1 SPEAKING NOTES FOR UNSW PRESENTATION 22 November Peter Yu Transformational Development and Indigenous Modernity: The Yawuru Experience Acknowledgements I would like to show my respects and acknowledge the Bidjigal (pronounced Bedegal) people, the Traditional Owners of the Land that this university is located and where we meet this evening. I also acknowledge Professor Megan Davis, UNSW Pro Vice Chancellor. I would like to acknowledge Megan s national advocacy for Indigenous Constitutional recognition. I pay a special tribute to June Oscar AO, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Social Justice Commissioner who has joined us tonight. June and I go back a long way. We have an enduring friendship grounded in our shared work and political struggle and a shared Bunuba heritage. I also acknowledge my old friend Dr Darryl Cronin. We also go back a long way and thankyou Darryl for proposing that I give this presentation tonight. Introduction
2 Australia is at a very important point in history. This year is the fiftieth anniversary of the 1967 Referendum where more than 90% of Australians voted to erase those appalling provisions in our nation s Constitution that Indigenous people should not be counted in the national census and that our people should be expressly excluded from Section 51, sub section 26 giving the Commonwealth power to make laws for any race. In May this year 250 representatives of Indigenous nations from throughout Australia met at Uluru to produce a Statement that reached out to the hearts of all Australians to join with us in a grand endeavour of Reconciliation and Constitutional Recognition. For the most part Indigenous people want a genuine partnership with Settler Australians. We want an Australian nation to be inclusive of more than 60 thousand years Indigenous occupation and ownership of Australian lands and waters. We want to live in a modern nation which has reconciled and transcended to bloodstained colonial heritage. The poetic words in the Uluru Statement were clear, evocative and unifying. It called for the creation of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution and the establishment of a Makarrata Commission to supervise a process of agreement-making between governments and First Nations and truth-telling about our history.
3 Yet there has been a failure of our national leadership to respond. In rejecting the Uluru Statement and the Recommendation by the Referendum Council Prime Minister Turnbull made an extraordinary statement for its ignorance and hypocrisy. He said To have a national representative assembly, which is what we re talking about here, which would be in the Constitution, and to which only Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders could be elected, is contrary to the principles of equality, of citizenship in Australia and it would inevitably be seen as a third chamber. Our national Constitution does not enshrine the principles of equality of citizenship. The history of the Australian Constitution is not inclusive. It is in fact the opposite. Our Nation was born with the constitutional powers to exclude Asians and nonwhite people and to enable the continued genocide of Indigenous people by ensuring that the Commonwealth had no responsibility for a people who were not worthy of being counted. That is what the Race Power, Section 51 Sub section 26 was all about. Reconciling that history and amending the Constitution to enshrine the principles of equality of citizenship is what Indigenous people have fought for all along.
4 They are more than just words and legal powers. The Constitution defines the values of a nation. My mother is Aboriginal and my father was Chinese. I know what I m talking about when it comes to the values of exclusion and racism. Values which should not be part of modern Australia. We cannot allow petty stupid politics to negate the vision that was so eloquently expressed in the Uluru Statement. We must not retreat into a dark corner of cynicism and anger. It is incumbent on those who seek change to articulate boldly and clearly the practical benefits for Indigenous people and the Australian nation of a just recognition of Indigenous people in Australia s Constitution and a national framework for Treaty or Agreement making. We need to be detailed. We need to change the narrative. I would like to draw from the experience from my own community of Yawuru native title holders; the traditional owners of the Broome region to explain the potential of a new relationship between Indigenous people and the Australian settler state.
5 Mabu Liyan Framework Yawuru people number approximately 2000 people. After a long contested court battle Yawuru s native title was determined in 2006. 4 years later we negotiated a landmark agreement with the WA Government and the Shire. Yawuru have used our agreement as a platform to rebuild our Nation. Yawuru have a bold economic agenda to change the economic position of Yawuru and other Aboriginal people. Our aim is to create maximum employment and enterprise opportunities. Yawuru s development philosophy is called mabu liyan (positive wellbeing). Mabu liyan is about developing the capacity and resilience of individuals and families through building the cultural and social underpinnings of our community. In this we have invested in revitalizing our language and cultural practices and reconnected our people to traditional country. It is clear from this experience that people are better equipped to participate in the economy when they have positive wellbeing and purpose and are supported by a strong community.
6 More than 100 Yawuru people are employed in various facets of Yawuru cultural and community reconstruction. Yawuru argue that recovering from the transformative shock and trauma in the wake colonisation must be achieved through rebuilding the Yawuru nation based on its cultural and social assets. A deficit approach where families and communities are perceived as socially dysfunctional and requiring paternalistic intervention is rejected by Yawuru. Yawuru do not see their rights and their development agenda as separate from others in the Broome region. Yawuru native title recognition is not akin to obtaining the keys to unlock the door to development opportunities previously denied. It is more like opening the common gate for all to walk through to a new postcolonial future. Yawuru believe that the recognition of Yawuru native title rights must bring about transformational change to the local economy, Aboriginal people s living conditions and Broome s built heritage. Significant improvements in employment, housing (including home ownership) and the delivery of services are not aspirations but are treated by us as targeted objectives to be achieved within a strategic planning process. We are determined to create a society where people are leaving poverty and powerless behind, driven by individual will and the strength of the community they belong to.
7 And as the Yawuru middle class grows so too does the resurgence of Yawuru culture and language and the reconnection with our traditional country. The idea of succeeding as individuals and devoted to supporting ones family and the survival of community and its nurturing strength within a social framework of reliable prosperity is best described as Yawuru modernity. It is an apt description which transcends the western concept of modernity characterised by industrial development and overt individualism. Yawuru modernity is inclusive, views the relationship between the individual and community as intrinsically connected and mutually reinforcing and committed to the principles of sustainability and community cohesion. As part of this approach we are building the Liyan-ngan Nyirrwa cultural wellbeing centre which will enhance the mabu liyan development framework and enable us to measure the positive impacts for the benefit of community and government. This framework is central to current engagement with the State Government around transitional housing and home ownership expansion for Aboriginal people in Broome. Renewing the Yawuru Global Agreement The Yawuru Agreement incorporates one off payment of $50m, jointly managed conservation estate and 3,000 ha to generate income in perpetuity.
8 We are currently re-negotiating that agreement with the State government aimed at making it comprehensive. We are seeing our re-negotiation of our native title agreements in terms of Treaty making. Yawuru Development Principles Yawuru s development approach is underpinned by critical principles and practices. 1. Good governance Yawuru PBC sets the strategic cultural and social development agenda NBY holds the economic assets, employs staff and implements the economic development agenda widely seen as best practice native title governance 2. Yawuru is committed to an evidence based approach to enables the PBC and NBY Boards to make effective decisions based on sound information and data. 3. Yawuru is committed to a whole of community engagement through applying the principles of free, prior and informed consent on matters that effect the Yawuru community. 4. Yawuru are committed to developing strategic partnerships;
9 At the local civic level concerning economic, social and environmental planning, Industry and enterprise through joint ventures and other collaborative arrangements Advancing a research and development agenda with research institutes and tertiary education bodies Commonwealth and State governments concerning public investment and policy reform Asia Connect Critical to Yawuru s long term economic development agenda is its commitment to engage with Asian markets for trade and investment. Given Broome and the Kimberley region s proximity to South East Asia; the region s rapidly growing economic consumption power; identified products such as beef and other foods, tourism and energy, Yawuru have commenced an investment and trade exchange with Asian business interests. Broome s regional economy which is currently too reliant on southern Australia should embrace our northern neighbours. Asian investment and trade opportunities have the potential to change the underdeveloped character of Broome and the Kimberley s economy into a vibrant and inclusive growth and influence the development approach to northern Australia more generally.
10 Yawuru have been talking to Indonesian Business leaders and Government Officials and Australian Government representatives about the Kimberley being part of an economic development zone incorporating Indonesian province Nusa Tenggara, Timor Leste and the Northern Territory. Recently I travelled to Indonesia with a Yawuru delegation to explore and progress trade and investment opportunities. The visit confirmed and far exceeded my expectation of the opportunities and that of the Indonesian business interests in seeking to explore investment opportunities in the Kimberley and wider north Australian landscape. They were particularly interested in who we were as Aboriginal peoples. An Inclusive Development Agenda There are signs that Government are beginning to appreciate that a new policy approach is needed. The Don Dale Royal Commission highlights an appalling systemic failure of government policy and institutional practice. There have been other Royal Commissions and Inquiries which have said similar things but the evidence is becoming compelling and the costs to this nation on a range of levels are too high for things to remain the same.
11 Yawuru are asking government to support the cultural authority framework provided by native title recognition. This is provides the basis of an economic and social transformation place based development approach. Under placed-based Development State and Commonwealth policies and funding could be aligned to promote employment growth and economic and social development. A range of initiatives could support place based development such as; Creating a regional fund for Aboriginal enterprise development at concessional loan rates Create a statutory water reserve for Aboriginal economic use consistent with the National Water Initiative Land title reform embracing the non-extinguishment principle Making Indigenous communal lands fungible and developable whilst ensuring the long term protection of native title rights. Fiscal reform such as tax rebates to encourage industry to co-investment in Aboriginal owned land developments with native title holders.
12 Changing the Narrative We must change in the narrative concerning Indigenous people and development. For too long policies and investment proposals concerning northern development have ghettoized Indigenous interests in a deficit and conflict framework. In the past, the predominant paradigm has been that Indigenous interests will inevitably be resistant to investment and change. Governments and proponents have viewed Land rights, native title and heritage protection laws as problems and impediments to investment. This is the paradigm of exclusion and disempowerment. In this scenario conflict becomes entrenched and divide and conquer and manipulation become an ever present backdrop to negotiations. I won t burden you with hundreds of examples to show how this scenario has become normalized in Northern Australia. In this environment Indigenous land owners retreat into an oppositional position against a particular development and the fight focuses on the compensation price. This not a healthy investment climate. In this situation all parties lose and Indigenous public policy continues to be dominated by managing government
13 outlays to address the social crisis of community dysfunction, welfare housing, imprisonment and the horror story of youth suicide. It is imperative that we radically change the narrative to embrace Indigenous land ownership and connection and cultural heritage as an economic and social asset rather than viewing them in a deficit frame. Instead of treating Indigenous people as subordinates in the context of development and as passive recipients of compensation Indigenous landowners should be leading development projects as proponents or equity shareholders. There are huge opportunities for Indigenous people to lead development in the Broome and Kimberley region Kimberley integrated beef strategy utilizing the strategically placed Roebuck Plains Station Growth of fodder production Export growth of food products to Asia Development of solar and renewable energy Carbon farming Tourism industry growth based on the combination of the region s cultural and environmental values Research and Development Agenda
14 If Indigenous organisations are going to engage creatively and transformatively in a new inclusive economy we will need to do so with the best advice and evidence available. A research and development investment collaboration between universities, industry and government is needed to support Indigenous economic development potential concerning a range of products and ventures that are either uniquely indigenous such as native foods and medicines, carbon farming and cultural and ecological based tourism or established industries like beef production, horticulture, fishing and energy. The State and Commonwealth should partner Aboriginal interests to invest in a long term research and development agenda consistent with a northern Australian development approach. Conclusion The Yawuru development agenda shows the potential for treaty making in practice. It also gives some indication of the practical outcomes of how a national framework for Treaty making could work. I was planning next week to deliver the Australian National University Reconciliation Lecture titled Reconciliation, Treaty Making and National Building but unfortunately the Lecture has been delayed until early in the new year because of the funeral of my God Mother. I will argue in that Lecture that Australia is a better nation than the political
15 system which represents us. The failure of successive national governments and parliaments to forge pathways to recognise Indigenous peoples in the nation s Constitution is a failure of Australia s body politic. I contend that constitutional recognition should not be viewed as another contentious issue accompanied by political cajoling and maneuvering - to be ticked off along the linear trajectory of Australian nation building. It should be understood as fundamental to our moral and ethical national character akin to the tenets of the French Revolution Liberty, Equality and Fraternity and those self-evident truths consecrated in the American Declaration of Independence. We should not be a nation denied the potential for a reconciled history after four decades of public discussion and advocacy. Embracing Indigenous peoples in our Constitution is pivotal to a new relationship between Indigenous peoples and Settler Australians and a renaissance of the modern Australian State. Without this recognition the Australian nation remains tied to it colonial and bloodstained past. Galiya
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