ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

ANTaR acknowledges the generous

assistance of the spokespeople and
communities described in this collection.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge with
us. Also, thank you to Sophie Peer for
researching and writing the stories, Nick
Goodger and Murray Bunton from Streetline
Media for the design, and Dr Janet Hunt,
Dr David Cooper, Louise Weber, Sally
Fitzpatrick, Jacqueline Phillips and Kate
Aubrey-Poiner for additional research and
writing. Thank you to ANTaR’s Indigenous
Reference Group for their oversight and
wisdom and to Kaye Blackman, Compliance
and Grants Manager at Amnesty International
Australia, for her support. This publication
was made possible by Amnesty International
Australia.
Suggested Citation
Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation
(ANTaR), A Better Way: Success Stories in
Aboriginal community control in the Northern
Territory, ANTaR: Sydney, 2010.
Publication and
copyright
This book is copyright. The ideas, stories
and knowledge that come from Indigenous
people are considered by them to be their
intellectual property. Apart from any fair
dealing for the purpose of private study,
research, community development, criticism
or review, as permitted under the Copyright
Act, no part of this publication may be
reproduced by any process whatsoever
(including any translation) without the written
permission of the authors. The authors

Contributors receive no royalties.

Copyright Australians for Native Title and

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Reconciliation (ANTaR) October 2010.
Justice Commissioner Mick Gooda,
Susan Sandery of Laynhapuy Homelands ISBN 978-0-9756003-4-4
Association, William Tilmouth and Jess
Brand of Tangentyere Council, Graham Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
Castine, Robin McConnel, Dr Ahmed Latif have distinct cultures and heritages. The
and Jeanette Kemp of Sunrise Health terms Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Service, Steve Moore, Alastair King, Casey and Indigenous are used interchangeably
Kelly and Henry Harper of Arnhem Land throughout this volume. No disrespect is
Progress Aboriginal Corporation (ALPA), intended by the authors.
John Greatorex, Roslyn Mal umba and
ANTaR seeks to treat Aboriginal and Torres
Jackie Nguluwidi of Mäpuru Homeland,
Strait Islander peoples’ beliefs with respect.
Morgan Hoyes of Traditional Credit Union,
To many communities it is distressing and
Susie Low of Warlpiri Youth Development
offensive to depict persons who have died.
Aboriginal Corporation (WYDAC), Megan
Indigenous people who may be offended
Hunnam, Mandy Nardoo and Sharijn King of
are warned that stories in this volume may
Waltja Tjutangku Palyapayi, Laurene Coller
contain images of, or references to, deceased
and Donna Ah Chee of Central Australian
persons.
Aboriginal Congress, Dr David Cooper,
Greg Henschke and Chips Mackinolty of
Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern
Territory (AMSANT), Jared Sharp of Northern
Enquiries:
Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency
(NAAJA), Jayne Weepers, Jane Hodson and
Peter Barker from Central Land Council and
Christina Davidson and Madeleine Challender
of the Association of Northern Kimberley and
Arnhem Aboriginal Artists (ANKAAA).
Telephone 02 9564 0594
Thank you also to Priscilla Brice-Weller for her Fax 02 9564 0195
initial work on the A Better Way campaign. Email antar@antar.org.au

Available online from: antar.org.au/abetterway

Design and layout: Streetline Media
Cover photo courtesy of Waltja

2 • 3 A Better Way
CONTENTS:
4 GLOSSARY

FOREWORD
5 BY MICK GOODA: ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIGHT
ISLANDER SOCIAL JUSTICE COMMISSIONER

6 INTRODUCTION
BY JACQUELINE PHILLIPS: ANTAR NATIONAL DIRECTOR

7 BACKGROUND
Summary and policy context of the stories

The key to healthy communities

8-9 Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance NORTHERN TERRITORY

Rising to the Challenge

10-11 Sunrise Health Service

health is everyone’s business

12-13 Central Australian Aboriginal Congress

DHUDI DHAWU - 'THE UNDERNEATH STORY'

14-15 ARNHEMLAND PROGRESS ABORIGINAL CORPORATION (ALPA)

DOING GOOD WORK WITH FAMILIES

16-17 Waltja Tjutangku Palyapayi

RANGERS, RHYTHM AND RESILIENCE

18-19 Laynhapuy Homelands Association Inc.

PUTTING THE BRAKES ON PETROL SNIFFING

20-21 Warlpiri Youth Development Aboriginal CorpORATION

22-23 THE LAND IS ALWAYS ALIVE

CENTRAL LAND COUNCIL

A COMMON THREAD
24-25 Mäpuru homeland community

OUR MONEY, OUR WAYS

26-27 TRADITIONAL CREDIT UNION

STANDING STRONG
28 ASSOCIATION OF NORTHERN KIMBERLEY AND ARNHEM
ABORIGINAL ARTISTS (ANKAAA)

29 SUPPORTING SELF-DETERMINATION IN AN URBAN SETTING

Tangentyere Council Inc.
BRIDGING THE LEGAL DIVIDE
30-31 The North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA)
 ACCHOS:
Aboriginal Community-Controlled Health Organisations

ATSIC:
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission

BasicsCard:
The BasicsCard is a PIN protected card issued to people who are
subject to compulsory income management to purchase groceries
and essential items. A proportion of quarantined income will generally
be put on the card, with people only able to buy a limited range of
goods. The card is only accepted at licensed retailers.

Community Control:
Community Control is a process that allows a local Aboriginal
community to be involved in its affairs in accordance with whatever
protocols or procedures are determined by the community. The term
Aboriginal Community Control has its genesis in Aboriginal peoples’
right to self-determination.1 Communities identify their priorities,
determine the nature of services to be delivered and participate in
planning, implementation and evaluation of those services.2

CDEP:
Community Development Employment Projects

DRY or DRY TOWN:

Glossary:
Alcohol free town

FaHCSIA:
Department of Families and Housing, Community Services and
Indigenous Affairs (Federal)

Homelands:
Homelands are located on Aboriginal ancestral lands with cultural
and spiritual significance to the Aboriginal people who live there. The
connections to land are complex and include cultural, spiritual and
environmental obligations, including obligations for the protection of
sacred sites.3

Income Management:
Compulsory income management was introduced as part of the
Northern Territory Emergency Response. Under the scheme, an
individual’s social security income is ‘quarantined’ so that 50 per
cent can only be spent on ‘priority needs’. These funds cannot be
accessed as cash, but must instead be directed to payment of rent,
bills, medical costs or groceries (see BasicsCard).

ipa:
Indigenous Protected Area. An area of land or sea over which
the Traditional Indigenous Owners have entered into a voluntary
agreement for the purpose of promoting biodiversity and cultural
resource conservation.4

NT:
Northern Territory

NTER:
Northern Territory Emergency Response

RDA:
Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth)

Yol u (or Yolngu)

The term for an (Aboriginal) person in the majority of Yol u-matha
dialects. In recent times it has become the term used to refer to Yol u
speaking people as a whole.

footnote
1. Definition drawn from the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation,
NACCHO - Broome Conference - December 1995, Available: http://www.naccho.org.
au/definitions/communitycont.html . 2. Definition drawn from AMSANT. Available: http://
amsant.com.au/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=66&Itemid=74. 3.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Social Justice Report
2009 at 109. 4. Department of The Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts 'The
Indigenous Protected Area Program: Background Information' and Advice to Applicants',
accessed at http://www.environment.gov.au on 11 October, 2010.

4 • 5 A Better Way
As Peter Yu, Marcia Ella Duncan and Bill
Gray stated in their NTER Review Report, no
matter how good the framework, no matter
how much money is available, you cannot
drive change into a community and unload
it off the back of a truck. That is the lesson
of the NTER. Deep-seated change - safe
healthy families - must be grown up within the
community.

Over many years one of the critical flaws

of Indigenous policy has been the lack of
serious engagement and participation of
Indigenous peoples in policy development
and implementation. This can most certainly
be seen in the implementation of the NTER,
where there was a lack of engagement of
Aboriginal peoples in the initial development
of NTER policies, as well as significant
discriminatory aspects to the policies
themselves.

I believe that the focus should now be on

getting services delivered on the ground in
a way that empowers communities. There
is a continued need for services, particularly
in relation to housing, health and education.

FOREWORD:
However, this service delivery must involve
community participation and involvement
in decision-making and delivery. Policy
making that affects Aboriginal communities
must allow Aboriginal peoples the right to full
and effective participation in decisions that

Mick Gooda
directly or indirectly affect their lives. This is
required by the United Nations Declaration
on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It is also
the key to successful outcomes.

The NTER faces another challenge. It is time

to refocus the current intervention approach
Aboriginal and Torres Strait
from an emergency response to a genuine Islander Social Justice
and long-term community development
approach to improve the lives of Northern
Commissioner
Territory Aboriginal communities.

ANTaR’s publication showcases the success

of community control and participation.
The programs and services outlined in
the publication show innovative ways of
delivering services that are inclusive, and
culturally appropriate. The services are
based on principles of non-discrimination
and equality, which recognise the cultural
distinctiveness and diversity of Aboriginal
peoples and communities. They also highlight
the importance of a community development
approach.

The stories contain the voices of Aboriginal

Territorians telling their experiences as
providers of programs that are sustainable
and appropriate for the communities they
serve. These are voices that have not often
been heard in the debates surrounding the
NTER.

ANTaR’s publication highlights success

stories which demonstrate that change for
the better is possible and that Aboriginal
people themselves are identifying and
implementing solutions. It shows that there
is a better way. To that end, I commend this
publication to you.
 There has been much media attention in
recent years on the serious challenges facing
Aboriginal communities in the Northern
INTRODUCTION: Territory (NT). This has been accompanied
by a resolve by governments to do things
differently. While attention to these challenges
has been welcome, the role and voice of
Aboriginal people and their communities in
driving change has not enjoyed the same
high profile.
The success stories detailed in this book
demonstrate the potential that exists in NT
Aboriginal organisations across a range
of sectors to respond to the challenges
facing their communities.
The working definition of successful
‘communities in control’ has been adapted
from the reports, Describing an iceberg
from a glimpse of its tip: a summary
of the literature on achievements in
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
health1 and Achievements in Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander Health: Final
Report.2 Informed by this research, we
have identified success in an Aboriginal
community context as a program, project
or intervention that produces – or could
contribute to – a demonstrated improvement
in the community. It may be measured by
an improvement in outcomes, processes or
infrastructure and must involve:
• Community participation at all levels
including management
• Community participation that is actual
and not symbolic
• Community control of both processes
and outcomes
• Community control over how
resources are allocated
• Sustainability of the project,
organisation or initiative.
In recent years, Aboriginal communities in
the Northern Territory have had to adjust
to seismic policy shifts. Governments have
introduced a range of complex, overlapping
policy changes including the Northern
Territory Emergency Response, Closing the
Gap in the Northern Territory, and reforms
to remote service delivery and funding,
Aboriginal housing, employment and local
shires. These changes are explained in more
detail on page 7 to provide some context for
the stories in this publication.
While delivering some new investment
and additional services, this new policy
environment has created additional
barriers to self-determination for
Aboriginal people and organisations.
Many of the recent changes have involved a
continuation of top-down policy processes
that have excluded communities and
Aboriginal organisations from decision-
making roles. This is despite clear evidence
from Australia and overseas that increased
Aboriginal control is required to secure
6 • 7 A Better Way
better futures for Aboriginal families and
communities. It is also despite the Australian
Government indicating its support for the
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), which affirms
the right to self-determination.
Government policies have sometimes
provided critical underpinnings that have
enabled successful initiatives to be developed
and built upon. An example in the Northern
Territory is the Aboriginal Land Rights Act
(Northern Territory) 1976 (Cth), which gives
statutory recognition to Aboriginal ownership
and control of about half of the land area in
the NT.
History also shows many examples
of innovative approaches developed
by Aboriginal communities that have
subsequently been recognised and
adopted in mainstream policy, both
here and overseas. Indeed, Aboriginal
community control of primary health care
delivery is now accepted by governments
as the preferred model of service delivery
in the NT (see pages 8-13).
Aboriginal communities have a strong desire
to control their own affairs and to achieve
self-determination. Despite claims that self-
determination has failed, in fact it has never
been genuinely tested in Australia with NT
Aboriginal communities having had, at best,
self-management. Further, the capacity of
many Aboriginal organisations has been
constrained by complex funding, legal and
administrative challenges.
In recent years, we have heard repeated
calls from government for individuals to
take responsibility for themselves and their
families. Such calls are often accompanied
by claims that the past record in Aboriginal
affairs has been nothing but failure.
Closer inspection shows that Aboriginal
community initiatives have displayed
great determination and ingenuity in
their efforts to improve the lives of their
communities. Today there is an impressive
diversity of successful Aboriginal-
controlled organisations, services and
businesses involved in almost every
aspect of community life and economic
development.
This has not been an instant or recent
occurrence. It has been achieved through
decades of determination and a constant and
continuing struggle for resources. It shows
the enormous desire of, and potential for,
communities to take ownership of problems
and drive solutions with the right support
from government, the private sector and civil
society.
This booklet is a celebration of these
successes. It is also a timely reminder to
a new Federal Government that Aboriginal
community control is critical to achieving
sustainable outcomes for children, families
and communities.
Jacqueline Phillips
National Director, Australians for Native Title
and Reconciliation (ANTaR)
BACKGROUND:
Community control in
the Northern Territory
The success stories in this booklet are drawn
from a wide range of Aboriginal controlled
organisations in the Northern Territory, all
with unique histories. In 2009 there were 664
Aboriginal organisations in the NT registered
with the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous
Corporations (ORIC), providing myriad
functions.
Four statutory land councils controlled
by Traditional Owners were established
across the NT following passage of the
Aboriginal Land Rights Act (NT) 1976.
Their role is to protect and advance the
interests of Traditional Owners in relation to
land claims and native title and the ongoing
management and development of Aboriginal
land and associated communities. They
have increasingly taken on community
development roles. The Central Land Council
(CLC) provides one of the success stories in
this volume.
The homelands movement that began in the
1960s has spurred communities to develop
their own resource agencies to provide
infrastructure and support services to ensure
their viability. These have also proved to
be pivotal in providing employment and
enterprise development opportunities. One
of the largest and most successful is the
Laynhapuy Homelands Association, featured
in this volume. Organisations with similar
purposes have been developed by town
based Aboriginal communities, such as the
Alice Springs based Tangentyere Council,
also featured below.
Aboriginal community controlled health
services (ACCHSs) and legal services have
developed over several decades in response
to the lack of adequate, culturally appropriate
government services in the critical areas of
health and justice. The ACCHSs sector has
been extremely successful in the NT and
two exemplary ACCHSs, Central Australian
Aboriginal Congress (Congress) and Sunrise
Health Service, together with the ACCHSs
peak body, Aboriginal Medical Services
Alliance Northern Territory (AMSANT),
are featured below. The North Australian
Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) provides
an outstanding example of an Aboriginal
legal service providing legal advice and
representation as well as advocacy, policy
and community education roles.
There are in addition to these a multitude
of other Aboriginal organisations in the NT
from which we have selected examples.
These include organisations representing
enterprises within a sector, such as
Association of Northern Kimberley and
Arnhem Aboriginal Art (ANKAAA),
that represents the interests of 43 community
art centres. Other organisations have
developed to meet community service
and enterprise gaps. Arnhem Land
Progess Aboriginal Corporation(ALPA)
operates remote community stores, while
the Traditional Credit Union (TCU) was
established to address the lack of banking
services in remote communities. Also
included in this volume are Waltja Tjutangku
Palyapayi (Waltja), that formed in response
to a withdrawal of government funding
and continues providing critical support
for remote communities and families; and
the Warlpiri Youth Development Aboriginal
Corporation Mount Theo Program (Mt Theo),
that has effectively tackled petrol sniffing and
provides a nationally recognised treatment
and diversion program. Mäpuru provides
an inspiring example of a remote homeland
community of 150 people that has taken
control of its future, developing a food
cooperative and cultural tourism enterprise
and establishing its own independent school.
POliCY CONTEXT
Critical to the viability and future of Aboriginal
controlled organisations and the vital
community development roles they provide
are the government policies in which they
operate. The experience of organisations
featured here highlight significant problems
with current government policy settings that
pose a range of threats to the capacities
of these organisations and ultimately, the
economic viability of communities.
Recent years have seen a dizzying array of
complex, overlapping policies applied to
Aboriginal communities and organisations in
the NT. While the measures introduced under
the NTER have been rightly criticised for their
lack of consultation and disempowering,
racially discriminatory approach, it is arguably
related national and NT Indigenous policies
that threaten more serious long term impacts.
A few examples related to employment,
housing and education are emblematic of
such concern.
Foremost is the abolition of the flexible,
incentive-based jobs component of the
Community Development Employment
Program (CDEP) and its replacement under
a reformed CDEP with welfare payments.
This change is placing significant constraints
on Aboriginal controlled organisations,
threatening the viability of otherwise successful
community enterprises and projects and
significantly increasing unemployment and
associated disengagement in regional and
remote communities.
Policy changes at the NT and Commonwealth
levels have resulted in the loss of two thirds
of the Indigenous Community Housing
Organisations (ICHOs) in the NT since 2009
and the transfer of control of community
housing to the NT public housing authority.
These changes forego an opportunity to
expand the Aboriginal community housing
sector and with it the capacity for significant
long-term employment, training and
enterprise opportunities.
Meanwhile, government Indigenous housing
programs in the NT, such as the SIHIP
scheme, have been criticised for poor
design and implementation. Together with
the imposition of unnecessary long-term
housing leases to government, the refusal
of the NT and Australian governments
to fund new housing on homelands and
smaller communities and the concentration
of infrastructure and services funding on
20 ‘growth towns’, these policies have left
communities feeling disempowered and
uncertain of their futures.
Education too has been an issue of concern.
The abolition of bilingual education in the NT
and the continuation of the discriminatory
policy of sub-standard, under-resourced
Homeland Learning Centres in remote
homelands has left communities frustrated
that their vision of culturally appropriate
quality education for their children is not
shared by government.
The success story examples in this volume
place each of these and other policy
dilemmas in context and demonstrate the
great potential that exists if governments
can recognise and back the determination
of communities and community controlled
organisations to take on the challenges of
developing sustainable, culturally relevant
futures.
footnotes
1. J Burns, N Thomson, J Brooks, S Burrow,
E Kirov, B McGougan & A Valenti, Describing
an iceberg from a glimpse of its tip: a
summary of the literature on achievements in
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health,
Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet, 2002.
2. C Shannon, J Wakerman, P Hill, T Barnes, R
Griew & A Ritchie, Achievements in Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander Health: Final
Report, Volume 1, Australian Government,
2002.
 One of the most important developments
in Aboriginal community control has
been in relation to primary health care in
the NT. Currently over half the Aboriginal
medical services in the NT are community
controlled. On the back of the demonstrated
effectiveness of these services, the NT and
Australian Governments have united on a
plan to transition all NT Aboriginal primary
health care services to community control
over time.1

The Executive Officer of the Aboriginal

Medical Services Alliance of the NT
(AMSANT), John Paterson explains:

AMSANT and the success “It’s a very significant achievement that

of Aboriginal community-
demonstrates the capacity of Aboriginal
communities, even those otherwise

controlled primary health

regarded as in crisis, to provide the
leadership, governance and increasingly,

care in the NT
the workforce needed to deliver the
quality health services essential to
closing the health gap.”

AMSANT is the peak body for Aboriginal

community-controlled health services
(ACCHSs) in the Northern Territory and has
played a pivotal role in advocating for and
supporting the development of community-
controlled health. A crucial factor has been
its membership of the Northern Territory
Aboriginal Health Forum (NTAHF), a tripartite
health planning body that brings AMSANT
together with the health departments
of the NT and Australian governments,
forming arguably the most effective health
partnership of any jurisdiction in Australia.
8 • 9 A Better Way
 Images courtesy of AMSANT

Comprehensive Title Image: Kylie Thorne at AMSANT’s Fresh Food Summit. Top Left: AMSANT’s Chippy Miller demonstrating bush wok cooking

Primary Health
as Graham Dowling (AMSANT) and Katherine West Health Board Chairperson, Roslyn Frith look on. Top Right: Federal and NT
Ministers Warren Snowdon and Kon Vatskalis join AMSANT’s Stephanie Bell and John Paterson at the Pathways launch.

Care
The origins of this achievement lie in several
decades of work by Aboriginal health
services in pioneering a service delivery
model based on multidisciplinary teams
working in ACCHSs delivering a wide range
of Comprehensive Primary Health Care
Continuous Quality Improvement unit and
an IT support unit for electronic patient
records systems that enable more effective
management, monitoring and improvement
of service delivery.
delivered Aboriginal community-controlled
CPHC will deliver in excess of a thousand
new skilled Aboriginal jobs in remote and
regional areas of the NT provides a unique
opportunity to enhance health service
delivery at the same time as creating

services (CPHC).
The model of Aboriginal CPHC is based on
a set of core functions that extend beyond
primary care clinical services to the provision
of an holistic, community development
based approach to health and wellness.
This includes allied health services as well
as specialist services addressing areas
such as mental health and alcohol and other
drug issues. CPHC also emphasises health
promotion and preventative approaches to
dealing with key health challenges, such as
maternal and child health and social and
emotional wellbeing.
The close engagement with communities
provided by Aboriginal Boards and Aboriginal
staff such as Aboriginal Health Workers
(AHWs), means that ACCHSs are able to
provide more accessible, culturally safe
services that are responsive to community
needs, and to generate community action on
complex issues such as suicide prevention
and family violence.
ACCHSs have been successful innovators
in developing cutting-edge approaches to
the delivery of primary health care services
(PHC), leading to significantly improved health
outcomes. For example, the development
of chronic disease care planning has been
essential to tackling the unfolding epidemic
of chronic diseases affecting Aboriginal
communities.
A further core function of CPHC is the
provision of PHC management and support
services, which AMSANT provides in a variety
of ways. A comprehensive Administration
Manual for ACCHSs has been developed and
is available online. AMSANT also operates
a number of support units, including a
workforce support unit, a Public Health
Network to link and support clinicians, a
Leaders in e-health
sustainable employment opportunities for
remote communities.
An important area of innovation by AMSANT
Find out more
and its members is in relation to e-health.
Faced with the challenges of remote
www.amsant.com.au
and often highly mobile clients they have
(08) 8944 6666
developed best practice e-health systems
that enable the coordinated treatment
of patients, as well as real-time access
to patient records in home settings, Aboriginal Community-
including in remote locations such as Controlled Health Services
homelands and outstations. No longer
Guiding principles include:
is remoteness a barrier to providing
quality care. Greg Henschke of That health is holistic
AMSANT explains:
That self-determination is paramount
“We’re enabling people’s health The recognition of the impact of
records to follow them around history in trauma and loss
wherever they go. And once you’ve
got that information the clinicians, Acknowledging the need for cultural understanding
nurses, health workers, doctors
The recognition of human rights
know what treatment or medication
has already been given and what The recognition of the impact of racism and stigma
needs to be done. And it enables, for
example, the male Aboriginal Health The recognition of the centrality of kinship
Workers to go and see the men at
The recognition of different communities and needs
their workplace and have a quiet
word to them, just remind them that The recognition of Aboriginal strengths
they haven’t had a health check in the
last two years.” That universal access to basic health care is essential
That high quality health care services are essential
AMSANT has been at the coalface of
these achievements, and is currently That equitable funding for health care is essential
working with its NTAHF partners on
further reform of Aboriginal PHC in the NT.
Over the past two years this has involved
joint management of a $100 million program
to deliver expanded CPHC services in the NT
and to strengthen systems and the capacity
of organisations to enhance community
control and establish regional health service
models. footnote
Workforce issues remain a critical limiting 1. Northern Territory Aboriginal Health Forum,
Pathways to Community Control, Accessed at
factor. However, the realisation that properly http://www.nt.gov.au/ on 11 October, 2010.
 Sunrise Health Service (Sunrise) delivers
comprehensive primary health care (CPHC)
to around 4,000 people in Katherine and
surrounding communities. These ‘surrounds’
cover 143,000 square kilometres and at
least ten language groups. Eight of the
communities have health centres with
permanent Sunrise staff and others are
visited by the Sunrise team.

Aboriginal community control underpins

everything that Sunrise does. The
organisation is governed by an Aboriginal
Board representing all the communities in
which Sunrise works. Sunrise explains its
philosophy in the following way:

“The premise is that if Aboriginal

people can own and control the
services provided to Aboriginal
people, then self-determination
can occur and empowerment
result. When populations are
empowered they have a voice and
political standing.”

Nearly 70 per cent of the 150 Sunrise

staff are Aboriginal and there are many
established and flexible channels through
which local people can provide their input
into the services and direction of Sunrise.
With this sense of ownership and involvement
comes better health outcomes. People
become more willing to engage with services,
have health checks, attend workshops and
absorb information that is developed in a

Sunrise Health Service

10 • 11 A Better Way
Image courtesy of saine (sxc.hu)
 


 Sunrise works on Jawoyn Country
  in Top Road communities (Werenbun,
Manyallaluk, Barunga, Wugularr,
  Bulman and Weemol) and Bottom
Road communities (Mataranka,
 Jilkminggan, Minyerri, Kewulyi,



 up of fluid that leads to hearing loss and
 in which Sunrise works – encouraged to
 a common complaint amongst infants and is
Above: The LiTTLe program. Images courtesy of
Sunrise Health Service.

collaborative and appropriate way, all of
which have the potential to contribute to
better health.
Graham Castine, Sunrise CEO explains part
of the organisation’s success more than a
decade on:
 “Feedback to the communities
and the service’s members are an
 important part of our operation
 if we are to maintain an effective
service. A service where people
are willing participators in not only
attending for the emergency type
services that are available at our
health centres but to participate in
preventative health measures within
their control - things like child and
adult health checks, care planning
and strategies which are designed
to impact on the health of the
community.”
Sunrise receives most of its funding from the
Northern Territory and Federal Governments
but also has charity and corporate partners
who provide assistance. In general, like so
many other Aboriginal organisations across
Australia, there is a constant cycle of funding
applications and associated reports to be
prepared.
Little voices,
Strong culture
Delayed speech development amongst local
children has emerged as a critical concern
in the communities which Sunrise serves.
Images courtesy of Sunrise Health Services
Ngukurr, Urapunga, Badawarrka and
Wubalawun).
 Being a provider of integrated PHC, Sunrise
 ensures that the LiTTLe program also
 communicates a range of other important
The Blekbala Fathawan Health Summit 
 is specifically referred to as a ‘male’, not
men’s summit. This is to avoid confusion
with use of the term ‘men’ to describe
those initiated through ceremony. Teenage
boys, middle aged males, senior men and
Elders all took part in the Summit.
 The Banatjarl

 Statement
 In July 2009, Sunrise hosted a meeting of
This is due to high rates of otitis media,
a health problem not usually prevalent in
the developed world and directly linked
to poverty.
Very broadly, it is a middle ear
infection which, left untreated, causes a build
delayed speech development. Otitis media is
exacerbated by poor living conditions such as
overcrowding.
To respond to this problem, Sunrise
 to
developed the Learning to Talk, Talking
Learn Program (LiTTLe) aimed at developing
 Facilitators (mostly Aboriginal and Torres
and improving children’s spoken language.
Currently the program operates in the
communities of Bulman, Weemol, Barunga
and Wugularr. In each community Sunrise
employs two local people (Community
Based Workers) to run the program. Sunrise
provides training and support to theeight
local staff - assisting in the development of
weekly plans, providing a training book and
activity cards. Sunrise is also supporting
these staff to obtain Child Care Certificates
through the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous
Education.
The LiTTLe program operates in school
 buildings, rather than women’s centres, in
a deliberate attempt to seek to engage the
whole family (mums and dads, aunties and
uncles) in developing a child’s language skills.
The program is aimed at children aged 0-4
and is based on developing skills in their
home language, not English.
Activities vary daily and include indoor
and outdoor play, real life situations and
constant talking. One activity is to take the
older children to the store, have them ask
for what they want, identify items, colours,
numbers and put language into context.
The ‘teaching’ is totally inclusive with fathers
dropping in for a cuppa and taking part and
includes different activities developed for
different age groups. Many of the parents
involved in the program are very young
and often their own school experience was
not a positive one. By visiting the school
for the LiTTLe program, parents become
more comfortable and familiar with the
environment. Robin McConnell, program
coordinator explains:
“Some of our mums are 15, often
their own school experience was
not a positive one and this (LiTTLe
program) is a good way to get them
here, make it comfortable and show
them how important school is for
their kids.”
health messages such as the importance of
regular health checks and hygienic practices.
Aboriginal males at the Blekbala Fathawan
Health Summit. Over 100 males participated
in two and a half days of meetings,

workshops and discussions.
Participants came from all of the communities
attend by their local health committees and
Sunrise Directors, local people who are
trusted and respected. The committees and
directors recognised the need to build trust
and make an event relevant by explaining the
potential personal and community benefits.
Strait Islander males) came from all over
Australia and ran sessions on physical
activity, violence, alcohol and other drugs,
sniffing, smoking, health checks and
emotional and social wellbeing.
From the summit, participants decided to
draft the Banatjarl Statement.1 This was a
collaborative process to develop ways to
improve individual and community health.
Recommendations in the statement
ranged from big picture views on the
NTER, integrated approaches such as
employment and training pathways and
more specific health initiatives such as
the need for culturally safe spaces where
males can receive health care treatment
and information. A steering committee was
formed to ensure the statement is translated
into action. Sunrise and the Committee are
currently awaiting feedback on a funding
application to employ and train male
Aboriginal Health Workers for men’s sheds
and safe places. Sunrise and the Committee
have an ongoing dialogue with the NT
Department of Health which has been open
to many of the approaches recommended in
the Banatjarl Statement.
Find out more
Sunrise Health Service
(08) 8971 1120
www.sunrise.org.au/
footnote
1. Available at http://www.sunrise.org.au/sunrise/
statement.pdf
 The Central Australian Aboriginal Congress
(Congress) was the first Aboriginal controlled
health service established in the NT.
Congress formed in 1973 after about 100
people from town and remote areas gathered
to discuss how to safeguard and promote
Aboriginal interests.

An Aboriginal Cabinet was elected to

represent the people and, in 1973, presented

Central Australian
the Commonwealth Government with a
model for community-controlled health.

Aboriginal
Congress is an AMSANT member providing
valuable knowledge and experience to other
members.

Congress
Congress’ clients are Aboriginal people living
in and around Alice Springs, although its
support extends over 500 kilometres away.1

The first service provided by the Alice Springs

based Congress was the ‘tent program’,
giving shelter to the Aboriginal people without
access to housing, living in town. In 1975
Congress began operating a health clinic

12 • 13 A Better Way
Image courtesy of bcds-netau of sxc.hu
 from a house in town and recognised early
that they would need to provide transport and
welfare services as part of the service.
As Congress grew and gained additional
funding, a range of ‘offshoots’ developed.
Congress Alukura was set up in the early
With over 35 years of knowledge, evidence,
relationships and experience Congress is
a powerful voice for Aboriginal community-
controlled health care with its inspiration
remaining ‘Aboriginal health in Aboriginal
hands’.

1980s to provide maternity and women’s
health services. From this grew Ampe Kenhe
Apmere (Congress Child Care) that provides
a physical space for mothers, families and
children from newborn to school age to come
and share and learn. The Centre aims to
foster culture, community and understanding.
In a comprehensive model of primary health
care it is essential to consider the family and
its crucial impact on the health of individuals.
Acknowledging that health clinics in small
Aboriginal communities do not have
the capacity and resources to manage
administration, make funding applications
or provide specialist and other services -
Congress supports five smaller communities
to meet these gaps. These five communities
have incorporated health boards which have
engaged the Congress to provide a range of
healthcare services to nine communities, in
some cases in collaboration with an existing
NT government clinic and in others as the
sole service provider on behalf of the board.
The aim is to work towards regionalised
Aboriginal community-controlled health
services across Central Australia to
populations of at least 3,000 people with
sufficient economies of scale to include
the necessary administation and support
services to internalise the role that
Congress is currently providing.
Congress has a long history of advocating
for Aboriginal self-determination and working
to address health issues in a broader social
and cultural context. In 1977, Congress Night
Shelter was providing food and shelter to
around 1,000 people in the wet season. In
1990 Congress bought McLeods' Store (Red
Shop) and sought to stop alcohol sales from
the store. When the NT Government refused
to buy back the store’s existing liquor licence,
Congress protested by tipping all of the liquor
stock down the drain and letting the take-
away license lapse. Red Shop then only sold
healthy foods.
Focus areas for CAAC:
Social and emotional wellbeing centre
Supporting mums
to support their
babies Above: Aboriginal Health Worker.
Below: FPP Nurse Home Visitor program
Congress is a provider of the Australian
Nursing Family Partnership Program
(referred to as FPP) aimed at assisting young
mothers and their children. The focus is on
empowering mothers and improving their
confidence and parenting skills. In November
2009, the program gained an initial three-year
Federal funding commitment which today
enables employment of the equivalent of four
full-time Nurse Home Visitors, two Aboriginal
Community Workers, one Nurse Supervisor
weekly and then a mixture of fortnightly and
and one Administrative Support Worker. The
weekly at different points in the journey of
Community Workers are local women who
the family and the development of the baby.
speak local Arrente language and, with the
Ongoing home visits allow for trust to build
nurses, they work in Alice Springs, Santa
and for the mother to know that there is
Teresa and Amoonguna.
support and assistance she can rely on.
Current funding and support came after ten
Home visits take an holistic approach
years of Congress lobbying. The program
to health care and are focused on the
is based on a US program that has seen
empowerment of mothers dealing with
significant short and long term outcomes
many of the determinants of health to better
such as improved birth weights, reduced
support the mothers themselves and the
maternal smoking, reduced childhood
social, emotional and cognitive development
mortality, neglect and injuries, and other
of their children. They involve providing
community and family benefits. Of particular
information on personal and environmental
interest to Congress were the longitudinal
health, their role as mother, strengthening
research findings which showed that 15 year
family and friends networks, looking at the
olds who had participated in the program
mother’s long term goals and how they might
as babies were twice as likely to still be in
be achieved. It also includes linking the young
school, half as likely to engage in behaviours
women to health services and authorities as
such as alcohol and drug consumption and
needed. FPP benefits extend to the wider
unprotected sex, and less likely to have been
family and community simply by having a
arrested than those who did not participate.
trained, regular visitor who earns trust and is
These adolescents are much more likely to
able to identify possible risks or issues and
have a healthy, active lifestyle which will help
can assist families to access support across
to prevent the burden of chronic disease in
a range of areas.
mid life. Overall, the US program saw a 50
per cent reduction in infant mortality.2
Congress started a preliminary and less
robust version of the program in 2000 with
mothers they identified as ‘at-risk’. While
staff resources and understanding of the
program were very limited in the program’s
initial stages, there were real benefits for the
mothers, children and families involved.
Today nurses and Aboriginal community
workers conduct home visits to pregnant

A pharmacy providing medicines

at no cost to patients
A multi-disciplinary bulk-billing general clinic
Aboriginal health worker education
Male health program
Community health program
Public health and political advocacy
Remote health services
women carrying Aboriginal babies, starting
their visits as early as 12 weeks and up to
28 weeks into pregnancy and continuing
until the baby is two years of age. The aim
of the program includes healthier and safer
pregnancies, improved child and adult
health and development and more positive
family environments. Nurses and Aboriginal
Community Workers develop an ongoing
relationship with the women, strengthened
by the visit being in the mother’s own
environment. For the first month visits are
Find out more
Phone: (08) 8951 4400
www.caac.org.au
footnoteS
1. Central Australian Aboriginal Congress, Treaty
& Health Position Paper, CAAC, Alice Springs,
2002. Available at http://www.caac.org.au/pr/index.
php?cid=6 (accessed Aug 2010).
2. See S Bell, Speech at 'Congress ANFPP Launch'
which refers to research by Prof. D L Olds, at http://
www.anfpp.com.au/frontpages/congresslaunch

Images courtesy of Central Australian Aboriginal Congress


Arnhemland
Progress
ABORIGINAL
CORPORATION
(ALPA)
The ‘underneath story’ is crucial to the
success of the Arnhem Land Progress
Aboriginal Corporation (ALPA). It is about
relationships between people, connections to
culture, country and community.
Local ideas for
local needs
ALPA was started by Arnhem Land Elders in
1972 when seven communities joined forces
to buy their existing community stores from
the church. ALPA is now run as a benevolent
Corporation. Core to ALPA is the operation of
five community-owned stores in Galiwin’ku,
Gapuwiyak, Minjilang, Milingimbi and
Ramingining. Yet there is much more to ALPA
than stores.
ALPA also provides accredited training,
information and assistance in areas of
nutrition, budgeting, cooking, healthy living
and store operations. ALPA is entirely
self-funded, generating profits that stay in
communities.
ALPA is governed by an Aboriginal Board
of Directors, with representation from all
member communities. Early in its history,
14 • 15 A Better Way
ALPA’s Board set out to develop guidelines
to ensure that community interests informed
all decision-making. Since 1985, it has been
ALPA’s policy to subsidise the freight costs
of fruit and vegetables aiming to make prices
in communities similar to those in Darwin.
ALPA has also recently started subsidising
the freight on frozen, canned and dry fruit
and vegetables along with healthy fresh dairy
products. This commitment to nutrition and
subsidies remains a core focus for ALPA
today.
This is all part of the ‘underneath story’. More
than 25 years on, ALPA’s organisational
knowledge continues to be passed on. The
Board understands the needs of the people
it serves because they share history, culture
and a desire to see the community flourish.
“We are Yol u and we recognise
the law that has existed since
time immemorial over our land
and people. We will continue, as
Directors, and through our Clan
nations to seek recognition of our
customary law and a harmony
of laws in Australia which allows
for order, good governance and
peace for our people.”
Resolution ALPA Board of
Directors, 12 September 2007
Over the years ALPA has successfully
diversified its income stream in order to
remain self-sustaining. ALPA opened a large
warehouse in Darwin which it presently
leases to a wholesale supermarket chain.
Income stability ensures the continuation
of subsidies for healthy food and means
there is more money to put back into the
communities through improvements to
the stores, employing more local people,
delivering more training and continuing
ALPA’s benevolent programs such as medical
escorts, education and funeral costs.
ALPA’s Retail Consultants are another
example of diversification. The consultants
are paid by other communities to assist in
opening and managing their own stores.
Today ALPA manages 12 such enterprises
and works with the communities to ensure
that profits are directed in accordance with
the wishes of local people and with respect
to their culture.
ALPA has also entered into an MOU with
Coles Supermarkets, which since 2000 has
enabled knowledge transfer, training, and
access to surplus equipment. Yol u trainees
are able to spend time in Darwin with the
prospect of further employment.
“We are a Yol u business
organisation and proud of our
achievements. We are part of
the wider Australian society and
business community and in this
we break down discrimination,
false images and operate in a
spirit of reconciliation.”
Rev Dr Djiniyini Gondarra, OAM -
ALPA Chairman
The ALPA FOODcard
Gapuwiyak Elder Lucy Wanapuymgu
recognised that health and nutrition strategies
needed to be complemented by support for
families to budget between payments and to
make healthy food choices for their families.
The ALPA FOODcard was developed as a
voluntary tool to educate people and to keep
money safe from ‘humbug’.1
Introduced in 2004 after extensive
consultations, the FOODcard is entirely
voluntary with users deciding how much
of their income will be put on the card and
whether it is for individual use only or to be
used by family members as well (up to four
photographs can be stored electronically per
card). It was also agreed that only essential
items, clearly identified in stores by coloured
shelf tickets could be purchased with a
FOODcard. Each card is also secured with a
microchip. Lollies, soft drink and toys are not
considered to be essential and over the years
stores have seen a decline in purchases of
these items.
With the introduction of compulsory income
management in 2007, people on income
support have had no choice but to use
Centrelink’s BasicsCard, despite the proven
success of the FOODcard trial. Unlike the
FOODcard, soft drinks, chips and other
non-essentials can all be purchased with
a BasicsCard and a prescribed minimum
proportion of income is quarantined.
“With the FOODcard program we
were seeing changes. People were
taking responsibility for their own
Images courtesy of ALPA
Above: The store team at ALPA Ramingining
spending habits, we'd seen a big
drop off in soft drink sales, but with
the BasicsCard those sales went
back up. We get criticism all the
time that we sell cigarettes and
we sell soft drinks, we shouldn't
be doing it because it’s bad for
them. That’s not up to us. We do
our best to educate people, but
people have to make the choice
and take responsibility for their own
decisions.”
Steve Moore, ALPA, Stateline NT,
18 June 2010
The impact of ‘Real
Jobs for Real
Wages’
ALPA has always had a commitment to
fully paid work. For Training Manager Henry
Harper, the equation is simple:
“There are always Yol u people who
need work and ALPA pays them a
full wage for this work.”
ALPA is one of the largest financially
independent Indigenous employers in
Australia, with over 350 Yol u employees.
Henry Harper, ALPA’s Training Manager, puts
much of this down to relationships, knowing
the communities, identifying youth who are
ready to work and being able to employ
people without skills. As he puts it:
“There is a sophisticated network
that can work well if you can be
flexible enough to use it.”
ALPA has an established mentoring program
and works with local school principals to
develop apprenticeship programs. The NT
Department of Education and Training also
funds an ALPA apprenticeship program.
In the 1980s ALPA established a training
centre at Galiwin’ku. This offered a culturally
appropriate living and working environment
for around twenty trainees at a time, with the
nearby Galiwin’ku supermarket offering ‘on-
the-job’ training. Now a Registered Training
Organisation, ALPA provides nationally
recognised retail qualifications including
Certificate II, III or IV in Retail Operations.
Transferable skills are acquired along with
a sense of opportunity, hope and pride.
Communities are able to see their own
people succeeding and they know ALPA is
in it for the long term. Unlike many regional
programs, this is not just a year-long trial and
there are real job prospects at the end.
General Manager, Alastair King, describes
how ALPA’s employment and food programs
complement each other:
“Staff are given a quarterly bonus
dependent on the store’s profits
in that period. Many of our staff
choose to put this bonus directly
onto their FOODcard. They know
that it means more money put aside
for healthy living.”
Find out more
Arnhem Land Progress
Association (ALPA)
www.alpa.asn.au
(08) 8944 6444
footnote
1. Humbug or humbugging is a term used
in some parts of the country to describe the
practice academics call 'demand sharing', which
carries with it the obligation of reciprocity. Such
sharing is highly valued in many communities and
integral to maintaining kinship relations (see for
example A Stojanovski, Dog Ear Cafe, Hybrid
Publishers, 2010). Issues arise when someone
feels overwhelmed to share their resources to the
detriment of themselves or their families.
 Waltja Tjutangku Palyapayi is Luritja language
for 'doing good work with families' and this is
Waltja’s mission.

Waltja grew from the Central Australian Family

Resource Centre, which began in 1993
but lost its Federal funding four years later.
Instead of closing down, members decided
to incorporate as an Aboriginal association
and continue their work in supporting remote
communities to receive services they want
and need and in a way that it is appropriate
to them.

Waltja is governed by an annually elected

Board of Management. These 20 Board
members are all Aboriginal women from
remote communities who meet at least three
times each year and set overall goals and
objectives. An Executive Committee of five
people meets approximately every six weeks
to make decisions on direction, projects and
programs.

The women of Waltja have set the

organisation’s objectives around addressing
issues of social and emotional wellbeing,
substance abuse, child protection, violence,
health and safety. Waltja works across
the Central Desert Region and staff travel
from Alice Springs to remote communities
and outstations to address gaps in service
delivery, by providing programs for youth, the
elderly, the disabled and family education and
support.

Respect and
dignity in
difficult times
Many people from remote communities need
to come into town for specialist medical
appointments, to visit family in hospital or
to deal with administrative matters. The
staff and directors of Waltja identified that
people coming into Alice Springs often have
problems in accessing funds and staying
safe, well nourished and warm. Often people
need to be in town for some time but do
not have established networks there. They
generally incur higher living costs than if
they were at home and can be extremely
vulnerable.

While people can apply for ‘emergency relief’

payments at Centrelink to get them through
difficult periods, they must complete a range
of forms and may require assistance with
translation. Although the process is relatively
quick, often people do not apply until they are
really desperate.

The Commonwealth Government provides

Waltja with some emergency funding to
distribute, but this is only $7,000 for the year
to cover people from six communities and
associated remote area outstations. These
funds can be accessed when people are in
their community or in Alice Springs but it is
stipulated that the money cannot be used for

Waltja Tjutangku Palyapayi

sorry business or to attend funeral services.

In order to deal with these circumstances in

a more dignified and efficient way - the Waltja
16 • 17 A Better Way
women instigated the Diary Cover project. Images courtesy of Waltja

Under the project, people in difficult financial

situations can paint diary covers for a flat rate
of $25 per cover, with remuneration paid in
cash or in supermarket vouchers.

People can choose to paint at the Waltja

Centre, where there is a dedicated verandah
space or they can take some covers away
and return them in their own time. The project
has been highly successful with many people
taking part and sales of the diaries going very
well, especially at local markets. Supported
by some short-term corporate funding,
Waltja was able to build a warehouse to store
artworks properly and to build a website with
the hope of generating online sales.

Real recognition
for research
participation
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
are frequently expected to participate in
research without being remunerated. For
example, Elders and community leaders
and representatives are often called upon
to arrange meetings, facilitate consultations,
provide interpreter services, locate
interviewees and organise photos.

Working with the Cooperative Research

Centre, Waltja has developed the Research
Nintiringtjaku program, which translates as
‘becoming knowledgeable about research’.
It is a process to enable senior Aboriginal
people to gain skills and receive formal
recognition and fair pay for their work, while
supporting important research.

There are many positive impacts of the

program, with Aboriginal people receiving
nationally recognised qualifications and
non-Indigenous people being made aware
of consultation and research protocols.
Importantly, the expectation that Aboriginal Top: Geraldine Mulda with young baby. Middle: Anne Marie and kids at Watawu. Bottom: Celebrating culture through songs.

people should contribute their time and

expertise for free is challenged and the need
to obtain free, prior and informed consent is
Find out more
emphasised as a key community consultation
www.waltja.org.au
principle.
admin@waltja.org.au
(08) 8953 4488
Guides, training manuals and agreed
procedures have been developed and
Nintiringtjaku workers are today being
consulted and paid in many research
projects. The program plays a role in
addressing social and emotional wellbeing
while respecting dignity. Fair pay for doing
a job is not a complicated concept, but one
that Waltja has worked hard to ensure is Waltja’s Logo
respected by all.
This logo was designed by Punata Stockman
from Mt.Liebig Community.

The three circles represent communities,

Waltja Tjutangku Palyapayi and service
providers respectively. The feet depict Waltja
workers travelling between communities and
service providers, sharing information and
addressing gaps in service delivery through
referral, training and advocacy.

The Laynhapuy Homelands Association
Incorporated (Laynha) is located in Yirrkala
and was established in 1985.
It provides service and infrastructure support
to surrounding Homeland communities.
Membership of the Association is drawn
from the clan estates of the Djalkiripuyngu,
the Laynhapuyngu and the Miyarrkapuyngu
areas of North East Arnhem Land.
Layhna is governed by a Board of 14 elected
Yol u members from across the homelands
and tends to mirror the kinship networks and
regional interests of this membership. For
Yol u, consensus building and negotiation
are at the core of good governance.
Across a footprint of around 10,500
kilometres squared, Layhna is responsible
for maintaining 27 homelands, 24 airstrips,
numerous minor roads connecting the
homelands to the Central Arnhem Highway
and over 160 houses across the area.
Laynha is structured to support the provision
of a range of services in the surrounding
homeland communities, including:
• Maintenance and protection of
country;
• Provision and maintenance of
community housing;
• Employment and training program;
• Communications, IT and infrastructure
services;
• Building, mechanical and civil works,
transport and logistics;
• Provision of water and associated
services;
• Airstrip and road maintenance;
• A range of health and social
services, including health
prevention, dental, money
management, aged care
and disability services;
• Music and community
arts programs;
• An aircraft charter
service (Laynha Air);
• A Business Enterprise
Unit;
Laynhapuy
Homelands
• Youth Development Program;
Association • Community development programs;
Incorporated • Governance, and capacity building
programs; and
(Laynha) • Advocacy.1
18 • 19 A Better Way Garrangali Band. Image courtesy of Laynhapuy.
“Being in our homelands, means
that the land owns us, our
identity comes from this land,
our homelands have stories
behind them, which is done on
bark paintings, sung in our song
lines, danced in our dances; our
language comes from this land,
and the history of our land has
been handed down generation to
generation.” 2
Many of Laynha’s services and supports have
historically relied on CDEP. Laynha currently
manages 340 CDEP participants with unmet
demand for a further 300-400 places. Under
the CDEP reforms, these participants now
receive income support payments instead of
wages and many report feeling less valued as
a result. This also means no ‘top up’ wages,
and that income is quarantined under the
compulsory income management scheme.
While Yirrkala and other Commonwealth
nominated ‘growth towns’ receive program
funding, more remote parts of the region
will miss out under new Government
policy.3 Layhna is also adapting to the
recent implementation of the NT’s new shire
structure. These factors have added new
levels of complexity to the work of Laynha
staff in providing essential services to a total
population of around 1,200 people (in the
Laynha Homelands).
The Yirralka
rangers
The Laynhapuy Indigenous Protected
Area (IPA) was formally declared in 2006
and recognises traditional ownership and
management of the land and sea. Stage 1
covers 6,900 square kilometres in North East
Arnhem Land, extending south from the Gove
Peninsula to Blue Mud Bay.4 Yirralka Rangers
are in the process of consultation in order to
progress to Stage 2.
Day-to-day management is carried out by the
Yirralka Rangers; locals who are paid to care
for the rare flora and fauna of the area, the
internationally significant wetlands as well as
the endangered turtles and dugong.
The Rangers are vital to the protection of the
environment and culture, and manage the
land and sea in a way that is in keeping with
Yol u ways while learning new skills.
Management activities include monitoring
illegal fishing vessel patrols, monitoring
marine habitats, managing feral animal
populations and conducting ecological
burning and fuel reduction.5
The Yirralka land and sea management
program has developed linkages with schools
to offer work experience to students and
develop reciprocal learning relationships.
Mudinymudiny Dhamarrandji, a ranger in the
Yirralka Ranger group based at Yilpara, says
that becoming a ranger ‘changes lives, changes
everything’, and keeps him busy and in work:
“They respect us. They ask us the
questions … what’s good, what’s
bad? … We learn how to take HISTORY
tourists and show them around ... OF LAYNHAPUY
how to cut bark and how to hunt
The homelands movement began in northeast Arnhem
… That’s what we are doing - Land in the early 1970s, when senior Aboriginal leaders
protecting our land and sea and our decided to move back to their ancestral country.
culture and also sharing our culture
and our land and sea.”6 For Yol u, homelands offered sanctuary from the negative effects of mining
development, particularly alcohol. Moving back to country also allowed people
to protect clan estates from further disruption and give expression to Yol u ways of
Garrangali life and identity.7

Crocodile Nest From the beginning, homeland communities have had to be extraordinarily self-reliant.

Mudinymudiny is also a member of
‘Garrangali’. The band is made up of 11
Yol u men from Yirralka and Yilpara (Blue
Mud Bay), a number of whom are Yirralka
Rangers, and the others work on the CDEP
program. The band has taken their music to
audiences across the Territory and interstate
and will tour internationally in 2011.
The band’s success is a Yol u success
and shows the role that music can play in
keeping culture strong, and communities
resilient. It also shows the potential for music
to generate significant income streams and
economic benefits to communities, thereby
building sustainable futures, particularly for
young people.
Garrangali’s engagment with local Yol u and
wider audiences supports the social and
cultural link between tradition and music,
and provides the link between community
based music activity and participation in the
commercial music industry.
Yol u have a history of fighting for recognition of their land and sea rights.
In 1963, they presented the Federal Government with The Bark Petition opposing the construction
of a mine in Nhulunbuy. In 1972, the Yol u lost their High Court battle to stop the mine and Yol u
Elders had also been unsuccessful in their attempts to make Nhulunbuy a ‘dry town’. After this time,
many Elders and their families decided to leave Nhulunbuy for their traditional land further north.
In moving, the families had to establish their own community and necessary infrastructure, building
their own homes from materials sourced locally and clearing land for airstrips. The community also
made a decision to be ‘dry’. In 1985, amidst continuing NT and nation-wide land rights struggles by
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and knowing that coordinated service delivery would
be of benefit across the area - the Laynhapuy Homelands Association Incorporated was formed.
Accepting the 2010 Reconciliation Australia Indigenous Governance Award for organisations
over 10 years old, Laynhapuy chair Barayuwa Mununggurr said:
“It is a tribute to our old people who provided the vision for our organisation ... It is a
tribute to our 1,200 members who supported us and struggled daily to sustain their
culture, land and sea country and their homelands. And it is a tribute to our clan
and homeland leaders past and present who, for 25 years, have served as
directors to develop the Laynhapuy Homelands Association, to develop
our homelands and to strive for self-determination.”

The role of bands such as Garrangali is

incredibly important as their music preserves
and transmits language across generations.
The fact that music attracts and engages so
many young people means it is an important
force in supporting the long term survival of
language, and music sung in language raises
awareness and appreciation of Indigenous
languages in wider Australia.
Involvement in music can lead to a reduction
in substance abuse, improved community
health and cohesion and enhanced
community pride in culture and young
people.
Band members have developed skills through
the Laynhapuy Homelands Association
Incorporated Community Training Unit.
Laynha has supported the men to obtain
Certificates in Music from Charles Darwin
University, develop a five year business plan,
participate in music workshops, take part in
drug and alcohol awareness programs, and
gain literacy, numeracy and web skills.
Garrangali have taken advantage of the
training available and have used the option
of web based and digital platforms such as
MySpace, Facebook, YouTube and podcasts
to create, promote and sell music.
progress, encouraging active engagement,
and helping to address social and economic
disadvantage.
"The positivity generated from
Garrangali fills us all with pride
and hope for the future …
Acknowledging that the pathway
can be particularly tricky to
negotiate, but never underestimate
the resilience and strength of the
Yol u."
Susan Sandery, Garrangali
Manager
The band sings in English and in Yol u matha
– taking their language far beyond North
East Arnhem Land. All the band’s lyrics are
inspired by their country, their Dreaming
stories and the yidaki (didgeridoo). Their
music, decision-making and activities are all
self determined and benefit band members,
their families and the wider community.
This year Garrangali won Best Album and
Best Song at the Indigenous Music Awards.
LISTEN TO THE MUSIC
GARRANGALI.BANDCAMP.COM
footnotes
1. List developed from Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Social
Justice Report 2009 at 124, Laynhapuy Homelands
Association Inc, Submission to Senate Standing
Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs,
‘Inquiry into the Appropriation (Northern Territory
National Emergency Response Bill (No. 2) 2007-
08’ and discussions with Laynhapuy Homelands
Association.
2. Y Mununggurr, Laynhapuy Homelands Statement,
22 March 2009 in Social Justice Report 2009.
3. ‘Growth towns’ are those that are designated
by the NT Government for targeted additional
investment under its Working Futures policy. These
are generally larger remote communities.
4. CAEPR, ‘Yirralka rangers’ web page at http://
caepr.anu.edu.au/poc/partners/Yirralka.php. Visited
on 8 September 2010.
5. Ibid.
6. ABC Katherine, ‘Being a ranger changes
everything’, 2 September 2010, by F Brown,
Maningrida at http://www.abc.net.au/local/
videos/2010/08/27/2995634.htm .

The development of music such as Garrangali
is to an extent dependent upon broader
social and economic progress taking place.
The Indigenous contemporary music sector
is a powerful force for social and economic
FIND OUT MORE 7. F Morphy, ‘Whose Governance for whose good?
LAYNHAPUY HOMELANDS The Lahnyapuy Homelands Association and the
neo-assimiliationist turn in Indigenous policy’ in
ASSOCIATION INC J Hunt, D Smith, S Garling, W Sanders (editors),
(08) 8939 1800 Contested Governance: Culture, power and
institutions in Indigenous Australia, CAEPR,
Research Monograph No.29, 2008.
 Yuendumu, a remote Aboriginal township on
the edge of the Tanami Desert, was gripped
by an epidemic of petrol sniffing among young
people in the early 1990s.

By 1993 there were more than 70 regular

‘sniffers’ in Yuendumu, which has a total
population of about 800-1,000. The
community was suffering the fallout, including
violence and property damage.

But in 1994, local Warlpiri Elders decided on

a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to the problem.
With the support of Traditional Owners, the
local school, the Tanami Network and the local
Community Government Council, young petrol
sniffers were sent to Purtulu, Mount Theo
Outstation - 160 kilometres from Yuendumu
and 50 kilometres from the nearest main road
- to recover, learn traditional culture and break
their addiction.

At the same time, a comprehensive youth

program was developing in Yuendumu to offer
young people active and healthy alternatives
to petrol sniffing, and to support young
‘graduates’ returning from Mount Theo.

The Mount Theo Outstation remains a

powerful diversionary initiative. From a total of
35 clients cared for at Mount Theo in 2009,
only one Yuendumu young man has returned
to sniffing petrol, and no incidents have been
recorded in Willowra, Nyirrpi or Lajamanu.

“The zero tolerance approach

and a solid model of early
intervention means there is an
immediate response for any
young person engaging in petrol
sniffing.”
Susie Low, WYDAC CEO

To date, the community-driven initiative

has transformed the lives of more than 700
young Aboriginal people from communities
in the region, and is regarded in Australia
and overseas as a leader in petrol sniffing
prevention.

Warlpiri Youth
Development Aboriginal
Corporation Mount Theo
Program (WYDAC)
20 • 21 A Better Way Image courtesy of WYDAC
Extending on this prevention work, the Jaru
Pirrjirdi program – which means ‘strong
voices’ – is now working with young adults
in the community to address the underlying
causes of petrol sniffing and help develop a
strong, skilled and dedicated group of young
leaders for Yuendumu.
An outcome of the strong personal
development that is fostered in the Jaru
Pirrjirdi program has been that 26 young
people have been employed in a number
of community organisations (a 61 per cent
increase since 2008/09) and 58 people have
been engaged in meaningful pathways in the
community.
The success of the WYDAC Program comes
from local Aboriginal people taking control
and supporting one another, says WYDAC
CEO Susie Low.
“From the beginning, the
community has upheld Warlpiri
values and used culturally
appropriate ways of doing the work.
The program received no outside
funding until 1997; and all the early
work was done on a volunteer basis.
It is the families’ combined strength
and determination that has allowed
this program to prosper.”
The program is now used as a model for
other remote communities in the Northern
Territory.
The 2006 Commonwealth Senate Committee
report into petrol sniffing highlighted the
success of the WYDAC Program and
recommended that funding be made
available to interested communities to
develop programs based on the same
principles of intervention and support.
Mount Theo
Outstation
Program:
Treatment&
Diversion
By community consent, young petrol
sniffers are sent to Mount Theo for at least
one month. Elders provide cultural healing
and coordinate outdoor activities including
gardening, traditional hunting, tracking,
cooking traditional foods, fire-making,
traditional painting, storytelling and trips to
significant sites. These activities provide an
environment for cultural strengthening and
also a non-threatening forum to engage in
discussion about the problems they are
facing.
“They learn by themselves to
behave, look to the future, and
see how to treat their children. It is
about bringing real change in young
peoples' lives. If Mt Theo wasn’t
there, we would have seen a lot
more kids dying.”1
Peggy Nampijinpa Brown OAM
Non-Aboriginal youth workers visit the
outstation approximately twice a week to
deliver food and provide additional support.
This has created an effective partnership
between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal
people, with both groups sharing ideas and
learning from one another.
After their time at the outstation, younger
people return to the Youth Program (for
up to 17 year-olds) and the older ones are
encouraged to join the Jaru Pirrjirdi project.
Effective partnerships with law enforcement
agencies, including the Yuendumu Police,
have been established. Over the last few
years young offenders have been sent to
Mount Theo Outstation by the courts. Clients
have also been referred by the Department
of Community Corrections, the police, family
members and self-referrals.
The distinctive identity of the Mount Theo
Outstation within the Warlpiri community is
a significant and contributing factor in the
program’s ongoing success.
“Warlpiri youth widely express a
perception of Mount Theo as a life-
saving place, where young people
are safely and appropriately looked
after in a ‘proper’ Warlpiri way.”
Susie Low, WYDAC CEO
WYDAC offers a number of programs
including youth programs at Yuendumu,
Willowra, Nyirrpi and Lajamanu, the
Warlpiri Education and Training Trust Youth
and Media Projects, Jaru Pirrjirdi Youth
Development Program, Warra-Warra Kanyi
Counselling and Mentoring, the Mechanics
Training Workshop and the Yuendumu
Community Swimming Pool.
Find out more
Warlpiri Youth Development
Aboriginal Corporation
www.mttheo.org
(08) 8956 4188
Youth Program: Prevention
Each day of the week, Indigenous youth
workers run an activities program for the
young people of Yuendumu and Willowra
(aged 4-17 years), including swimming,
Auskick, singing and dancing. The goal is
to engage young people in fun and healthy
activities, reduce boredom and provide
positive alternatives to petrol sniffing.
Jaru Pirrjirdi
‘Strong Voices’: Youth
Development Project
Extending on the prevention and
treatment programs, Jaru Pirrjirdi
works with young adults (aged 17-30
years) to address the underlying issues
of substance abuse. This community
leadership program aims to empower
young people to develop the necessary
skills and capacity to be active leaders
in their own communities.
Far left & Middle Left: Johnny Japangardi
Miller OAM and Peggy Nampijinpa
Brown OAM, founders of the Mt Theo
Program, celebrating their medals with NT
Administrator 2003-2007 Ted Egan AO.
Near Left: Peggy Nampijinpa Brown OAM
and her grandson.
footnote
1. P Brown, Mt Theo Outstation Co-founder,
Meeting at Mt Theo, 23 April 2009 in Social
Justice Report 2009.
 CENTRAL
LAND COUNCIL
The Central Land Council (CLC) was
formed after the enactment of the
Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern
Territory) Act 1976 (Cth) (ALRA),
the result of a long struggle for
justice and land rights.
The CLC’s area covers the
entire southern half of the
Northern Territory. Around
400,000 square kilometres
of this area (just under half) is
recognised as Aboriginal-owned
land.
The area is divided into nine regions
and includes 15 language groups.
To ensure that the Aboriginal
population living in the area - about
24,000 people - is represented on
the Council, each region elects ten
Aboriginal delegates. The 90 person
representative body meets at least three
times each year with an Executive who meet
more regularly.
The CLC is a Commonwealth statutory
authority under the ALRA and a Native Title
Representative Body under the Native Title
Act 1993.
The broad
functions
of the CLC
Core functions of the CLC include the
recovery of Aboriginal land, native title claims,
land disputes and compensation issues,
protecting sacred sites and running the
permit system for visitors onto Aboriginal
land. The CLC operates an Employment
Unit providing a vital link between employers
and potential Aboriginal employees. This
Unit provides training, mentoring and job
readiness programs.
The CLC also plays a role as advisor
and facilitator for Traditional Landowners
wishing to engage with the formal economy.
However, all decisions about the use of land
remain with the Traditional Landowners.
There are a variety of formal agreements
about land use that can be reached between
Aboriginal people, pastoral land owners,
Traditional Landowners and corporations -
these may lead to employment opportunities
which can improve the prospect of Aboriginal
people returning to and staying on country.
22 • 23 A Better Way
Under the ALRA, Traditional Owners’ consent
is required for any exploration or mining
on their land. The CLC plays a vital role
in facilitating negotiations between mining
companies and Traditional Owner groups,
acting within the law under the direction of
Traditional Owners.
The Community
Development Unit
The Community Development Unit at the
CLC assists Traditional Owners in identifying,
creating and managing community
development projects for the benefit of
Aboriginal people and communities in the
area.
Since 2005, the CLC has worked with
groups to use royalty, rent and affected area
payments from land use agreements for
sustainable community development projects
supported by Traditional Landowners. These
projects include the Warlpiri Education and
Training Trust Project (WETT), the Uluru Rent
Money Community Development Project,
the Granites Mine Affected Area Aboriginal
Corporation Project, the Tanami Dialysis
Support Service Project and the Wunara
Mine Community Development Project.
The focus of the community development
work that the unit undertakes is to achieve
sustained community benefits for Aboriginal
people from the money these agreements
generate. Community participation and
ownership is core to the success of the
projects. Projects involve local people
identifying the key issues they face, drawing
on their knowledge about appropriate
solutions and using their own resources
to put these solutions into place. Projects
such as the WETT project have significantly
benefited the communities involved in them,
producing tangible outcomes. For example
a Learning Centre at Lajamanu has been
built and is now operating, allowing access
to library books and the internet. WETT has
also engaged the Mount Theo Program to
work on a youth media program and, in
partnership with World Vision Australia and
with some Australian Government funding,
WETT has also set up an early childhood
program.
Caring for
country and
creating economic
opportunities
The CLC ranger
program
The CLC Ranger Program is another example
of the CLC’s work supporting Traditional
Owners to fulfil their responsibilities to protect
and care for country. The Ranger Program
is currently operating in seven locations and
has been running for over five years in some
places. It is another highly valued example
of community development, building on the
environmental and cultural assets of the
community.
The program employs approximately 100
Aboriginal men and women in full and part
time roles. Rangers help to preserve culture
by meeting their traditional obligations to
country; they earn a real wage and they learn
skills such as fire safety, fence building, soil
and water testing, caring for sacred sites,
culling feral animal populations, protecting
endangered fauna and collecting rare
flora. The CLC provides Rangers with the
opportunity to gain formal qualifications. Over
80 per cent of all Rangers have completed
an Occupational Health and Safety Training
course and 70 per cent are currently enrolled
in Conservation and Land Management
certificate courses.
The Northern
Tanami IPA
In 2007, the CLC, the Federal Government
and the Lajamanu community signed the
Northern Tanami Agreement, creating the
largest Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) in
the NT. The IPA is managed by a broadly
representative committee of Traditional
Owners and in 2008-2009 secured a five
year funding contract from the Federal
Government.
To reach agreement on this IPA, the CLC
brought together each of the potentially
affected Aboriginal groups. The Tanami
mine, managed by Newmont, was already
operational in the area and so the Lajamanu
community and the CLC also involved
the company in some land management
discussions.
The Northern Tanami Agreement covers
40,000 square kilometres of country
renowned for its unique ecosystem. The
region is diverse, ranging from areas of
sandstone, to desert wetlands and black soil
plains. The land is home to the vulnerable
bilby and Great Desert Skink, and the
endangered Gouldian Finch. Within it are at
least 30 threatened flora species. The area
is the traditional home of the Warlpiri and
Gurindji peoples and is now cared for by the
Wulaign Rangers coordinated by the CLC.
Above: Opening of the Nyirrpi Learning Centre
which is a Warlpiri Education and Training Trust
(WETT) project funded by money from mining
royalties. Image courtesy of Central Land Council
In the meantime, in 2007-2008 Ranger
programs across the NT suffered a number
of disruptions. The dismantling of CDEP had
a negative impact on organisations which had
participated in the program, with work often
unable to be sustained. The roll out of local
government reforms has also had an impact.
As a result of the CDEP changes, the CLC
took on 37 rangers from across the entire
CLC region as employees to circumvent the
difficulties brought about by CDEP’s removal.
In 2008, the Federal Government introduced
a five-year employment initiative, Working
on Country (WoC). With WoC as well as
additional infrastructure and capital funding,
the CLC is able to sustain its ranger activities,
plan over the longer term and recruit and
pay Aboriginal staff. However, this period of
rapid change and uncertainty took a toll on
the rangers, with cohesion not restored until
2009.
The Wulaign Rangers currently monitor for
cattle and feral animal damage and conduct
vegetation and threatened species surveys,
fire mitigation work and country visits for
cultural and natural resource management
purposes. The Wulaign Rangers have also
earned contracts from Newmont to survey
local flora and fauna and carry out land
rehabilitation. The Rangers have become
mentors running a Junior Rangers program
with the local school in Lajamanu where they
can impart cultural knowledge, encourage
respect and demonstrate the opportunities
involved in caring for country.¹
The ‘business’ of the CLC is country -
supporting Aboriginal people to return to their
country, protecting country and ensuring
that Traditional Owners and communities are
heard, consulted and respected.
Find out more
Central Land Council
www.clc.org.au
(08) 8951 6211
Indigenous Protected
Areas
Throughout the 1990s several Federal
Inquiries were held into issues of Aboriginal
land management with the Federal
Government was looking to develop a system
of National Reserves. Discussions around the
sustainability of Aboriginal people being able
to live on and protect their own land were
ongoing. It was widely agreed that traditional
approaches were essential to the wellbeing
of the land and that with the consent and
support of Traditional Owners, more land
could be classified as National Reserve.
This led to the creation of formally recognised
Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs). Today
there are 39 IPAs in Australia and over 30
more are in the process of being assessed
and negotiated. For an area to be an IPA it
must meet all of the following criteria:
Land or seas owned by Aboriginal or Torres
Strait Islander Peoples;
An area of significant biodiversity; and
The Traditional Owners enter a formal
conservation agreement with the Federal
Government to manage the area.²
An IPA is a way for Indigenous communities
to balance caring for country with
employment opportunities, land management
and external economic interests in that land.
Warlpiri Education and
Training Trust Project
(WETT)
WETT was set up in 2004 as part of a mining
agreement CLC negotiated between the
Aboriginal landowners and Newmont Mining
(a Tanami gold mining company). Under
the agreement, Aboriginal people receive
royalties for mining on their land and they also
receive funds into a trust for education and
training. The CLC and the regional Warlpiri
controlled education body, the Warlpiri-patu-
kurlangu Jaru Association, consulted with
the Warlpiri communities regarding program
options. Through the consultation process
early childhood care and development was
identified as a high priority. Youth education
was also identified as being a key concern.
As educator Marlkirdi Napaljarri Rose from
Lajamanu in the north west of the CLC’s
region explains:
“WETT is about using royalty money
for further education and training for
Warlpiri communities. We have been
talking about a lot of things that people
have wanted to see, like a Warlpiri early
childhood program, a Warlpiri youth and
media program and a Warlpiri Learning
Community Centre where we could go and
do night school in our own community.
There are other things we are funding
which are very important, like secondary
support for our children going to both our
local schools and to boarding schools.”³
Marlkirdi Napaljarri Rose sits on the WETT
advisory committee with members from
Willowra, Yuendumu and Nyirrpi and other
education stakeholders.
footnote
1. Central Land Council, Annual Report
2008-2009.
2. See http://www.environment.gov.au
3. See http://www.clc.org.au/Building_the_
bush/wett.html
 Mäpuru
Mäpuru is a homeland community, located
in north-east Arnhem Land on Wolbukarra
country and home to about 100 people.
homeland
Yol u Elders decided to move back to
this country over 40 years ago and built
community
the community themselves. Like all Yol u
communities, community Elders have
ensured that the community has always been
dry. Homeland decisions are made after
consensus is reached between families in the
community, with younger people deferring to
the wisdom of Elders.
Yingiya Guyula, a Yol u man and lecturer
at Charles Darwin University explains the
importance of the homelands to the people
of Mäpuru:
“Arnhemland is like the European
Union, made up of many different
nations, each clan-nation with their
own language, each with its own
national estate. Bringing everybody
in from the homeland centres into
the major settlements is not the
right thing to do because people
do not feel secure or happy living
in another man’s land. Children are
forced to go to school, but really
they do not feel safe and [secure] on
other peoples’ land.” 1
Mäpuru Food
Cooperative
In 2002, the community established a food
cooperative. The store stocks a range
of healthy foods which are intended to
supplement locally hunted foods in order to
maintain strong culture and connection with
the land. Unhealthy snack foods like chips
and lollies are not sold at the store.
24 • 25 A Better Way
The store is a cooperative, which means
that all store profits are returned to the
community. It is managed by community
member and school teacher, Jackie
Nguluwidi.
“We are going forward for the
future … children’s future…When I
die they will have a store, weaving
income and other businesses.
We don’t yet recognise all the
possibilities. Now we have a
chance to teach and start other
businesses.”2
Jackie Nguluwidi
In Mäpuru, telling one story means telling
many. The shop is linked to the school,
the vehicles, the weaving program and
local tourism ventures. Each decision of
the community is made thinking about
the community as a whole and the flow
on effects that may occur. For example,
the logical place to open the store was in
the same building as the school (Mäpuru
Homeland Learning Centre) - in part because
the manager, Jackie, worked at the school
and it had a telephone and a storeroom. Even
more importantly it was because teaching
literacy and numeracy skills and ‘Western
ways’ is much easier in a real life setting.
With the Federal Government’s NTER came
the BasicsCard - and the government
decision to reject the Mäpuru store
application to accept the card. With a
proportion of people’s incomes being
compulsorily put onto this card, they had no
choice but to shop elsewhere. From Mäpuru
this meant Elcho Island, either an expensive
flight or a one hour boat journey and a 40
minute drive each way. After much lobbying
by Mäpuru Homeland on behalf of families
determined to stay on country, the Federal
Government reversed its decision.
Responding to the Federal Government’s
NTER and compulsory income management
policy, Roslyn Mal umba, a Mäpuru Elder
says:
“Why do they treat us badly? Here
at Mäpuru, there is no gambling,
alcohol or sexual violence towards
children or any of the bad things
that happen in towns and cities. We
live peacefully together.”
The relative autonomy of Mäpuru Homeland
is unique and Jackie explains a fundamental
reason for this:
“We can only do this because we
are living on our Home-Lands, we
couldn’t do this on Elcho Island.” 3
A proper school
for Mäpuru
The community paid for and constructed
its first school in 1982, resourced as a
Homeland Learning Centre.4 However,
despite operating successfully for 27 years,
and continued lobbying since 1998, the NT
Government failed to provide proper school
facilities and full-time teachers. In frustration,
Mäpuru Homeland recently successfully
approached the Northern Territory
Christian Schools Association to set up an
independent school. As a result, Mäpuru now
has a school with two full time teaching staff,
relevant curriculum, proper school equipment
and improving infrastructure.
“There are about 50 children who
willingly run to school everyday at
Mäpuru homeland because it’s their
home and they feel secure.”
Yingiya Guyula
The ‘new school’ commenced in June 2010
and schooling will take place in a manner that
is appropriate and meaningful to the children
and the community. As an independent
school, new NT regulations that curb
teaching in first languages in favour of English
do not apply.5 The school will have a flexible
and realistic approach that gives learning a
context. For example, students accompany
Jackie to unload the stock for the store, they
take part in stock-take, recording, making
sales, using the EFTPOS machine and are
gaining skills that would take much longer
to learn in a conventional classroom setting.
Students also take time out from ‘usual’
lessons to participate in cultural weaving and
'living on country' tours.
A common thread
Over eight years ago, the women of Mäpuru
started a tourism business, Arnhem Weavers,
where non-Indigenous and Indigenous
women come to the Homeland to learn about
weaving and Yol u culture.
Girls from the school take part in these trips
with their grandmothers, mothers, aunts and
relatives - they experience positive interaction
with non-Indigenous women and teach
these visitors some Yol u matha (language)
and in turn learn more about Western ways.
The Yol u women in Mäpuru are renowned
for their skilled and aesthetically beautiful
weaving. The tours involve collecting
pandanus leaves, bark, and dyes from plant
roots and then imparting their weaving skills.
Roslyn Mal umba explains the importance of
this initiative to her:
"For the first time in our lives we are
meeting visitors who are not service
providers and public servants, paid
to 'teach' and tell us how to do
things … that hurts us inside. The
weaving visitors are different. These
women are respectful, not telling
Find out more
Mäpuru Homeland Learning
Centre & Mäpuru Food Cooperative
www.arnhemweavers.com.au/mapuru
WWW.CULTURALSURVIVAL.ORG.AU
Above: Baskets made from pandanus and natural
dyes. Below: Yindiri & Yarrmiya travelled from
Donydji to learn how the Mäpuru Coop operates.
Left: Mäpuru Homeland Learning Centre
Images courtesy of Mäpuru
us what to do, but want to be with
us and learn from us. For the first
time my families are getting back
dignity and self- esteem that can't
be bought."
The weaving project has also generated
funds for community projects. The program
is based on the notion that the Yol u women
have wisdom, knowledge and skills to impart.
Participants leave with an insight into the
oldest living culture in the world and ideas for
a more sustainable future.
This community initiative has now expanded
to include a tour for men’s business.
Importantly, many people are returning again
and again. As Roslyn Mal umba puts it:
“It’s not just about tourism anymore,
it’s about relationships, long term
relationships with good respectful
people. That’s true reconciliation."
footnotes
1. Statement from 'Yingiya Guyula from Liya-
dhalinymirr clan of the Djambarrpuy u People',
at http://stoptheintervention.org/facts/your-
voice/yingiya-guyula-liya-dhalinymirr-clan-
djambarrpuynu-people, accessed September
2010.
2. Cited at http://web.mac.com/banbins/
banbins/mapuru.html
3. Elcho Island is also known as Galiwin’ku,
and a number of Yol u clans live together
there.
4. Homeland Learning Centres are a category
of inferior government-provided ‘schools’ that
do not have normal school infrastructure or full-
time teachers and are found only in Aboriginal
communities. There are approximately 50
Homeland Learning Centres in the NT.
5. English is not the first language of children
at Mäpuru and the community has opposed
the mandating of teaching in English arguing
that bilingual teaching is more effective and
culturally appropriate. The NT Government’s
Compulsory Teaching in English for the first
four hours of each school day policy means
that the teaching and learning of Aboriginal
languages and culture can only be scheduled
in the afternoon. The Australian Human Rights
Commission stated in their Submission to
the Special Rapporteur in the situation of
human rights and fundamental freedoms of
indigenous people 2009, that this policy is
likely to seriously affect the bilingual education
school model. Indigenous controlled education
is essential in preserving remaining Indigenous
languages.
 TRADITIONAL
CREDIT
UNION
Frustration with the lack of banking services
available to Aboriginal people in Arnhem
Land, in the North-East of the NT, inspired
community leaders to develop their own
solutions. Sitting down, talking, planning and
the persistence of several Arnhem Land Elders
led to the creation of the Traditional Credit
Union (TCU).

Grants from the then Aboriginal and

Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC)
and the Arnhemland Progress Aboriginal
Corporation (ALPA) enabled the credit union’s
establishment. TCU’s first remote branch
opened in 1995. Today there are 11 remote
branches and a Head Office in Darwin with
plans to expand to 20 remote branches by
2015.

TCU is the only Aboriginal-owned banking

institution in Australia. The Board is made up
of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.
There is a combination of representation from
the local communities, finance and law experts
and those who have knowledge about culture
and the needs of those who access the TCU’s
services.

26 • 27 A Better Way Images courtesy of TCU

 All TCU branches are located in remote areas
that mainstream services often fail to reach.
Customers can access complex information in
a timely way in language they understand.
Before the TCU brought banking to remote
communities, a basic banking transaction
would have involved a long drive or a costly
flight. For example, Milingimbi, the site of TCU’s
first remote branch, is 500 kilometres from
Darwin and 250 kilometres from the regional
centre of Nhulunbuy. Given the high cost of
transport to access banking services in larger
towns, community people were often forced to
rely on third parties to complete basic banking
transactions, for example, having to ask others
to cash cheques for them. In some places
locals would have been completely without
banking services during the wet season.
Over the last 20 years the presence of major
banks in Arnhem Land has decreased. This
is partly due to the challenges they faced in
meeting the needs of local customers, including
overcoming language barriers and providing
flexible branch opening times to accommodate
cultural factors.
By contrast, TCU staff speak the language of
the community, they close for cultural business
as directed by the community, they have
procedures in place to allow several family
members access to the one account and they
employ local people.
TCU has been widely recognised for its
contribution as a provider of training and
employment opportunities to local Aboriginal
people. In 2009, TCU was the winner of the
Deadly Award for Employment Opportunities
and has received Governance and other
employment awards from the NT Government
and Reconciliation Australia
TRADITIONAL CREDIT
UNION CENTRES
WARRUWI
GALIWIN'KU
MILINGIMBI
MANINGRIDA
OENPELLI
GAPUWIYAK
HEAD OFFICE RAMINGINING
CASUARINA
NUMBULWAR
WADEYE
NGUKURR
MINYERRI
INDIGENOUS MONEY
MENTORS
TCU knows that to truly have an impact on
financial literacy and on individual and family
budget decisions, it needs to develop strong
relationships with clients and be guided by the
needs and priorities of each community.
With this in mind, the TCU has secured several
newly funded Indigenous Money Mentor
positions. The Mentors will develop financial
solutions that best suit individuals or families.
These roles will commence in 2011 and have
a five-year Federal funding commitment. The
aim is to recruit Mentors locally and by 2015
to have at least eight covering two or three
communities each.
Time = Rewards
Coordinating training for staff spread across
vast distances and at least 11 different
languages is a challenge. Rather than requiring
staff to travel to Darwin for training, TCU
trainers travel to local branches and provide
individual, face-to-face training for new staff.
Individual training ensures new staff are up to
speed with relevant software, finance options
and TCU processes and systems. As Morgan
Hoyes, TCU’s Business Development Manager
explains:
“Our training model is time and
resource intensive but it works.
Getting it right takes money, passion
and time.”
Once staff have received their initial training
there are further development options. Many
TCU staff have been supported to take part in
the nationally accredited Certificate II or III in
Financial Services - delivered by TCU’s own
accredited trainers.
TCU has remained in operation for over a
decade because it is responsive to community
needs. Looking forward, the TCU is working
towards a model of community ownership.
This will take time and resources and will
mean involving Elders and community leaders
even more in branch decisions. This is where
TCU sees itself in the future. This vision
aligns to the credit union structure where
members - whether individuals, family groups
or organisations - are the shareholders. As
Morgan puts it:
“It’s about valuing community output
and input.”
Find out more
Traditional
Credit Union
www.tcu.com.au
(08) 8999 0788

STANDING STRONG
ASSOCIATION OF NORTHERN KIMBERLEY
AND ARNHEM ABORIGINAL ARTISTS (ANKAAA)
The commercial success of the Aboriginal
art movement is renowned and celebrated
on the national and international stage. Less
recognised, however, is the management of
art production, support for artists and cultural
enrichment that is provided by networks of
Aboriginal owned and controlled Art Centres
across Australia. In the Top End the Art
Centres are supported by the Association of
Northern, Kimberley and Arnhem Aboriginal
Artists (ANKAAA). Governed by a board of
Aboriginal Directors from across this region,
ANKAAA services an area of one million
square kilometres, supports 43 different Art
Centres and assists over 3,000 artists, many
of whom are nationally and internationally
acclaimed.
Operating as the peak body for this region,
ANKAAA is the ‘face and voice’ of an area
that takes in the Kimberley, Tiwi Islands,
Arnhem Land, Katherine and Darwin regions,
where hundreds of languages and dialects
are still practiced today and English is often
the third or fourth language spoken.
Art Centres play a vital role in remote
communities and the homelands of the NT.
These Centres are not just places to make
or sell art but are important ‘keeping places’
where cultural knowledge is shared and
practiced and cultural identity is strengthened
and maintained. Additionally, the Centres
are spaces for education and training, and
business meetings. For many communities,
the Art Centre is one of the few local
employers or the sole source of income-
generation for financial independence.
The Aboriginal art industry is estimated to
be worth $500 million annually and as a
key player representing the interests of its
members, ANKAAA’s leadership recognises
that it is important to balance culture and
financial business in everything it does.
ANKAAA is an important example of the
key role that peak bodies play in supporting
the process of community development.
Through advocacy, building capacity in
communities and facilitating information
and skills exchange (between different
organisations) Art Centres have become
centres of excellence and pride within their
communities.
28 • 29 A Better Way Image courtesy of ANKAAA
Fundamental and parallel to the rising
success of the Aboriginal art movement
was the Homelands Movement. The health
benefits for people living on their homelands
is documented and discussed elsewhere
in this booklet (for example in AMSANT,
Sunrise Health and Central Australian
Aboriginal Congress stories); similarly, an
interdependent relationship exists between
the quality of art work produced by people
‘living on country’ on their homelands:
“People are doing their own
patterns and designs and
stories in their countries. We
need to support them. They are
respecting the country and telling
wider Australia and the world
why everyone should respect
the country and not destroy it…
it is all about the land and the
art, and that we need to see
more understanding about the
importance of the homelands to
art.”
Djambawa Marawili,
2009 ANKAAA Chairman
To sustain the growth of Aboriginal art into
the future, ANKAAA promotes the valuing
of this special relationship to country that so
clearly supports this creative process and
the integrity of art produced. The value of the
teaching that takes place in these homelands
and community Art Centres by Elders and
leading artists still needs greater recognition.
The homelands are the heartland of the
Indigenous art movement and are essential
for the movement to survive and prosper.
The transference of knowledge and skills
that takes place in Art Centres has enabled
continuation of important cultural knowledge,
and maintained integrity of the artwork and
the authenticity that buyers seek:
“Teaching happens right here
on country between families and
generations, and that is the right
way because it teaches respect
for country and culture.”
ANKAAA Members' Values
Statement, 2007.
One of the great strengths of ANKAAA is that
it is governed by a full Board of Aboriginal
Directors who meet at regular intervals.
ANKAAA staff deal with the logistics of these
meetings; arrangements include addressing
language barriers to ensure the Directors
can engage in informed decision-making on
strategic direction of the organisation. As the
Chairman Djambawa Marawili stated in 2009:
“Why is ANKAAA really important? It is
really important in being an organisation
in which Aboriginal Executive Directors
are the boss.”
Another strength is the governance model
ANKAAA uses and the integrity in the
process it follows to ensure meaningful
engagement of the Directors and members.
ANKAAA coordinates large-scale annual
regional meetings across the four ANKAAA
regions to guarantee member participation
is strong and to define priorities for the
organisation. These meetings also ensure
that voices are heard in the lead up to
the AGM, another significant event where
members are supported to come together to
contribute to good governance.
As a Finalist in the 2010 Reconciliation
Australia Indigenous Governance Awards
(won by Laynhapuy featured in this booklet),
ANKAAA was proud to celebrate the strength
and integrity of its leadership and the
participation of its membership.
“As an Aboriginal art association,
ANKAAA is now permanently
standing strong. We need to keep
on developing it for the young
people to come along. We need
to lead the young generation and
teach them, show them the safest
way to go, and where to live back
in this Homeland today.”
Djambawa Marawili, 2009
ANKAAA Chairman.
Find out more:
Association of Northern,
Kimberley and Arnhem
Land Aboriginal Artists (ANKAAA)
www.aboriginalart.org
ANKAAA’s core
functions include:
Consultation: listening to
members
Advocacy / Lobbying: talking up
for members and art centres
Resourcing: helping and giving
information
Training: teaching
Referral: putting members in
touch with other organisations
and resources
Promotion: telling people about
art centres and artists
Protecting artists interests:
getting a fair deal.
 Image courtesy of
Tangentyere Council
SUPPORTING
SELF-DETERMINATION
IN AN URBAN SETTING
TANGENTYERE COUNCIL INC.
Tangentyere Council is the major service
delivery agency for the 18 Housing
Associations known as ‘Town Camps’ in
Alice Springs. Tangentyere’s remarkable
story in many ways mirrors, in an urban
context, the outstation resource agencies
developed by remote homelands
communities to ensure their independence
and viability (see Laynhapuy story in this
volume).
Tangentyere Council’s role is to provide
culturally sensitive, sustainable services
and programs in line with the decisions
and aspirations of the approximately 2,000
residents of the Town Camp communities.
These communities, comprising both local
Traditional Owner groups as well as residents
from traditional groups outside Alice Springs,
have had to defend their right to exist as
independent communities under the control
of their residents.
“These are peoples’ homes, going
back for four or five generations …
Ownership on a communal level is
something that people are proud
of. Their fathers and grandfathers
fought strong and hard to get the
[Town Camp] leases.”
William Tilmouth,
Tangentyere Executive Director.
Over the past 30 years the Tangentyere
Executive Council, drawn from each of the
Housing Associations, has successfully
steered the development of Tangentyere and
the Town Camps in a way that meets the
requirements of Aboriginal law and western
administrative legislation and procedures.
For example, the internal planning of the
camps reflects Aboriginal law and cultural
values such as the need to provide areas
for different family groups, temporary
accommodation for people who have to leave
houses following a death, the need for visitor
camping and sacred site protection.
Tangentyere Council manages 208 houses
on the Town Camps. In addition to housing
and related municipal services, Tangentyere
Council runs a range of family and youth
services, a night patrol, day patrol and youth
patrol, a research hub, an art centre, an aged
and community care program, a community
banking facility and five not-for-profit
enterprises.
This is all the more remarkable in that
Tangentyere Council receives no core
funding and is dependent on grants - as
many as 100 at any time - predominantly
from the Australian and NT Governments,
with occasional grants from the Alice
Springs Town Council and
philanthropic bodies.
“From our
perspective,
we want to have
agency in our lives,
we want to have an opportunity
to create an economic base,
we don’t want to be under the
welfare dripping tap for ever was presented as an alternate entity for
and a day.”
William Tilmouth,
Tangentyere Executive Director.
Community Hubs
Funding uncertainty has also meant
significant service delivery gaps, which
Tangentyere has responded to with
characteristic innovation. Their most effective
response has been the establishment of
Community Hubs that act as a soft entry
point for Alice Springs based services to
increase access to residents in the Town
Camps.
Led by the community, the Hubs have
become places of community strength, voice
and vision. They provide a social hub for the
community that effectively responds to the
needs of families, including in areas such as
family violence, education, child protection,
substance misuse, health and wellbeing
and financial management. They do this in
a way that is empowering and builds on the
strengths of residents.
There are currently three hubs servicing four
Town Camps: the Yarrenyty Arltere Learning
Centre (YALC), established in the mid-1990s;
the Hidden Valley Community Centre,
established in 2005; and a centre servicing
the Karnte and Anthepe Town Camps that
began operating on a part time basis in
November 2009.
Housing
Until recently, Tangentyere Council managed
208 houses on the Town Camps in their
own right. In 2007, its Indigenous housing
management program was recognised as
achieving outcomes well above the national
average across a range of health and safety
measures.1
However, in December 2009, 14 of the 15
Housing Associations that hold perpetual
head leases over their Town Camps signed
40 year subleases of their land to the
Commonwealth Government in return for a
commitment of $100 million over five years to
upgrade housing and essential infrastructure.
The effect of the deal is that the NT housing
authority will take control of housing on Town
Camps, in line with the Commonwealth
Government’s decision to transition all
Aboriginal community housing in the NT to
public housing.
This was not the outcome that Tangentyere
and the Housing Associations had sought,
instead arguing for continued Aboriginal
control of housing in the Town Camps.
Demonstrating their commitment to best
practice community housing, Tangentyere
established the first Aboriginal owned
not-for-profit affordable housing company
in Australia, the Central Australian
Affordable Housing Company (CAAHC).2
With membership from the community,
government and the private sector, CAAHC
holding the 40 year subleases.
The Commonwealth Government’s failure
to back CAAHC in favour of government
control is disappointing but not regarded by
Tangentyere as the end of the story. With
State and Territory governments elsewhere
handing over their public housing stock to
community housing companies, Tangentyere
is convinced that the Government will
eventually recognise the superior economic
benefits and social outcomes that an
affordable housing company such as CAAHC
can provide.
The Central Australian
Affordable Housing Company
(CAAHC)
The Central Australian Affordable Housing
Company (CAAHC) was registered on
20 March 2009 and is the first Aboriginal
owned not-for-profit affordable housing
company in Australia. Its aim is to reduce
environmental health related illnesses and
alleviate homelessness in communities
throughout Central Australia.
CAAHC is based on a social business
model that delivers improved Governance,
a commercially sound business, an
opportunity for increased government and
private investment and improved capacity
to tackle the housing backlog.
CAAHC will contribute directly to improving
the economic and social outcomes in
communities, including the provision of
traineeships and real jobs.
footnoteS
1. Healthabitat, 'Comparison of house function rates
by standard FHBH survey tests' (2006-2007), tables
accessed at: http://www.healthabitat.com/newsPdfs2/
TangentyereComparisons.pdf
2. While there are many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
housing organisations around the country, CAAHC is the first to
be established as an affordable housing company. In this way
it is able to take advantage of current mainstream community
housing policy settings.

The North Australian
Aboriginal Justice
Agency (NAAJA)
The North Australian Aboriginal Justice
Agency (NAAJA) is one of eight Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services
funded by the Federal Government across
the country. The other Aboriginal legal service
in the NT is the Central Australian Aboriginal
Legal Aid Service (CAALAS).
NAAJA’s mandate is to deliver high quality
Criminal, Family and Civil law services to
Aboriginal people in the Top End of the NT,
as well as several other projects that are part
of its Advocacy Section. NAAJA was formed
in 2005 as a result of the merger of three
separate legal services, NAALAS, KRALAS
and the Miwatj Aboriginal Legal Service.
NAAJA services the Top End of the NT, from
the Tiwi Islands in the Arafura Sea to the
Tanami desert in the south. NAAJA operates
in a difficult environment. Clients often live
in remote communities and lawyers are
required to travel hundreds of kilometres
in a week to attend Bush Courts. Many of
NAAJA’s clients speak English as a second,
third or fourth language, and live in third world
conditions where their legal problems are
often enmeshed with broader social, health
and economic issues.
30 • 31 A Better Way
“Our relationship
with our clients,
their families and
communities is close:
based on trust. We
are in a unique position
to present an intimate
perspective on the operation
of juvenile justice laws, policies
and procedures on young
Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander people.”1
The organisation is committed to delivering
the best possible outcomes for its clients,
and although it has a team of professional
and highly dedicated staff, it continues to
face chronic under-funding.
NAAJA’s Board
NAAJA has an experienced and
dedicated Board comprising 12 Board
members, with four representatives
from each of the three regions that
NAAJA services – Darwin, Katherine
and Nhulunbuy. The Board is entirely
Aboriginal-controlled. This ensures a level
of accountability to community as well as
a strong awareness of issues affecting
Aboriginal people in the community.
NAAJA is committed to increasing its
Aboriginal staffing levels. At present, nearly
50 per cent of NAAJA’s staff are Aboriginal.
These include lawyers, Client Service Officers
and administrative staff. An important
difference from legal aid commissions and
community legal centres is NAAJA’s Client
Service Officers, who accompany clients
through the legal process, acting as an
intermediary between clients and the justice
system. They assist to reduce the alienation
of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people.
Criminal Law
Disadvantage is deep in the NT, which has
one of the highest incarceration rates in the
world. On 2007-8 figures:
• The rate of imprisonment of adults in
the Northern Territory was 568 per
100,000 adults, almost 3.5 times the
national average rate of imprisonment
of 164 per 100,000 adults; and
• 82% of the prison population was
Aboriginal, despite the fact that
Aboriginal people comprise only 30%
of the NT population.
The figures have continued to increase since
2007. The rate of imprisonment of adults in
the NT for the September 2010 quarter was
665 prisoners per 100,000 adults. This is
almost 3.5 times the national average rate
of imprisonment of 168 per 100,000 adults.2
The 2009 report into Access to Justice by
the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs
References Committee confirmed that
Indigenous legal services remain significantly
under-funded and that this impacts upon
Indigenous people’s access to justice.3 The
funding of NAAJA is no exception. NAAJA
represents clients in Darwin, Katherine and
Nhulunbuy and across the Top End of the
NT in bush courts.  NAAJA acts for clients
throughout the criminal process in the
Magistrates Court and in the Supreme Court.  Images courtesy of NAAJA
In 2009-10, NAAJA provided advice and
representation to 10,125 Indigenous people.
NAAJA solicitors handled 5,162 criminal
matters and 711 family or civil matters. This
does not include the additional 1,117 duty files
which were also handled by NAAJA solicitors
or the advice and preliminary assistance
provided to clients.
Over the past five years there has been an
increase of 27 per cent in the number of
Criminal and Civil matters and 50 per cent in
the number of family matters undertaken by
NAAJA. The rate of increase is anticipated to
continue to rise because of the large amount
of case work emanating from the Northern
Territory Emergency Response (NTER).
For instance, NAAJA have experienced a
surge in traffic related charges from remote
communities where new or additional police
officers have been stationed.
NAAJA’s lawyers act as solicitor and counsel
in complex Magistrates Court matters,
including bail applications and complex pleas,
as well as contested hearings and committal
proceedings. In the Supreme Court, NAAJA
acts as solicitor and counsel in pleas,
trials and appeals and only brief counsel
in the most serious of matters. NAAJA has
appeared in 1,952 Supreme Court matters
since 1 July 2007.
Civil and Family
Law
NAAJA assists clients in a broad range of civil
and family law matters, including complaints
against police, adult guardianship, child in
need of protection applications, coronial
inquests, mental health tribunal matters and
family law.
The civil practice has been very proactive
and innovative in turning situations of
conflict into measures that will drive social
change. As an example, NAAJA assisted
a highly respected Elder of the Ngukurr
Community in relation to a police complaint.
NAAJA strongly supported, and actively
participated in, a mediation process that led
to the Ngukurr Mutual Respect Agreement,
a groundbreaking document setting out
the cross-cultural relationship between the
Ngukurr Community and NT Police.
Advocacy
NAAJA’s advocacy work includes seeking
to raise systemic law and justice issues of
concern to Aboriginal people, usually arising
through casework. NAAJA regularly meets
with key stakeholders to raise ongoing
issues, and also makes submissions to both
Commonwealth and Territory Governments
about a broad range of legal issues, which
have most recently included priority areas
such as the NTER, mental health issues, the
Alcohol Court and child in need of protection
matters. We also have two dedicated Welfare
Rights Outreach solicitors who provide legal
education, advice and casework assistance
to clients on Centrelink matters, Income
Management and tenancy issues, with a
particular focus on assisting clients in remote
communities.
NAAJA also seeks to deliver relevant and
effective community legal education. In
2009, NAAJA released a DVD, 'Call me a
Lawyer' in seven local languages: Kriol, Tiwi,
Warlpiri, Anindilyakwa, Djambarrpuyngu,
Gupapuyngu, Murrinh-Patha, as well as
English. It explains rights and responsibilities
in relation to interviews with police. The aim of
the DVD is to make essential legal information
accessible to clients. A second DVD in the
series, ‘Court Terminology’, was released
early in 2010. The ‘Court Terminology’ DVD
covers essential legal process and language
for Community Court Elders and Interpreters
involved in the Magistrates Courts and will be
available in English, Yol u matha and Kriol.4
Restorative
Justice and
Innovative
Projects
NAAJA has recently concluded a research
project on the NTER and the effect of
additional police on remote communities. In
collaboration with CAALAS, NAAJA launched
a research report in April 2010 detailing the
results of surveys with people living in the
communities where 18 new police stations
were built under the NTER.5
As well as this, NAAJA has in 2009-10
commenced other innovative projects,
including:
• A Prison Support Officer project,
where NAAJA has two Prison Support
Officers based at Darwin Correctional
Centre who assist prisoners with
issues relating to parole, referrals to
appropriate legal or other services and
provide community legal education at
the prison;
• An Indigenous Throughcare Project,
to case manage prisoners six months
prior to release from jail and for the first
six months upon their release;
• Assisting Elders at the Lajamanu
Community re-establish a Law
and Justice Group to empower the
community to play an active role in the
conventional criminal justice system;
and
• A mediation project in the Tiwi Islands
to train local people to mediate local
disputes.
Find out more
WWW.NAAJA.ORG.AU
INDIGENOUS LAW PROGRAMS:
www.ag.gov.au
footnoteS
1. Aboriginal Legal Service NSW/ACT, NAAJA,
QLD Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander
Legal Service, 'Joint submission to the House of
Representatives Standing Committee on Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Inquiry into High
Levels of Involvement of Indigenous Juveniles
and Young Adults in the Criminal Justice System',
January, 2010.
2. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Corrective
Services 4512.0 Sep 2010.
3. Parliament of Australia Senate Legal &
Constitutional Affairs Committee, Access to Justice,
8 Dec 2009. Available at http://www.aph.gov.au/
senate/committee/legcon_ctte/access_to_justice/
index.htm
4. NAAJA, Court Terminology DVD. Available at
http://www.naaja.org.au/
5. NAAJA & CAALAS, Researching on Policing in
Aboriginal Communities, Themis Report, Available
at http://www.naaja.org.au/
 Copyright 2010 ANTaR. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
THIS PUBLICATION WAS MADE POSSIBLE WITH THE
SUPPORT OF AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL AUSTRALIA.