By Senator DORINDA COX 

As a proud member of the Joint Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues, I am pleased to be hearing first hand of the First Nations economic self determination opportunities taking place across Australia, in our biggest challenge in getting economic independence and wealth creation for our future generations.

The current research released in 2019 by the First Nations Foundation in partnership with the Centre for Social Impact and NAB identified that only one in 10 First Nations Australians are financially secure, compared with 1 in 2 non-Indigenous. This means there is a critical need for us to address the economic and social injustices that exist in our communities if we are ever going to create better health and wellbeing outcomes.

This inquiry has recently had some very strong evidence including the importance of growing First Nations businesses which already contributes $16 billion to the Australian economy. But also some of the challenges and difficulties which our First Nations businesses and the role which the Federal Government should play.

The committee has heard from Federal Government departments such as the Australian Tax Office, National Indigenous Australians Agency and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. Peak bodies such the First Nations Foundation, National Native Title Council and the Northern Australian First Nations Advisory Group.

There are some key themes emerging in this inquiry, including the importance of understanding what generational wealth looks like for many of our peoples and how these were removed and restricted as part of the nation’s history. Several factors play a significant role in the opportunities given to First Nations people and communities across the country, including political, geographical and historical. For example, the role Treaty will play in Victoria for a self determination fund in the future.

Our wealth funds are being brokered via the Future Act regime based on native title determinations, with investment and business development remaining an untapped resource. We must ensure suitable land acquisition is prioritised so that access to land for its use in sectors like agriculture is done in consultation with First Nations people, rather than parcels being allocated by governments which are not fertile or are unsuitable.

We are discovering that the important legal protections of First Nations cultural and intellectual property rights are a critical component of ensuring we build these mechanisms to protect our ancient knowledges for our future generations of entrepreneurs.

The IT industries are growing fast and First Nation Australians need to be involved..

The areas of technology, IT and retail are rapidly emerging and are well known as some of the most likely businesses to employ First Nations people and to give back to our communities.

A trend I hope to see flourish in the future and that the circular economy in our communities will be able to thrive in the next few generations.

Our approaches depend heavily on all the relevant information being presented, if we are to engineer change for economic justice and equality – we must be gathering the data which does not just measure us against material income to equal wealth but also provide a more fulsome picture to include non-material aspects of poverty resulting from racism, oppression and dispossession. Data sovereignty is a critical part of this, data owned and managed by our people will enable us to tell the story and will allow us to set our targets based on opportunities and targeted approaches.

We need a bespoke approach for our communities that provide meaningful paid work to all who seek it as a fundamental right which promotes dignity and social inclusion. Our self determination must be defined by the collective, for the purposes of ensuring that the benefit sharing is equitable. We must ensure that social and economic justice go hand in hand with the intended consequences of our people moving from survival mode into a thriving pattern of intergenerational wealth.

Alongside the creation of incentives by governments as a vehicle for change, the protections of land and sea countries and their precious biodiversity can provide real jobs in industries that First Nations people want to work in. Understanding the barriers to working in certain sectors such as mining can and will protect and preserve our environment and the wellbeing of our communities.

As we transition our economy to cleaner, greener and more sustainable alternatives such as large scale renewable energy projects, there is a need for an all-of-government approach to create greater First Nations owned equity and the effective and equitable provision of public services for communities.

I look forward to hearing and learning more about the ways which we can help to close the gap on economic injustice in our communities. There will be more public hearings in this important inquiry in the second half of 2024.

Please contact the inquiries homepage for more information on;

https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Aboriginal_and_Torres_Strait _Islander_Affairs/Economicself-determination

Senator Dorinda Cox is a member of the Greens representing WA in Canberra