcomes of a program designed to develop effective responses to family violence that took into account the complexities within Aboriginal families and communities.

Change the 'lock em up' mentality
23 October, 2009 Ted Wilkes, Chair, National Indigenous Drug and Alcohol Committee, speaks about alcohol use in Indigenous Communities and the links between self esteem, substance abuse and incarceration. The Australian Drug Foundation's conference Thinking Drinking 3 held in Brisbane in August 2009, looked at the role of alcohol in entertainment, violence and crime, the night-time economy, marketing, taxation, competition policy, alcogenic environments and more. 9.59 minutes

APO Research

Policy change and the Indigenous Land Corporation
Patrick Sullivan Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies21 September, 2009 This discussion paper finds that it is time to review the purposes of the Indigenous Land Corporation and the Land Fund in the light of its original charter and to make its policies and strategies more inclusive and transparent.

Closing the nutrition and physical activity gap in Victoria: Victorian Aboriginal nutrition and physical activity strategy
Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation21 September, 2009 This Strategy is the result of a comprehensive review of the Indigenous health promotion literature and a state-wide consultation process to improve nutrition, physical activity and reducing the chronic disease burden among the Victorian Aboriginal Community.

Wild rivers, conservation and Indigenous rights: an impossible balance?
Meg McLoughlin, Melissa Sinclair Indigenous Law Bulletin22 September, 2009 This article discusses Queensland's controversial Wild Rivers Act, arguing that it steamrolls Cape York communities’ fundamental rights to culture, land and development.

Indigenous portal
21 September, 2009 The Indigenous portal provides up to date information on programs and services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Toni Bauman and Cynthia Ganesharajah, ‘Second National Meeting of Registered Native Title Bodies Corporate, Melbourne 2 June 2009’, Native Title ResearchReport, 2/2009.
http://ntru.aiatsis.gov.au/publications/reports%20and%20other%20pdfs/FINAL_RNTBCMeetingReport.pdf

Kingsley Palmer, ‘Societies, Communities and Native Title’, Land, Rights,Laws: Issues of Native Title, vol.4, no.1, 2009.
http://ntru.aiatsis.gov.au/publications/2009/Issues%20Papers/IssuesPaperVol4No1.pdf

Simon Young, ‘Native Title in Canada and Australia post-: Shared Thinking or Ships in the Night?’, Land, Rights, Laws: Issues of Native Title,vol.4, no.2, 2009.
http://ntru.aiatsis.gov.au/publications/2009/Issues%20Papers/IssuesPaperVol4No2.pdf

Justice J.A. Dowsett, ‘Beyond Mabo: understanding native title litigationthrough the decisions of the Federal Court’, paper delivered to LexisNexis Native Title Law Summit, 15 July 2009.
http://www.fedcourt.gov.au/aboutct/judges_papers/speeches_dowsettj2.html

National Native Title Tribunal, Guide to Sources of Assistance and Funding for Prescribed Bodies Corporate, July 2009.
http://www.nntt.gov.au/Publications-And-Research/Tribunal-Research/Documents/Guide%20to%20Sources%20of%20Assistance%20and%20Funding%20for%20Prescribed%20Bodies%20Corporate.pdf

National Native Title Tribunal, Guide to Australian Government Funding Sources,July 2009.
http://www.nntt.gov.au/Publications-And-Research/Tribunal-Research/Documents/Guide%20to%20Australian%20Government%20Funding%20Sources.pdf

Graeme Neate, ‘Negotiating comprehensive settlement of native title claims’, paper delivered to LexisNexis Native Title Law Summit, 15 July 2009.
http://www.nntt.gov.au/news-and-communications/speeches-and-papers/pages/negotiating_comprehensive_settlements_of_nt_claims.aspx

Juanita Pope and Toni Bauman (eds), ‘ "Solid work you mob are doing" :Case studies in Indigenous Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management in Australia’, Report to the National Alternative Dispute Resolution Advisory Council by the Federal Court of Australia’s Indigenous Dispute Resolution& Conflict Management Case Study Project, 2009.
http://ntru.aiatsis.gov.au/major_projects/indigenousdecisionmaking

Patrick Sullivan, ‘Policy change and the Indigenous Land Corporation’, AIATSIS Research Discussion Paper 25, 2009.
http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/research/discussion.html

APO Research

Bridges and barriers - addressing Indigenous incarceration and health
National Indigenous Alcohol and Drug Committee Australian National Council on Drugs24 July, 2009 This report argues that the strong links between substance misuse and Indigenous incarceration highlight an urgent need for government to address this disturbing problem.

Staying strong on the outside: improving the post-release experience of Indigenous young adults
Robyn Gilbert, Anna Wilson Indigenous justice clearinghouse27 July, 2009 This research brief draws on international research to identify current understandings of good practice in prisoner reentry generally as well as issues particular to Indigenous prisoner reentry.

Official Launch of the Indigenous Policy and Dialogue Research Unit and 'So, what?' Lecture with Professor Patrick Dodson
LOCATION: 20 August, 2009 You are warmly invited to the Official Launch of The Indigenous Policy and Dialogue Research Unit in conjunction with the So, what? public lecture with Professor Patrick Dodson

Policy Change and the Indigenous Land Corporation - by Patrick Sullivan(2009) (PDF, 423kb) http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/10746/AIATSIS_DP_25.pdf

Indigenous Land Corporation should be more accountable: Sullivan
http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/10747/2009_0907_ILCReport.pdf

Local Indigenous talent to shine at NAIDOC gig
http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/10744/2009-0807_NAIDOConthePeninsula.pdf

Bilingual the best way to learn English: AIATSIS Symposium
http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/10701/2009_2506_Bilingual.pdf

Bilingual education symposium to discuss NT policy
http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/10687/2009_2306_Bilingual_media.pdf

10th Annual Native Title Conference - 2009 Mabo Lecture
http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/10633/MaboLecture_2009x.pdf

APO Research

Reported gambling problems in the Indigenous and total Australian population
Gambling Research Australia 01 July, 2009 This study investigated factors that correlate with gambling-related problems among the Indigenous population. There are significant variations between states and territories in the percentage of Indigenous people reporting gambling related problems for themselves or their family and social networks.

Gaps in Australia's Indigenous language policy: dismantling bilingual education in the Northern Territory
Jane Simpson, Jo Caffery, Patrick McConvell Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies29 June, 2009 Young children learn best when taught through their mother tongue. This commonsense principle has been supported by decades of research on bilingual education for children who don't speak the dominant language.

Select committee on regional and remote Indigenous communities: second report 2009
Marise Payne Senate Select Committee on Regional and Remote Indigenous Communities30 June, 2009 On 19 March 2008 the Senate resolved to appoint a Select Committee on Regional and Remote Indigenous Communities to inquire into and report on: a. the effectiveness of Australian Government policies following the Northern Territory Emergency Response

The contribution of homelands to traditional owners
For Indigenous Australians government policy keeps on changing: 'Sometimes we feel like we are part of a game we can’t play. 'Indigenous Affairs - Jimmy Pascoe - posted 19/6/2009

Linking Indigenous Policy with Service Delivery 2009
LOCATION: Novotel Cairns Oasis Resort, Cairns
ORGANISED BY: Criterion Conferences25 August, 2009
Despite an enormous injection of funding into Indigenous housing, health and education, the conversion of new policies into improved service delivery is not as transparent as the Rudd government's enthusiasm to improve Indigenous circumstances.

Research from APO

Outstations/homelands policy
Northern Territory Government20 May, 2009 As part of its "Working futures" policy the NT government has announced that services to outstations/homelands will in most cases involve a form of remote delivery, based from the closest or most accessible hub town.

Our home, our homeland: community engagement report
Northern Territory Government20 May, 2009 In September 2007 the Northern Territory Government took over responsibility for the delivery of municipal and essential services to Territory outstations starting 1 July 2008. The following report outlines the key outcomes from a series of community engagement meetings.

Developing a national Indigenous policy framework that recognises needs, rights and legacies and delivers results
Jon Altman Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research15 May, 2009 This paper examines current Indigenous policy, including Closing the Gap, a monolithic approach that privileges statistical equality over all else and undervalues difference and diversity.

Literacy in remote Indigenous Australia
Inge Kral Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research 15 May, 2009 The literacy debate rarely addresses the critical social and historical factors that also account for why literacy levels among remote Indigenous youth are lower than their mainstream counterparts.

The land is a map: placenames of indigenous origin in Australia
Luise Hercus ANU E Press15 May, 2009 The entire Australian continent was once covered with networks of Indigenous placenames. These names often evoke important information about features of the environment and their place in Indigenous systems of knowledge

Indigenous policy - unfinished business

Election 2007: Indigenous policy - unfinished business
Megan Davis / Australian Review of Public Affairs
Indigenous peoples' support for and emphasis on the "rights agenda" has been shaped by history. The political and constitutional history of Australia is indelibly connected to the contemporary problems of Indigenous Australia: insecurity of rights and policy experiments. It is only when we negotiate unfinished business together, with nothing ruled out and ready to compromise, that we can move forward together as a nation. Posted 15-11-2007

Aboriginal Intervention

Late Night Live ABC Radio National 03 October 2007 MP3 / Audio
Professor Jon Altman
Director of the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research at the ANU
Harry Scott
Chief Executive Officer of the Titjikala Community Government Council.
An update on the progress of the federal government's intervention into Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory.

ANU - RMAP Seminar: Police failure in Indigenous affairs. Altman

RESEARCH SEMINAR - Policy failure in Indigenous affairs: The social and economic impacts and likely legacies of the NT emergency intervention.
Jon Altman MP3 Audio
On June 21 2007 the Australian government dramatically declared a 'national emergency' in relation to child sex abuse in the Northern Territory. In an unprecedented set of actions the Commonwealth has taken direct control of communities, overriding the authority of both the NT government and local community organisations using the territory powers conferred under the Australian constitution. Subsequently in August 2007 these actions and others were enshrined in Australian law. This seminar addresses the immediate policy background to this intervention and then from a development anthropology perspective assesses the likely social and economic impacts of these new laws on prescribed communities and their residents. It is argued in the seminar that for a wide range of reasons the new measures are unlikely to work and indeed may result in adverse and unsustainable outcomes for Indigenous Australians.

Aboriginal Leadership in Health and Social Policy

Dr Mark Wenitong, President, Australian Indigenous Doctors' Association
5 September 2007. Streaming Audio and MP3
Abstract: How do we determine, without polarising or politicising, what is best practice in social and health reform for Indigenous Australians?
European health and social policy has assumed the right to declare what is 'acceptable' practice for all of society. Even if, within this ideology, we were able to keep Indigenous kids safe tonight, how would we ensure they have something meaningful to live for tomorrow?
Indigenous Australians have been here a long time, yet continue to battle to have Indigenous knowledge systems acknowledged. The Anderson-Wild Report has laid out the rules of engagement with Aboriginal people by recommending that '…there needs to be a radical change in the way government and non-government organisations consult, engage with and support Aboriginal people.' This presents public health and social planners with a real challenge.

In the name of failure: The Howard government's generational revolution in Indigenous affairs

Will Sanders (Senior Fellow, CAEPR)
CAEPR - Seminar Series August 02, 2007 (Streaming Audio, MP3)
Abstract: Since 2004, the Howard government has used the idea of past policy failure to introduce major new organisational arrangements in Indigenous affairs. In the name of failure, after fifteen years, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) was abolished and its programs were re-assigned to 'mainstream' Commonwealth departments. A Commonwealth Secretaries Group on Indigenous Affairs (SGIA) was significantly enhanced and a National Indigenous Council (NIC) and a Ministerial Taskforce on Indigenous Affairs (MTIA) were established. Further down the hierarchy of Commonwealth administration, both a central Office of Indigenous Policy Coordination (OIPC) and regional Indigenous Coordination Centres (ICCs) were established and built up. Through these new organisational arrangements, the fourth term Howard government has also put considerable effort into new agreement making at State/ Territory, regional and local levels through bi-lateral Commonwealth State/Territory agreements, Regional Partnership Agreements and local Shared Responsibility Agreements. From June 2007, also in the name of past failure, the Howard government has also now begun developing its 'national emergency' response to allegations of widespread child sexual abuse in Aboriginal communities.

Changes to CDEP under DEWR: Policy substance and the new contractualism

May 2007 — Will Sanders (Senior Fellow, CAEPR)
The Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP) scheme is an Indigenous ‘workfare’ program which has existed since 1977. In 2004, with the abolition of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC), CDEP became a responsibility of the Commonwealth Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR). Since early 2005, DEWR has been engaged in a reform process which has led to some significant changes to CDEP. This article looks at those changes under two headings; policy substance and the new contractualism. It begins with a little more history. (First published in Impact: News Quarterly of the Australian Council of Social Services. Revised Draft, March 2007.)

A new policy framework for Indigenous housing

http://www.apo.org.au/linkboard/results.chtml?filename_num=149208
Mike Dillon / Centre for Policy Development
Housing in remote Indigenous communities is in a state of crisis. Overcrowding has reached third world levels, the cost of building new houses is skyrocketing, asset lifespans are short, and organisational capacity within Indigenous Community Housing Organisations is weak, leading to poor maintenance, poor tenancy management and severely misdirected incentive structures for community residents writes Mike Dillon. Posted 09-05-2007