The following opinion pieces have been published by the President and Commissioners. Reproduction of the opinion pieces must include reference to where the opinion piece was originally published.

New National Congress has every chance of being an organisation of which we can be proud

By Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Mick Gooda

Publication: Koori Mail, page 28 (Thursday, 06 May 2010)

This week’s announcement of the National Executive for the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples should be greeted with resounding applause: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples now have a national voice again nearly five years after the formal abolition of ATSIC at the stroke of midnight on 28 May 2005.

Bringing down the curtain that night was the final act in a drama that both Labor and the Coalition parties had commenced some 12 months earlier when they both announced that ATSIC would be abolished.

The impact was immediate. I remember meeting with a group of people on a weekend in Melbourne virtually straight after that announcement to start thinking about a replacement body.

The process really gained momentum two years later when, in 2007, my predecessor, Tom Calma, commissioned research on different models for national representation in order to move forward in providing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with a voice once more.

Later that year, the Labor Party was elected on a platform which included a formal commitment to establishing a new national body and it chose to base its consultations on the work Tom Calma had independently commissioned and undertaken.

After nearly 18 months of extensive consultations, a new national representative body was proposed that would provide national leadership in advocating for the recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as First Nations peoples, in protecting our rights, and advancing the wellbeing of our communities.

The National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples had been born.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who participated in the consultation processes overwhelmingly decided that they wanted this new representative mechanism to be developed and established independently of Government. The National Congress therefore is incorporated as a company limited by guarantee, rather than by statute, as was the case with ATSIC.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples said they wanted equal representation of Indigenous women and men in all processes of the Congress, particularly at the leadership level. The National Congress has again delivered on its promise. I fully endorse these views and am particularly pleased to see gender equity not only being voiced as an ambition, but put into practice with equal representation of women and men on the National Executive and the organisation’s Ethics Council.

Liz Broderick, the Sex Discrimination Commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission, had this to say on this aspect of the Congress:
“The proposed National Representative Body sets a new benchmark for any public organisation in this country. With Australia's poor record on supporting women into leadership, particularly in the private sector, I am delighted that our country's First Peoples are setting the pace - and challenging the rest of us.”

I am similarly enthused that an Ethics Council has been established to ensure the highest standards of professionalism and organisational integrity, with processes that are transparent, participatory, informed and robust. The Ethics Council will oversee the ethics framework of the organisation, including consideration of breaches of ethical standards, and will also oversight merit selection components of election processes.

The National Congress will set the national policies and priorities through its annual congresses and will elect the National Executive. Over time, it is expected that state/territory level and regional meetings will be conducted to feed into the National Congress.

Importantly, delegates will participate as individuals, who will contribute to a national collective perspective rather than simply representing the organisation or state/territory that has nominated them or employs them.

I don’t think we should kid ourselves about the magnitude of the challenges the National Congress will face in establishing its credibility with the Indigenous community, with all levels of government, with all levels of the community, and with the private and public sectors.

However, we should not lose track of the many reasons we have to feel optimistic.

First, I believe there is an appetite within the Indigenous community for a national voice that can clearly articulate the issues that confront us on a daily basis.

Second, there is strong support for the organisation across Government, led by the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, and the Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Jenny Macklin, and the secretaries of all major government departments. Indeed, there will be a queue from government seeking advice of the representative body. A major challenge is giving the body the time to develop itself and not be overwhelmed by Government.

Third, the appointment of the National Executive has been done under the auspices of the Ethics Council, which has come up with eight Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in whom I have the greatest confidence.  

But Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people also face some challenges now.

Do we give this new body the best chance to grow into an organisation of which we can be proud, to represent our views and aspirations? Or do we undermine the body before it has a chance to prove itself?

I am not advocating that we provide our support blindly without question, but we must give the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples a fair go to establish itself, particularly in these early days.

To paraphrase John F Kennedy, perhaps we should ask ourselves what we can offer the new body, rather than what the new body can offer us.

I want to be clear and place on the record my support for the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples and I will be engaging with the National Executive early to work out how my Office can work with it constructively towards better outcomes for our people.

The structures and processes of the National Congress have been developed on the back of rigorous, robust and transparent consultations. We should all give it a go.

Finally, I have to acknowledge the work of my predecessor, Tom Calma. 

The abolition of ATSIC coincided with his appointment to the position of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner. 

For almost all of his tenure, Tom’s was often a lone voice advocating for Indigenous rights, but also for the development of this new body. 

For that we should be eternally grateful for his energy and persistence.