THE INDIGENOUS IMPLEMENTATION BOARD

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CURTIN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGYPUBLIC POLICY
INSTITUTEHYATT PERTH 15TH MAY 2009

• THE INDIGENOUS IMPLEMENTATION BOARD
• BY
• LIEUTENANT GENERAL JOHN SANDERSON, AC

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WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU FIND YOU ARE RIDING A
DEAD HORSE?

• THE DAKOTA INDIANS SAY THAT
• THE BEST STRATEGY IS TO DISMOUNT

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APPROXIMATELY 45 PERCENT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIAS
PRISON POPULATION COMES FROM LESS THAN THREE
PERCENT OF ITS PEOPLE

• (NEARLY HALF OF EVERY DOLLAR SPENT ON
  INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS IS SPENT ON THE JUSTICE AND
  CORRECTIVE SYSTEM)

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The constant question!

• how come we keep spending so much money on the
  issues and the situation only gets worse?

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How do we generate shared vision and how do we
build partnerships that gain real commitment and
are sustainable?
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POSITIVE DEVELOPMENTS SINCE DECEMBER 2007

• THE APOLOGY

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• For the nation to bring the first two
  centuries of our settled history to a close, as
  we begin a new chapter and which we embrace with
  pride, admiration and awe these great and ancient
  cultures we are blessed, truly blessed, to have
  among us. Cultures that provide a unique,
  uninterrupted human thread linking our Australian
  continent to the most ancient prehistory of our
  planet.
• PM KEVIN RUDD THE APOLOGY FEB 2008

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And growing from this new respect, to see our
Indigenous brothers and sisters with fresh
eyes, with new eyes, and with our minds wide
open as to how we might tackle, together, the
great practical challenges that Indigenous
Australia faces in the future.PM Kevin Rudd
The Apology February 2008
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POSITIVE DEVELOPMENTS SINCE DECEMBER 2007

• THE APOLOGY
• ABORIGINAL ADVISORY COUNCILS AT STATE AND FEDERAL
  LEVELS

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POSITIVE DEVELOPMENTS SINCE DECEMBER 2007

• THE APOLOGY
• ABORIGINAL ADVISORY COUNCILS AT STATE AND FEDERAL
  LEVELS
• EMERGENCE OF REGIONALLY EMPOWERED GOVERNMENT IN
  WESTERN AUSTRALIA

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POSITIVE DEVELOPMENTS SINCE DECEMBER 2007

• THE APOLOGY
• ABORIGINAL ADVISORY COUNCILS AT STATE AND FEDERAL
  LEVELS
• EMERGENCE OF REGIONALLY EMPOWERED GOVERNMENT IN
  WESTERN AUSTRALIA
• THE INDIGENOUS IMPLEMENTATION BOARD (IIB)

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WHAT THE IIB IS NOT

• THE IIB IS NOT THE ABORIGINAL VOICE (The
  aboriginal voice resides in the regions and in
  the Aboriginal Advisory Council)

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WHAT THE IIB IS NOT

• THE IIB IS NOT THE ABORIGINAL VOICE (The
  aboriginal voice resides in the regions and in
  the Aboriginal Advisory Council)
• THE IIB DOES NOT HAVE STATUTORY AUTHORITY
  (Statutory authority remains with the Ministers
  and their Departments)

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IIB MEMBERSHIP

• LT GEN JOHN SANDERSON Chairman and former
  Governor of WA
• MARK BIN BAKAR Aboriginal - Entertainer, Stolen
  Generation Advocate and Western Australian of the
  year 2008
• KIM BRIDGES Aboriginal - Businessman and
  Development Consultant
• RICKY BURGES CEO WALGA, former DG Culture and the
  Arts, WA Businesswomen of the Year 1997
• DR SUE GORDON Aboriginal - former Department
  Head, Magistrate and Chairperson National
  Indigenous Council
• BRENDAN HAMMOND Former Manager Argyle Diamond
  Mine and CEO of the Childrens Trust, Chairman
  Horizon Power
• ASSOC PROF HELEN MILROY Aboriginal - Psychiatrist
  and Director Centre for Aboriginal Medical and
  Dental Health UWA
• PROFESSOR FIONA STANLY Founding Director Telethon
  Child Health Institute Chair of the Australian
  Research Alliance for Children and Youth
  Australian of the Year 2003
• DAWN WALLAM Aboriginal - CEO of the Yorganop
  Child Care Aboriginal Corporation, active member
  of national and international Indigenous child
  care groups

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IIB TERMS OF REFERENCE

• Developing a framework to use to collaborate and
  focus resources for future agreements with the
  Commonwealth, Local Governments and other key
  stakeholders working with Indigenous Western
  Australians.
• Establishing accountability mechanisms to monitor
  achievement against agreed targets and focus
  resources to maximise positive outcomes for
  Indigenous Western Australians.
• Delivering a bi-annual report to Cabinet on
  progress in the Indigenous Affairs portfolio in
  Western Australia.
• Driving fundamental policy shifts through
  stronger and more accountable Government
  governance, building trust through consistency
  and commitment.
• Building effective participation of Indigenous
  people, and the broader WA leadership, supporting
  effective community governance, leadership and
  structures necessary to engage with Government.
• Providing advice on human and financial resources
  required for Indigenous people to participate in
  decision-making that affects community lives and
  the way services are provided.

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IIB TERMS OF REFERENCE

• Developing a framework to use to collaborate and
  focus resources for future agreements with the
  Commonwealth, Local Governments and other key
  stakeholders working with Indigenous Western
  Australians.
• Establishing accountability mechanisms to monitor
  achievement against agreed targets and focus
  resources to maximise positive outcomes for
  Indigenous Western Australians.
• Delivering a bi-annual report to Cabinet on
  progress in the Indigenous Affairs portfolio in
  Western Australia.
• Driving fundamental policy shifts through
  stronger and more accountable Government
  governance, building trust through consistency
  and commitment.
• Building effective participation of Indigenous
  people, and the broader WA leadership, supporting
  effective community governance, leadership and
  structures necessary to engage with Government.
• Providing advice on human and financial resources
  required for Indigenous people to participate in
  decision-making that affects community lives and
  the way services are provided.

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ACTIVITIES IN THE FIRST TWO YEARS

• Establishing a Government governance framework to
  improve coordination and management of service
  delivery at the regional level.
• Strategically positioning the State in relation
  to State, Commonwealth and Local Government
  responsibilities through relevant bilateral and
  other arrangements.
• Developing, with State agencies, clear
  overarching regional action plans to guide
  current and future activities linked to bilateral
  arrangements and State investment priorities.
• Producing an annual Western Australian report on
  achievement of Indigenous outcomes against the
  investment in Indigenous affairs, including
  specific and mainstream services to Indigenous
  people in Western Australia. This will also be
  provided at a regional level.
• Leading current and future planning to focus the
  State investment in Indigenous communities that
  can provide a more sustainable quality of life
  and enhance the capacity of Indigenous people to
  contribute to the common wealth of Western
  Australia.

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The Boards Strategic Premise

• Aboriginal people and their culture are
  critical to the future of our State. Their unique
  knowledge is the defining element in building a
  sustainable future for Western Australia.

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The Boards Strategy

• The IIB will drive the empowerment of Aboriginal
  people to create their own future. This provides
  the foundations on which strong partnerships can
  be built to bring about positive outcomes for all
  of us.
• To achieve these outcomes the Board will catalyse
  a fundamental rethink of Government policy. It
  will move swiftly to
• enable the Aboriginal design and delivery of
  services
• ensure the continuation of a vibrant living
  culture
• refocus regional governance to build
  sustainable communities, economies and
  environments
• engage all sectors

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THE FIRST 100 DAYS

• starting regional dialogues, commencing in the
  Kimberley in March 2009 and moving across the
  State
• facilitating meetings of senior Aboriginal law
  men and women to advise the Board
• ensuring the development and empowerment of
  Indigenous leaders
• commencing the redesign of Government process
  and decision making in partnership with the
  Aboriginal Affairs Coordinating Committee (AACC)
  and Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee (AAAC).

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SOCIAL POLICY AGENDAS ARE SUPPOSED TO

• provide levels of human wellbeing and
  environmental sustainability that match the
  vision that people aspire to, and

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SOCIAL POLICY AGENDAS ARE SUPPOSED TO

• provide levels of human wellbeing and
  environmental sustainability that match the
  vision that people aspire to, and
• education, health, housing, communications and
  culture are key to wellbeing and cannot simply be
  wished on regions by well meaning people who live
  in other places and control the purse strings in
  financial management silos that never quite come
  together to generate outcomes at the point where
  they are supposed to be focused.

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Peter Shergold, Sydney Morning Herald News Review
25 April 2009Public Service, Political Heart

• There is an unparalleled opportunity for much
  greater levels of Political participation. It
  also involves dangers. It requires shifts of
  power. Decision making needs to be less
  bureaucratic and more citizen-centric. That
  requires far more flexible organizations and more
  collaborative leadership cultures. It demands
  that governments embrace social innovation and
  that public services are willing to manage the
  risks that inevitably accompany it.

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Peter Shergold, Sydney Morning Herald News Review
25 April 2009Public Service, Political Heart

• Too much accountability, too much public
  service process and too much professional
  expertise kill creativity.

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NEW HORSE TO REPLACE THE
DEAD ONE WEVE BEEN RIDING

• VISION
• PARTNERSHIP
• COURAGE