Out of Scope Recommendations

That having regard to the desirability of Aboriginal people deciding for themselves what courses of action should be pursued to advance their well-being, ATSIC consider, in the light of the implementation of the National Aboriginal Health Strategy, the establishment of a National Task Force to focus on:

That if Aboriginal people identify it as a priority, organizations which support research into Aboriginal issues, including the NCADA and the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, encourage more comprehensive and diverse research into the extent, causes and consequences of alcohol use among Aboriginal people. In particular, that appropriate steps be taken to ensure that the NCADA national research and training centres at the University of New South Wales, Curtin University and the Flinders University of South Australia establish mechanisms to encourage new graduates, researchers from other fields and Aboriginal people to conduct research in this area and identify research priorities and methods to implement them.

That the National Drug Abuse Data System of the NCADA institute a regular research program to establish baseline data and monitor changes over time in relation to the health, social and economic consequences of alcohol use among Aboriginal people.

That the distinction between communities with or without formal local government authority status should be abolished for purposes of access to Commonwealth roads funding. The Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and the Federal Minister for Local Government should establish a review of Commonwealth Local Road Funds and specific purpose funding with, amongst others, one specific term of reference being to find feasible solutions to the problem of inequity for Aboriginal people in the provision and maintenance area of roads.

That with respect to the provision of grants the Queensland State Government should ensure that Aboriginal and Islander Community Councils are considered against the average standards used for mainstream local government councils. Aboriginal Community Councils should have access to the Capital Works Subsidy Scheme available to mainstream local Government Authorities. The operation of the Aerodrome Local Ownership Scheme should be extended to Aboriginal Community Councils.

That

That the Commonwealth Government give consideration to constituting ATSIC as an employing authority independent of the Australian Public Service.

That the Northern Territory Department of Correctional Services should, at the conclusion of the review of the Aboriginal Community Justice Project, establish regular meetings with Magistrates to monitor the effective operation of the program and establish a mechanism to ensure that the views of the Aboriginal communities in which the program operates are considered in the context of these meetings.

That the review of the Aboriginal Community Justice Project should undertake a detailed consideration of the resources required by the Project to operate effectively. Consideration should be given to the creation of specific liaison officer positions employing Aboriginal people to facilitate communications between the court and the community.

That in reviewing the Aboriginal Community Justice Project the Northern Territory Department of Correctional Services should undertake extensive consultations with all Aboriginal communities which wish to participate in the program. In pursuing this consultation, care should be given to canvassing the entire range of community opinions and the means by which these may be brought, in any relevant case, to the Court's attention.

That where Aboriginal applicants wish to join a service who appear otherwise to be suitable but whose general standard of education is insufficient, means should be available to allow those persons to undertake a bridging course before entering upon the specific police training.

That the question of Community Police in Queensland and the powers and responsibilities of Community Councils in relation to them be urgently reviewed.

That the question of Aboriginal police aides in Western Australia be given urgent consideration in light of recent developments, including the Police Aides Review (1987), the development of programs for police aides in other jurisdictions and the investigations into the work of police aides reported in the report of Commissioner Dodson and in this National Report and the recommendations of this report. In the consideration of Aboriginal police aides special attention should be given to the wisdom of police aides being engaged to work in communities other than those from which they were recruited.

The Commission notes that in some jurisdictions (in particular South Australia and Western Australia) Children's Aid Panels or Screening Panels apply. These panels provide an option lying between police cautions, on the one hand, and appearances in children's courts, on the other hand. The Commission is unable to recommend that such panels be established in places where they do not presently exist, nor that panels be abolished in places where they do exist. The Commission, however, draws attention to evidence suggesting that the potential benefits which may flow from the provision of such panels are not fully realised in the case of Aboriginal juveniles. The Commission draws attention to the desirability of studies being done on a wide scale to determine the efficacy of such initiatives. The Commission recommends that for South Australia and Western Australia the following matters should be made clear by legislation, standing orders or administrative directions so as to provide:

That health departments, academic institutions and other relevant training authorities monitor the proposed Victorian Aboriginal Health Service's Aboriginal Primary Health Care Unit, with a view to learning from its experiences and that those interested in this field study the philosophies and methods of operation of the Aboriginal community-controlled health services.

That aerial medical services and the appropriate authorities review the effectiveness of practices relating to medical diagnosis at a distance, for example by radio or telephone, and consider the implementation of standard diagnostic protocols, where they are not currently being used.

That the Northern Territory Government review its liquor legislation in the light of the size of the Aboriginal population of the Territory and its needs, and include in such a review the desirability of appointing at least one Aboriginal person to be a member of the Northern Territory Liquor Commission.

That the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) and other organisations be encouraged to provide resources to help Aboriginal communities identify and resolve difficulties in relation to the impact of beer canteens in the communities.

That Aboriginal communities that seek assistance in regulating the operation of beer canteens in their communities be provided with funds so as to enable effective regulation, especially where a range of social, entertainment and other community amenities are incorporated into the project.

That the Commonwealth, and in particular the Department of Employment, Education and Training, analyse its current programs with a view to ensuring that they fully address the employment, education and training needs of potential and existing Aboriginal offenders. Where necessary, existing program guidelines should be modified and/or new program elements developed to increase access by such clients. In particular, DEET should examine means of assisting Aboriginal communities to become more involved in preventative, diversionary and rehabilitative programs to assist Aboriginal offenders, particularly where they would provide an alternative to incarceration.

That ATSIC ensure that in the administration of its Enterprise Program a clear distinction is drawn between those projects that are supported according to criteria of commercial viability and those that are supported according to social development or social service satisfaction criteria.

That the intention of Sections 17 and 18 of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission Act 1989 be clarified, by amendment to the legislation if necessary, in order to facilitate the funding of enterprises which are not necessarily commercially viable on the basis of social development criteria.

That the ongoing review of the Enterprise Program by the Commonwealth Government should seek to develop the Program in such a way that:

That the relevant Governments, in consultation with relevant Aboriginal organisations give consideration to funding the establishment of a small unit, comprising Aboriginal people drawn from northern Western Australia, the Northern Territory and northern Queensland, which would be based in the northern part of the country. The function of the unit would be to study, in consultation with the residents of remote communities in those areas, the means of achieving greater self-sufficiency in those communities. The Unit would have the task of keeping remote communities advised of successful initiatives achieved in other communities and assisting remote communities in the preparation of their community plans, so as to assist them in developing economic independence, or at least a greater degree of self-sufficiency.

That further extension of the CDEP Scheme (or some similar program) to rural towns with large Aboriginal populations and limited mainstream employment opportunities for Aboriginal people be considered.

That in view of the considerable demands placed on staff of ATSIC by the expansion of the CDEP Scheme, consideration be given to developing a mechanism for devolving to appropriate consenting Aboriginal organisations, in particular resource agencies, responsibility for some aspects of the administrative support of CDEP, including in particular:

That in the coming review of the Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP) Scheme consideration be given to:

That the model which Tangentyere Council offers for integrating the various service delivery and administrative needs associated with Aboriginal housing be studied in other regions.