$2.5 million to foster business links with Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Timor Leste $12.4 million to enhance Indigenous Ranger groups in Northern Australia. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in the North have been trading with Indonesian fishermen and islands off the Torres Strait for generations. However, the Northern Land Council points out that, as Free Trade Agreements and greater investment take place with these markets, our people ‘want to share the advantage that flows from that proximity, and from the opportunities that will flow from the agreement with China’. Infrastructure and employment The remaining key issues outlined by the White Paper relate to improving infrastructure, particularly roads and enhancing the workforce of Northern Australia. The dedication of more resources to transport infrastructure and the sealing and upgrade of and highways will make Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities more accessible, particularly those in remote locations. This will have positive implications for everyday needs but particularly in relation to land, agriculture, tourism and other economic ventures. As KRED Enterprises outlined in their submission to the White Paper: There are significant opportunities for partnerships between native title groups and the private sector in relation to infrastructure developments to support the resources sector and such partnerships should be encouraged and supported by the Australian Government. The $208.4 million package provided to the Cape York Region is also a key part of the infrastructure reform outlined by the White Paper. The package will deliver reforms that support local industry such as hospitality, mining, transport and tourism, as well as social projects relating to health, education and community services. Importantly, it is proposed that the funds will be spent in consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. These strategies create the basis for providing benefits for our communities in the North. However, the infrastructure needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and other parts of the country should not be ignored as a part of this process. Employment is another issue that is integral to the strategy outlined in the White Paper. Unfortunately, weak labour markets in remote communities mean that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of working age are more than three times as likely to be on welfare and do not share in the employment benefits enjoyed by 85 per cent of people in Northern towns and cities. The White Paper indicates that reform to the Remote Jobs and Communities Programme (RJCP), which I look at in Chapter 2, will enhance the participation of our communities in local job opportunities. I welcome the incentives provided to business to support the RJCP as well as the creation of employment targets, so long as these
Executive Officer Insurance Agency Tania and Dion National Disability Insurance Agency Professor Rhonda Galbally AO, Principal Member National Disability Insurance Agency Independent Advisory Council Dr Valerie Cooms, Member National Native Title Tribunal Mathew Storey, Chief Executive Officer Native Title Services Victoria Joe Morrison, Chief Executive Officer Northern Land Council Michael O’Donnell, Anthropologist Manager Northern Land Council Bruce Gorring, Research Coordinator Nulungu Research Institute, The University of Notre Dame Australia Frank Hytten, Chief Executive Officer Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC) Emma Sydenham, Deputy Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander
Executive Officer Child Care (SNAICC) South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council (SWALSC) Richard Weston, Chief Executive Officer The Healing Foundation The School Brisbane Nigel D’Souza Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency (VACCA) Professor Patrick Dodson, Chair Nyamba Buru Yawuru Ltd