In each edition we feature the views of a Local Government Association President. The following is from Alderman Dave Elliot, President of the Local Government Association of the Northern Territory.
Many of us are oblivious to the problems confronting people who face the prospect of living in a seemingly helpless, dysfunctional environment. For many Aboriginal communities in the remoter parts of the country, this is the reality that their leaders must deal with on a daily basis.
For most Australians these constitute desperate circumstances, which we find hard to contemplate – but if we are to progress our society and move beyond the welfare and handout mentality – we must. There have been countless studies done on these issues with statistics and data to match. All reveal bleak situations with common themes about disadvantage and dysfunction often mentioned. Many people and governments advocate change.
The Northern Territory Minister for Local Government and Minister assisting the Chief Minister for Indigenous Affairs, the Hon John Ah Kit, MLA spoke about some of these issues in a blunt statement in the Legislative Assembly on 7 March 2002 (reported in the last issue of FOCUS). He referred to the parlous state that many indigenous people in the Northern Territory find themselves in and called for change, saying, among other things, ‘I want Aboriginal people to become part of our society instead of existing on the fringes’.
In Queensland, the Fitzgerald Report claimed strategies were required in three main areas.
- Interventions to address emergency situations, reduce harm and improve safety.
- Community development, in the form of governance and welfare reform.
- Public sector reform, particularly with regard to getting programs and services better coordinated.
Minister Ah Kit has called for similar action to take place in the Northern Territory. The Minister cited the lack of resources (or inefficient/inappropriate use of some of the available resources); having too many responsibilities; and political point scoring by all spheres of government over community problems as reasons for the failure of many Local Governments to improve people’s lives.
The Minister pointed to the need for regional, economic, social and political development to take place in a context of ‘whole of government, whole of community partnership approach to regional service delivery’. The goal, he said was ‘to turn things around’ otherwise the future generations of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians would ‘pay potentially overwhelming economic, social and political costs’.
The Minister is also a keynote speaker at the Indigenous Governance Conference which is to be held in Canberra from 3-5 April 2002. One objective of the conference was to increase awareness and understanding among Indigenous leaders and communities, and among government policy makers, about linkages between good governance and sustained socioeconomic and community development in the Australian context. Papers from the conference suggest that good governance is ‘a model of governance that leads to the social, cultural and economic developments sought by citizens’ and is not necessarily synonymous with ‘government’.
To my mind ‘good governance’ is achieved through ‘good people with good plans’ regardless of what organisations or administrative arrangements might be created to deal with it.
All of the above actions and announcements point to potential changes in arrangements for local communities and Local Government in the Northern Territory and if that leads to lives being improved and ‘good governance’ then the changes will be for the better.
I have a concern, however, that Local Government in the Northern Territory may be seen as something of a scapegoat for not doing enough to correct social problems for which all sectors of society must take responsibility. Link this with improved delivery of services and better use of resources and we might be on the way to seeing some of the turn around of which the Minister and others speak.
Local Government in the Northern Territory looks forward to developing partnerships with all sectors of society to improve people’s lives. It is willing to make a start on formalising these partnerships now.
