Torres Cape Indigenous Council Alliance Inc
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Torres Cape Indigenous Council Alliance Inc. 16 January 2020 Select Committee on the Effectiveness of the Australian Government's Northern Australia Agenda Department of the Senate PO Box 6100 Parliament House CANBERRA ACT 2600 Dear Committee Thank you for the opportunity to provide this submission to the Select Committee's inquiry into the effectiveness of the objectives, design, implementation and evaluation of the Australian Government's Northern Australia agenda. TCICA is a membership-based alliance of local governing authorities from the Torres Strait, Cape York and Gulf region of Far North Queensland. We operate as a collaborative partnership to represent the common interests of local governing bodies in the region. Our members are committed to working together with the State and Federal Governments to help shape place-based responses and solutions to the challenges and opportunities in front of us. 12 of Queensland's 17 Indigenous local governments are members of TCICA, representing one of the largest formal and regular gatherings of Indigenous Mayors across the country. The calibre of Indigenous leadership in our organisation and our commitment to collaboration is second to none. Our ability to effectively engage with the Australian and Queensland Governments means they have the confidence to partner with us on the development of a range of policies and programs impacting our region. Our members are: Aurukun Shire Council; Cook Shire Council; Hope Vale Aboriginal Shire Council; Kowanyama Aboriginal Shire Council; Lockhart River Aboriginal Shire Council; Mapoon Aboriginal Shire Council; Mornington Shire Council; Napranum Aboriginal Shire Council; Northern Peninsula Area Regional Council; Pormpuraaw Aboriginal Shire Council; Torres Shire Council; Torres Strait Island Regional Council; Weipa Town Authority; and Wujal Wujal Aboriginal Shire Council. Our region encompasses 13 per cent of the total land area of Queensland and is home to 0.6 per cent of Queensland's total population, or around 28,000 residents. More than 65 per cent of people living in our region are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander peoples, compared to 4 Torres Cape Indigenous Council Alliance (TCICA) Inc. 225a Sheridan Street, Cairns Qld 4870 E: [email protected] P: 07 4050 1808 TCICA.com.au 2• Page per cent for the whole of Queensland. Our entire region is classified as Remote or Very Remote Australia and 71.1 per cent of people are in the most disadvantaged quintile for relative socio-economic disadvantage. Our region generates around $1.4 billion in gross regional product each year, driven by industries including mining, agriculture, and public administration. As one of Australia's last real frontiers, tourism is a growth industry. General comments The Commonwealth's Northern Australia agenda has generated considerable expectation around the potential of Australia's north to drive economic growth and prosperity for the nation. Significant investments to date in strategic road and water infrastructure projects through programs like the Northern Australia Roads Program and the National Water Infrastructure Development Fund, along with a focus on collaborative research and knowledge building are welcomed and will no doubt help deliver benefits for the north. While investments in infrastructure are extremely important, these alone will not not create a foundation for addressing broader regional disadvantage, particularly for remote and Indigenous communities. Overcoming the social disadvantage faced by many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in remote communities must be front and centre if Northern Australia is to come close to realising its true potential. Lack of community infrastructure, housing shortages, poor regional connectivity, limited access to digital technologies, few business and employment opportunities, and poor access to health and education services all contribute to the social disadvantage faced by people in remote and Indigenous communities every single day. The Northern Australia Strategic Partnership and Ministerial Forum on Northern Development (MFND) have to play a greater role in driving outcomes for remote Indigenous communities in the north, including through direct engagement with local governments. The current governance model for Northern Australia is not consultative and operates in isolation from major stakeholders in the region. Effort should be directed towards bringing TCICA into the Northern Australia development agenda so that our organisation as a whole can provide greater input and advice directly to the MFND on the development of our region. Response to the Terms of Reference Facilitation of public and private investment in infrastructure and economic development As mentioned above, initiatives specific to Northern Australia that support investments in infrastructure like roads, dams, digital communication networks and renewable energy projects will help address infrastructure deficits across Northern Australia. But apart from these specific initiatives, there is little more than a business-as-usual approach to infrastructure and economic development in the north. Programs including the Building Better Regions Fund, Remote Airstrip Upgrade Program and the National Water Infrastructure Development Fund are held up as programs facilitating the development of the north, yet the funds are spread nation-wide. Northern Australia will not overcome its disadvantage if it has to continue to directly compete with the southern states for funding. TCICA.com.au 3• Page The Australian Government must prioritise northern Australia infrastructure to overcome . service standard challenges, irrespective of the diseconomies resulting from the small scale of markets. The north will not grow in any meaningful way unless governments invest in nation building and transformative infrastructure now and recognise that the benefits will accrue long into the future. The Australian Government cannot expect the private sector to take responsibility for addressing gaps in public infrastructure like roads, ports and marine infra~tructure, energy networks, water storage facilities and telecommunications networks. The 2015 Northern Australia Audit provided a good overview of critical infrastructure needs across the north although it did not consider the infrastructure needs of remote centres with small populations and limited economic activity. There is no indication that the Australian Government is focussing effort towards addressing these infrastructure gaps as part of its agenda. The Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) has not been effective in securing private sector investment in Northern Australia, despite the widening of its investment mandate to incorporate social infrastructure, the relatively broad risk appetite of the NAIF, its concessional loan terms and its ongoing efforts to engage with potential proponents. As a proponent-led organisation, this likely reflects the lack of viable, large-scale, private sector projects planned for the north. Metro Mining's $47.5 million NAIF loan facility is the only known project NAIF has agreed to finance in Cape York, the Torres Strait and Gulf region. A real gap inhibiting infrastructure investment is the lack of funding available for feasibility studies and business cases, particularly for projects in remote regions, and the significant costs associated with regulatory compliance (for example, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999). Lack of policy alignment between the Australian and Queensland Governments is also limiting the full scope of investment opportunity. Complex Native Title and land tenure arrangements can often be seen as a barrier to development. Conflicting interests amongst Traditional Owners and the limited organisational capacity and resourcing of many registered native title bodies corporate (RNTBC) to manage their affairs or carry out their responsibilities can lead to a loss of investor confidence. These issues also tend to result in drawn out and complex negotiations, sometimes with onerous conditions, and may impact on the viability of projects. Similarly, native title can challenge the ability of some Indigenous local governments to deliver much needed public infrastructure such as social housing and community services where they are forced to compete with another legally-recognised Indigenous governance arrangement. Local governments have a statutory requirement to provide essential infrastructure which benefits the whole community and be able to deliver services amicably without external native title divisions. Ongoing support to build the capacity and resourcing of RNTBCs is critical if the aim of tenure resolution is to deliver equitable economic, social and cultural benefits to communities. While there are many great ideas for innovative new businesses, access to seed funding for business start-ups in remote areas is virtually non-existent and is stifling economic growth and job opportunities. Initiatives like the Indigenous Business Sector Strategy and Indigenous Business Australia can help improve outcomes in regional cities but are limited in focus when it comes to facilitating business opportunities locally in remote areas. They also rely on potential business operators first knowing where to find help, which is often the challenge for people in remote communities with limited or even no access to digital technologies. TCICA.com.au 4• Page Funding is needed to support local delivery of business support