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TORRES STRAIT REGIONAL AUTHORITY Docip ARCHIVES TORRES STRAIT REGIONAL AUTHORITY doCip ARCHIVES 19'" SESSION OF THE WORKING GROUP ON INDIGENOUS POPULATIONS 23-27 JULY, 2001 GENEVA ADDRESS BY THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE TORRES STRAIT REGIONAL AUTHORITY MR TERRY WAIA Madame Chair Distinguished Members of the Working Group Minister Ruddock Indigenous Members of the World Ladies and Gentlemen Once again, this is indeed an honour and a pleasure. To meet with all of you here today who have travelled from every comer of the globe to share your experiences, hopes and aspirations, is not only a rewarding experience but is most encouraging as we continue to persevere towards our many and varied goals. My name is Terry Waia and I stand here today as a representative of the people of the Torres Strait Islands in Australia. This is the second time that I have had the privilege to represent my people at a session of this Working Group and I welcome this opportunity to inform you of the progress we are making in our region. The Torres Strait is a unique and beautiful part of the world, home for my people, the Torres Strait Islanders. We are of Melanesian origin and our population of approximately 8000 live amongst 17 island communities scattered across a 150km expanse of sea separating mainland Australia from the south coast of Papua New Guinea. In the Torres Strait I hold two key positions, that of Chairperson of Saibai Island, one of the region's northern most islands, and Chairperson of the Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA), a Commonwealth Government authority that was established in 1994 by the Parliament of Australia. The TSRA strives to improve the health and wellbeing of the indigenous people of our region and to create a prosperous and equitable future for our children. Madame Chair, since addressing the WGIP last year, the TSRA has significantly progressed towards our goal of improving the lifestyle and wellbeing of the indigenous people of the Torres Strait. With pride I can say that we have achieved much progress and many positive outcomes in the areas of native title, infrastructure development, economic development and our push for greater autonomy. The P.O. Box 263, THURSDAY ISLAND QLD 4875 Phone: (07) 4069 0700 Facsimile: (07) 4069 1879 Website: tvww.tsra.gov.au 2-H challenges that lie ahead are still many and great but the numerous successes we are achieving along the way continue to fuel our drive and determination. Autonomy In my previous address I spoke of the Torres Strait's push for greater autonomy. Our people are striving to gain more control over issues affecting our region and more decision making power. The establishment of the TSRA in 1994, was in itself a step towards greater autonomy as the TSRA Board is made up of the island community chairpersons and together we make decisions affecting the future of the region and we negotiate directly with the Commonwealth and Queensland Government ministers. The TSRA receives funding directly from the Commonwealth Government and the Board decides how best to use this funding for the benefit of our people. The TSRA is an accountable organisation and is considered a model for many indigenous organizations across Australia. It is a solid foundation upon which we are building our political autonomy. The push for greater autonomy is guided by The Greater Autonomy Task Force, which includes myself, the Torres Shire Council Mayor and the Chair of the Island Coordinating Council, another key Torres Strait organisation. We have developed a discussion paper including a 10-point plan, which we believe will be the most effective way to achieve our goal. Our next step is to take this paper out to all of the communities and have discussions with our people so they can express their views and provide input. We will modify the governance structure and our 10-point plan to incorporate everyone's views. Once the Board has endorsed the revised plan and structure we will present the Torres Strait's position to both governments and commence negotiations. Fisheries The Torres Strait people will not be able to effectively achieve greater autonomy until we gain control of our region's fisheries industries, which are presently controlled by government, non-indigenous organizations. Our vision is for the Torres Strait fisheries to be managed by Torres Strait Islanders for the benefit of Torres Strait Islanders. Our fisheries industries have much potential for development, however we are greatly concerned about the extent of non-indigenous commercial fishing that occurs in our region. Commercial fishermen come to the Torres Strait, fish our resources and leave the region. Our people do not benefit from their work - the profits are taken elsewhere. All we are left with is the growing concern that our resources are depleting due to the vast quantities of catch that are removed through these commercial ventures. Under current legislation the commercial fishermen have every right to do this as they are operating within the law, therefore we are aiming to change legislation and policy so that they may no longer do so. Currently, government ministers make decisions regarding Torres Strait fisheries' policies and legislation. The local islander fishermen have set up a Torres Strait Fisheries Task Force to develop a new structure through which islander fishermen will be able to participate in these decision making processes, advising the ministers on appropriate legislation and policy changes. Through this new structure, Torres Strait Islanders will eventually be able to gain control of the Fisheries and manage our own resources. The Task Force is liaising with the TSRA throughout the process and the TSRA is providing financial support and negotiating with both governments to seek additional support. I am pleased to say that we have been successful in securing a commitment from both governments to provide funding assistance that will enable the Task Force to set up the new structure. Consultations with the communities' islander fishermen are an essential part of the process, to ensure that the fishermen are satisfied with the new structure. Native Title Our push for autonomy and for control over our seas7 resources is closely linked to our push to gain legal recognition of our native title rights over the land and the seas of the Torres Strait. Such recognition gives us greater negotiating power and a degree of influence over decisions regarding the future of our area. In my address to you last year I spoke of the progress and outcomes we have achieved in regard to native title over our lands. The TSRA has its own Native Title Office that represents native title claimants on request, providing in-house legal and anthropological services. Just last month, the Meriam people from Mer Island in the far east of the Torres Strait achieved legal recognition of their native title over two of their islands, Waiar and Dauar. They achieved this through TSRA representation. Torres Strait Islanders also recently achieved another successful native title outcome. In May the Kaurareg people of the Torres Strait achieved legal recognition of their native title rights over seven of the region's inner islands. The successes of both the Meriam and Kaurareg people are wonderful achievements for the Torres Strait people and highlight the fact that the Torres Strait continues to lead the indigenous people's push for native title recognition across Australia. We are now pushing for native title over our seas and believe the most effective way to do so will be to lodge a regional sea claim. However the TSRA is discussing this approach with all of the island communities and will only lodge such a claim if the majority of our people support this approach. By achieving legal recognition of our native title rights over the seas we will be in a stronger position to gain control of our fisheries industries. Economic Development In the Torres Strait we are trying to move away from welfare dependence and to develop a degree of economic independence by developing economically sustainable industries. Through the establishment of such industries our economy will improve and our people will benefit from valuable employment opportunities. The TSRA is helping and encouraging Torres Strait Islanders and Aboriginal people in our region to start their own business enterprises through the provision of business loans and advice. Some of our island communities are currently developing tourism, an industry with a lot of potential in our region. The Coconut Island community, for example, is developing a tourism venture with the TSRA"s assistance. They are aiming at the upper end of the tourism market, planning to attract tourists who are prepared to pay substantial sums of money for a unique experience. Through this venture they are hoping to move towards becoming an economically sustainable community. The establishment of ventures such as this, which are controlled by our own people and from which the profits go back into our community, will take us closer to our goal of greater autonomy. Infrastructure Development The Torres Strait island communities are remote, many located closer to PNG than to mainland Australia. The facilities, services and infrastructure on these islands are below the standard of those existing in towns on the mainland. However the TSRA is working to change this through the implementation of a number of infrastructure programs designed to improve the quality of life of our people. One such program, which we are currently implementing over a 10-year period, the Torres Strait Major Infrastructure Program, is addressing the urgent infrastructure requirements of our communities. The program commenced in 1998 and the living standards of our people have already improved enormously as a result.
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