Executive summary and recommendations
Whether considering health issues, law and order, conservation,
biosecurity, climate change, border protection or economic development in the
Torres Strait, the committee found that a number of clear messages emerged during
the course of its inquiry. They underscored the importance of:
- engaging local people, 'the eyes and ears of the north', in
activities that come under Treaty arrangements and decision-making associated
with them;
- encouraging PNG's full participation in all aspects of Treaty
arrangements, including the cycle of Treaty meetings, and strengthening its
capacity to support joint undertakings in the region;
- ensuring that Australia's development assistance to Western
Province produces benefits that are well-targeted and long lasting;
- recognising the Torres Strait as a joint jurisdiction and
capitalising on the potential for Australia's aid agencies and research
institutes working on the PNG side of the border to link up, wherever possible,
with their counterpart agencies in the Torres Strait to support and complement
each other's work;
- achieving effective whole-of-government cooperation and
coordination between government agencies, giving particular attention to the
sharing or pooling of assets and the delivery of services to the region; and
- preventing or minimising abuses of treaty arrangements and
reconciling differences in perceptions between traditional inhabitants and
government agencies about the operation of the provisions of the Treaty.
These messages are evident in the committee's recommendations which
have been grouped under the key subject headings as set out in this report.
Provision of health services
The committee recommends that:
- through the Package of Measures developed by the Health Issues
Committee, the Australian Government continue to support PNG initiatives to
establish new, or improve existing, health facilities in Western Province so that
PNG nationals no longer need to seek health care in the Torres Strait;
(recommendation 1, paragraph 4.23)
-
the Australian Government give serious consideration to measures
that would further facilitate the proposal for greater cross-border involvement
by Australian health professionals in both the provision of services and
capacity building initiatives on the PNG side of the border; (recommendation 2,
paragraph 4.35)
-
the Australian Government review its funding to Queensland Health
to ensure that such funding is commensurate with the actual costs incurred by
Queensland Health in providing health care to PNG nationals; (recommendation 6,
paragraph 5.34)
- the Australian Government offer assistance to help the Queensland
Government fund the implementation of the new data collection systems for PNG
nationals accessing health services in the Torres Strait; and provide funding,
if required, for a review of the effectiveness of this system; (recommendation
7, paragraph 5.41.)
- the Department of Immigration and Citizenship ensure that its
statistics on PNG nationals visiting Australia, including those in Australia
receiving medical treatment, are complete and complement those collected by
Queensland Health; (recommendation 8, paragraph 5.42)
- relevant Australian government agencies combine their efforts to
ascertain whether, or the extent to which, PNG nationals are coming to
Australia to access social services, whether they are misinformed about their
entitlements and, if so, the source of this misinformation and how best to
correct it. (recommendation 9, paragraph 5.44)
Australia’s development assistance to Western Province
The committee recommends that:
- the Australian Government use the Papua New Guinea–Australia
Partnership for Development to detail the assistance it is providing to PNG to
improve the delivery of health services in the southern part of Western
Province and to ensure that projects undertaken in this region are
appropriately monitored and evaluated during implementation and after
completion; (recommendation 3, paragraph 4.61)
- to improve accountability and transparency of Australia's
development aid spending, AusAID's Office of Development Effectiveness (ODE) conduct
an analysis of Australia's funding in relation to Western Province in the
Torres Strait region—
This analysis must provide an
accurate and quantifiable account on the effectiveness of Australian aid
provided to Western Province in the Torres Strait region. Special consideration
must be given to the outcomes of Australian Government initiatives in the
region, including both technical achievements and outputs and changes in
attitudes and behaviour; (recommendation 4, paragraphs 4.62–63)
- the analysis mentioned in the previous recommendation also look
closely at the extent and effectiveness of AusAID's cooperation with Queensland
Health and consider ways to ensure that their work in the Torres Strait region
is seamless across the border and that their operations and funding complement
each other; (recommendation 5, paragraph 4.68)
Policing in the Torres Strait
The committee recommends that:
- the Queensland Government consider, as part of its overall review
of policing in Indigenous communities, increasing Community Police Officer
powers in order to enable them to respond more effectively to incidents in
Torres Strait island communities and providing appropriate training and
supervision in the use of these powers. The findings of the recent Queensland
Crime and Misconduct Commission inquiry provide an ideal starting point;
(recommendation 10, paragraph 8.47)
- with regard to matters dealing with visiting PNG nationals, the
committee believes that the Australian Government has a direct responsibility.
It recommends that the Australian Government should confer with the Queensland
Government on how best it, and more particularly the AFP, can assist with any
law and order issues that arise because of the shared border and the presence
of PNG nationals in the Torres Strait; (recommendation 11, paragraph 8.64)
- in consultation with law enforcement and border security agencies
working in the Torres Strait, the AFP review its presence in the region and
consider whether it adequately meets the level of risk and community
expectations. (recommendation 22, paragraph 13.79)
Conservation and biosecurity, community management plans and community
involvement in protecting the environment and in sustainable management
The committee recommends that:
- the Australian Government ensure that the funding for the
development of community management plans and the employment of community
rangers is secure and commensurate with the maintenance and progress of these
plans; (recommendation 12––also applies to biosecurity—paragraph 10.15)
- in recognition of the important role of community rangers in both
conservation and in maintaining Australia's biosecurity, the Australian
Government, in consultation with TSIRC and TSRA, give consideration to making
the positions of community rangers permanent; (recommendation 12, paragraph
10.16)
- in conjunction with local communities in the Torres Strait,
AusAID consider ways that would enable much greater engagement by PNG villagers
in the work of community rangers in the Torres Strait as a means of educating
and training them in conservation and biosecurity and in managing their
environment. In particular, the committee recommends that the Australian
Government support the TSRA's efforts to engage coastal communities in Western
Province in turtle and dugong conservation; (recommendation 13, paragraph
10.33)
- the Australian Government fund a number of scholarships for PNG
post-graduate students whose research would be linked to the community
management plans now in operation in the Torres Strait and the work of
community rangers; (recommendation 13, paragraph 10.34)
- the Australian Government ensure that there is adequate funding
available for:
- regular assessments of stocks of protected or vulnerable marine
species in the Torres Strait; and
- research into the nature and size of the catch by traditional
inhabitants and the illegal or unauthorised harvest of marine turtles, dugong
and bêche-de-mer in the Torres Strait; (recommendation 14, paragraph 10.38)
- when allocating funding for research projects in the Torres
Strait, the Australian Government ensure that relevant agencies place a high
priority on projects that demonstrate a commitment to engaging local
communities in the formulation and design of these projects and, where
possible, to training local Indigenous people in research techniques and
sustainable management; (recommendation 15, paragraph 10.52)
- as a high priority, the Australian Government consider engaging
AusAID and other Australian agencies working in PNG such as ACIAR as partners
with Australian research bodies working on the Australian side of the border.
This partnership, which would include local communities, would be designed to
ensure that work on the PNG side complements, builds on and reinforces the
conservation and biosecurity work being done on the Australian side;
(recommendation 16, paragraph 10.60)
- in line with this priority, the committee recommends that,
wherever practical, researchers or project officers working in the Torres
Strait are encouraged to establish or strengthen partnerships with counterparts
in PNG so that work on both sides of the border is complementary and builds
critical networks of researchers who are then well positioned to collaborate in
further research. AusAID could act as a key coordinator in forging these links;
(recommendation 16, paragraph 10.60)
-
the Australian Government assist Torres Strait Islanders to
assume a central role in biosecurity-relevant studies, including research into
management of indigenous flora and fauna, and surveying and monitoring threats
to their localities, such as illegal fishing or the introduction of harmful
weeds or pests. (recommendation 17, paragraph, paragraph 12.65)
Border protection
The committee recommends that:
-
DFAT assume the leadership role in exploring ways with relevant
border control agencies to make better use of modern technologies to identify
travellers visiting the Torres Strait. The aim would be to implement as soon as
practicable an improved means of identification for people crossing the border
in the Torres Strait that would be in keeping with the spirit of the Treaty;
(recommendation 18, paragraph 13.32)
-
DFAT jointly with DIAC, Customs and Border Protection, the AFP
and Queensland Police review the ways in which government agencies currently
work with local communities as partners to promote border security. The
intention would be to consult with local communities to gauge their views on
how their role in border security could be improved and to use this process to
strengthen the intelligence network on the ground in the Torres Strait;
(recommendation 19, paragraph 13.39)
- the Australian Government continue to support and fund adequately
the effort to combat illegal fishing in the Torres Strait; (recommendation 20,
paragraph 13.65)
- the Australian Government provide the funding needed to expedite
the charting of uncharted waters in the Torres Strait, with priority given to
the waters between Saibai and Boigu and the area north of these islands
- the Department of Defence provide the committee with periodic
updates on the progress being made to chart the waters of the Torres Strait.
(recommendation 21, paragraphs 13.73 and 13.74)
Climate change
The committee recommends that:
- the Australian Government
- place a high priority on implementing practical measures that
need to be taken in the short term to assist local communities in the Torres
Strait better deal with and, where possible, mitigate the problems caused by
higher sea levels and extreme weather events;
- review the need for an education and training program designed
specifically to assist those communities in the region most at risk from the
damaging effects of changes in climate. The intention would be to determine how
best to assist people to remain productive members of their community in a
changing environment; (recommendation 23, paragraph, 14.20)
-
the Australian Government lend its full support to CSIRO's
'climate adaptation flagship' and ensure that adequate funding is made
available to the institution to continue this initiative; (recommendation 24,
paragraph 14.36)
- in conjunction and closely connected with this initiative, the
committee recommends that the Australian Government fund a study into
socio-economic developments in the region, including in the South Fly District,
and their implications for water and food security and population movements in
the area; (recommendation 25, paragraph 14.37)
- the Australian Government assist PNG to undertake complementary
studies of climate change in Western Province by providing funding for
research, opening up research opportunities for PNG researchers to work alongside
Australian researchers in this area and for Australian researchers to work in
PNG. For example, the Australian Government should consider offering
scholarships or traineeships for PNG students to participate in CSIRO's climate
adaptation flagship; (recommendation 26, paragraph 14.40)
- ACIAR consider including climate change and the implications for
coastal villages in PNG's southern region as research priorities for PNG (traditional
fishing, the conservation of species, including the dugong and turtle, and
emergence and/or spread of exotic pests); (recommendation 27, paragraph 14.41)
- the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs consult with his PNG
counterpart about removing immediately any possible impediment to the
Environment Management Committee and the Joint Advisory Council considering
climate change in the Torres Strait. (recommendation 28, paragraph 14.45)
Commercial fishing in the Torres Strait
The committee recommends that:
- DAFF monitor developments within the Protected Zone Joint
Authority (PZJA) during the coming twelve months. Further, at the end of that
period, it consult with representatives from the Indigenous and non-Indigenous
fishing sectors in the Torres Strait and with the Queensland Government to
ascertain whether, in their view, the PZJA is making progress in remedying the
problems identified in this report. The committee recommends that DAFF prepare
a report for the minister for his/her consideration and for the report to be
provided to the committee. (recommendation 29, paragraph 15.66)
Governance, consultation and service delivery
The committee recommends that:
- the Australian Government look closely at the operation of the
Customs facility on Saibai with a view to increasing the opportunities for
greater integration of effort across all agencies engaged in the Torres Strait;
(recommendation 30, paragraph 16.15)
-
the government establish a working group to consider the sharing
arrangements for government assets in the Torres Strait with a view to
identifying any areas for improvement, any real or potential points of conflict
in the sharing of assets and how they could be resolved; (recommendation 30,
paragraph 16.16)
- a copy of this assessment be provided to the committee for its
consideration; (recommendation 30, paragraph 16.17)
- the Royal Australian Navy remain in close consultation with all
relevant agencies working in the Torres Strait in order to arrive at a
decision regarding a Navy presence there that would best support Australia's
whole-of-government effort in the region. (recommendation 31, paragraph 16.22)
- agencies take note of the observations about 'consultation
overload' and make real efforts to dispel the notion that government officials
fly in and fly out. (recommendation 32, paragraph 16.29)
- the Australian Government, the Queensland Government, the two
local councils and the TSRA establish a working group with the aim of
formulating recommendations designed to produce a more stream-lined and
integrated approach to service delivery in the Torres Strait. (recommendation
32, paragraph 16.30)
Consultative mechanisms under the Treaty
The committee recommends that:
- DFAT examine the working of the consultative mechanisms with a
view to developing, in collaboration with their PNG counterparts, initiatives
that would encourage and assist PNG representatives to attend and participate
in all joint activities, build their capacity to contribute to decision making
and importantly, to follow through with agreed actions; (recommendation 33,
paragraph 16.55)
-
the Australian Government, in consultation with the PNG
Government, establish 'Torres Strait cooperation' as a standing item on the
agenda for the annual bilateral ministerial meetings or forums. (recommendation
34, paragraph 16.57)
- DFAT explore the reasons for the different perceptions held by
traditional inhabitants and state and Commonwealth authorities on the
effectiveness of arrangements under the Treaty and report on its findings. This
report to include suggestions on ways to reconcile these differences
(recommendation 35, paragraph 17.21)
Commonwealth responsibilities—infrastructure and waste management
The committee recommends that:
- the Australian Government recognise that the removal of derelict
vehicles from the islands is a major environmental concern and one that requires
close consideration. The committee believes that the Australian Government
should take some responsibility for the safe disposal of vehicles purchased by
Commonwealth officers for use in the Torres Strait; (recommendation 35, 18.6)
- the Australian Government consider providing additional funding
for Horn Island airport, especially in areas related to safety, security and
border control. (recommendation 36, paragraph 18.11)
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