As part of the Federal Parliament inquiry into economic engagement with Traditional Owners, the Northern Australia Committee is holding a public hearing in Canberra tomorrow, taking evidence from government agencies, academics and Indigenous stakeholders.
Committee Chair Warren Entsch says tomorrow’s hearing will give the Committee the opportunity to test evidence heard in the regions against the testimony of government agencies and experts.
‘We have heard a lot about the problems facing Traditional Owners in recent hearings—the significant barriers to economic development on Northern Australia. We are keen to hear from government and other leading experts about solutions to those problems. We need solutions that will promote the economic development of the North and opportunities for Indigenous communities,’ he said.
In its submission, the Indigenous Reference Group (IRG) argues that ‘unless Indigenous interests in the Northern Australian economy are optimally activated, Northern Australia will at best never reach its social and economic potential and at worst, fail to develop socially and economically’. To meet this need, the IRG ‘strongly recommends either a stand-alone Northern Australian Indigenous economic development body … or a statutory re-tasking of the existing Indigenous economic development organisations to achieve this result’.
The Australian National University highlighted the ‘false dichotomy’ between western individualism and Indigenous collectivism. It observed that ‘There is growing recognition in the international arena that such diverse forms of Indigenous development (cultural, heritage, intellectual property, environmental, etc.) have considerable value to the world and the economies of individual countries’.
The program is available on the Committee’s website.
Public hearing details
Date: Friday, 7 February 2020
Time: 8:30am to 1:00pm
Location: Committee Room 1R3, Parliament House, Canberra
Witnesses include:
- Indigenous Reference Group to the Ministerial Forum on Northern Development
- Australian National University (Submission 33 & Submission 39)
- Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations
- Indigenous Business Australia (Submission 14 & Submission 14.1)
- National Indigenous Australians Agency
- Minerals Council of Australia
The hearings will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live.
Further details of the inquiry, including expanded terms of reference, can be found on the Committee’s website.
Media inquiries
Hon Warren Entsch MP, Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia
warren.entsch.mp@aph.gov.au
02 6277 4803
For background information
Committee Secretariat
02 6277 4162
jscna@aph.gov.au
