Protocols for Consultation and Negotiation with Aboriginal People Introduction
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acknowledgements We wish to express our appreciation to the ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ For further assistance or information please following people: contact: • To the Aboriginal Working Party members for Department of Aboriginal & Torres Strait input and discussions throughout the Islander Policy and Development development of this document; and PO Box 397 BRISBANE ALBERT STREET QLD 4002. • To officers from the Department of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Policy and Tel: (07) 3006-4107 Development Regional Office in the Torres Fax: (07) 3224-2070 Strait who developed the Cultural Communication Cues; and • Mr David Horton of the Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander studies for use of the Aboriginal Australia Map; and • Mr Bill Ivinson for providing graphics used in this document. ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ c Copyright Queensland Government 1st published May 1998. Revised Edition December 1998. This Edition October 1999. 2 Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Policy and Development foreword Protocols are an essential component when ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ Once upon a time, non-Aboriginal people dealing with individuals and communities. No assumed “everyone was the same” but we know where is it clearer than in Aboriginal communities. “everyone” is not the same. We all come with a For many years unfortunately these protocols set of values, ideals and principles which have were invisible to non-Aboriginal peoples who, for been shaped since birth according to our one reason or another, had no conception about respective cultures. what it might mean to treat and respect Aboriginal people as basic human beings. It is vital to adhere to how one wishes to be addressed. There is, I believe, much more This is a sad reflection on those times and the understanding of the politics of difference. attitudes which were borne of those However, while there is a long way to go for the overwhelming aspects of colonisation. We now respect it deserves, these protocols offer a good have an opportunity to address this issue and start. right those wrongs. Over recent years numerous cross-cultural training awareness courses have been initiated throughout the country to service deliverers, institutions, government departments and so Jackie Huggins on. Their impact in the main has resulted in a Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation (Qld) greater appreciation of Aboriginal peoples. ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ These protocols have the same effect. 5 Protocols for Consultation and Negotiation with Aboriginal People introduction This booklet has been developed by the ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ Aboriginal people and their cultures and what Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait knowledge they can acquire. The section on Islander Policy and Development on the basis Significant Issues (2) provides further insight into of advice from an Aboriginal Working Party. It a variety of issues affecting Aboriginal people. is a guide to Queensland Government officers who at some time need to consult with This booklet is intended to complement the Queensland Aboriginal individuals, groups and/ experience and knowledge officers already have or communities. The information provided is and cover basic information that officers dealing intended to be useful in a variety of settings - with Aboriginal people for the first time may urban, rural and remote. not have. Although, some general principles are provided It is important to be aware that Aboriginal as guidelines to officers to apply in particular people and communities have definite situations this document is not intended to be expectations of government officers. It is prescriptive and it is up to individual agencies expected that government officers will know to establish detailed consultative arrangements. enough about their unit/branch and their You may find that you deal with one department (including the government community in a certain way and with another generally) to be able to assist Aboriginal people. community in a totally different way. There is an expectation that government officers have enough understanding about the situations Therefore, this booklet does not provide an and opinions of Aboriginal people to be able to ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ answer to everything. There are some represent their views in other, non-Aboriginal problems that have more than one answer. forums. Other problems have no readily apparent answer. The section relating to Aboriginality (3) highlights a range of issues regarding who is an It is important to emphasise that there is no Aboriginal person and who is not in the”black” single Aboriginal culture (see History Sections community. 1-1.2). Government officers need to have some understanding and appreciation of Aboriginal The sections relating to Consultation and history, culture, customs and their relationship Negotiation (4) are arranged twofold. Firstly with governments for effective communication Community Visits (4.1) which identifies issues to and negotiation. think about prior to meetings and secondly the Formal Meeting Section (4.2) provide practical In many cases how officers deal with situations advice for the actual meeting. will depend on what they already know about 7 Protocols for Consultation and Negotiation with Aboriginal People introduction continued Obviously, taking the initiative to involve ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ • Effective consultation requires openness Aboriginal people (as with any client) at the about why people are being consulted, how beginning of a project, program or the they will be consulted and how much development of a policy will allow direct influence they will have over decisions made; identification of their needs and increase the effectiveness, relevance and acceptance of • Those consulted need to be provided with policies or services. Creative solutions can be comprehensive, balanced and accurate developed when the government and community information; work in partnership. Evaluation of policies and services requires consultation with affected and • All interested parties should have access to interested groups to receive feedback and this is the consultation process; and dealt with in the Providing Feedback (5) and • All participants should be treated with Evaluation (6) Sections. dignity and respect.” 1 It is crucial to the success of government Naturally, it important to keep all these factors programs if consultation and negotiation occurs. in mind when consulting with Aboriginal Too often in the past Aboriginal people have felt people. It is also important, however, to that only token consultation has been carried remember that Aboriginal people have often felt out by governments and that this “consultation” consultation left them powerless to affect has occurred merely to “back up” a foregone government decision making and for this reason Government decision. However, when ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ prefer the term “negotiation” to “consultation”. consultation and negotiation occur a more equal “Negotiation” suggests a more equal relationship develops. relationship where parties work through any Consultation: conflict, finding areas of agreement and agreeing to disagree if areas of conflict cannot be • “Consultation is an essential component of resolved. the policy making process; • Effective consultation should occur early and throughout the decision making process; • Each consultation needs to be designed to meet the unique demands of the situation and to identify and define clearly the issues considered and allow for adequate time to 1 Office of the Cabinet, Queensland, Consultation: A conduct the consultation process; Resource Document For The Queensland Public Sector ,(p. 30), 1993, (P.1) GOPRINT, Brisbane. 8 Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Policy and Development 1 Aboriginal history 1.1 Pre-Contact 1788 ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ discipline lay with all adults as a group, with History some members having more significant roles than others. For example, there were specific Non-Aboriginal academics, namely teachers with skills in hunting, gathering, anthropologists, archaeologists, and historians motherhood and manhood. The survival and calculate that Aboriginal society has inhabited strength of Aboriginal society lay in group mainland Australia for over 40,000 years. dynamics rather than the dynamics of However, Aboriginal concepts of their history individualism as found in most western cultures. regarding habitation of Australia are There were no kings, queens, presidents, prime immeasurable and are linked to a variety of ministers or chieftains in Aboriginal society. national Dreamtime creation lores. The most familiar of these concepts is the Rainbow Aboriginal creation or Serpent. Dreamtime concepts The Aboriginal population prior to 1788 is signify that estimated by academics to have been between nature and 500,000 and a million people although recent culture were formed at estimates range from 300,000 to 3,000,000 the same time by totemic (Commonwealth of Australia 1989). What is spirits or ancestors who, in the Dreaming, came certain is that the impact of colonisation took a from the sky, underground and sea and formed the earth, rivers, valleys, hills, rocks and inlets, heavy toll. ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ and established their existence. These areas are During the 1940’s Norman B Tindale (an classified by Aboriginal