ALC 15 year strategic plan 2012-2027
Anindilyakwa Land Council
Anindilyakwa Land Council annual report; Anindilyakwa Land Council strategic plan; Reports; PublicationNT
2012
Made available via the Publications (Legal Deposit) Act 2004 (NT).
English
Anindilyakwa Land Council (N.T.) -- Periodicals; Aboriginal Australians -- Northern Territory -- Groote Eylandt -- Periodicals
Anindilyakwa Land Council
Alyangula
2012-2027
Anindilyakwa Land Council
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/254602
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/529654
ALC 15 year Strategic Plan 2. Background to the Strategic Plan 26 The consultative framework of the ALC consultative processes was based upon two tenants: To ensure that Traditional Owners make informed decisions. To ensure that decision making processes are consistent with the cultural tenets and drivers by which Traditional Owners make choices within their own culture. The Strategic Plan recognises that decisions made outside of these parameters will hold minimal legitimacy and will not engage Groote Eylandt people in applying the plan. It is also the recommendation of this document that such tenants should underpin the engagement with Anindilyakwa people in the future pathway forward. UNDERSTANDING CONSULTATION WITH ANINDILYAKWA PEOPLE Firstly, with many of the issues where Traditional Owners are expected to make a judgment there is, often, more than one argument or one point view that needs to be articulated in the interests of empowering Traditional Owners to make informed decisions. A traditional owner can only make an informed decision if they receive full information. This includes not only facts but also the evidence typically used by mainstream people to build an argument in support of a particular viewpoint. Traditional Owners must also be provided with the tools to question arguments. The communication style of the Anindilyakwa people does not include debate. This means that they will typically not ask the type of questions that challenge the facts/evidence or the thrust of arguments by mainstream people. Mainstream people must therefore provide individuals who will play the role of Devils Advocate in decision-making forums. Outside stakeholders must endeavour to ensure that people presenting information to traditional owner decision-making forums prepare in advance, with the aim of providing full information. There is little direct translation across the two languages, Anindilyakwa and English. It is critical that trained interpreters be provided for all forums where complex information will be presented Traditional Owners. Mainstream people presenting information to Traditional Owner forums are also encouraged to liaise with ALC Cross Cultural Officers on how to best to deliver full information. Secondly, to ensure that decision making processes are consistent with the cultural tenets and drivers by which Traditional Owners make choices within their own culture it is always essential that the appropriate Traditional Owners (those with the authority to make decisions in particular contexts) are present at decision making forums. This is a very fundamental point, because over the past generation, government services have been characterised by external decision making mechanisms delivering policies and services into the communities which are driven from capital cities from multiple siloed departments. The disempowerment of the community into the decisions which affect them with respective to services and staff has in turn created a culture of disengagement by community people who receive those core services. This has been highlighted in recent times in the delivery of Shire municipal services, education department decisions in the recruitment of key staff