Appendix 1Summary of committee site visits
1.1The committee undertook several site visits to remote communities in Northern Australia to inform its inquiry. This appendix contains summaries of the committee’s site visits undertaken during the inquiry. These included visits to:
Lockhart River, Queensland, on 15 August 2023; and
the Dampier Peninsula, Western Australia, on 21 August 2023.
1.2In conducting the site visits, committee members were able to gain a contextual understanding of the impediments to workforce development that exist in Northern Australia that go beyond what they may have experienced in their own electorates or through written submissions to this inquiry.
Lockhart River Aboriginal Shire, Queensland—15 August 2023
1.3The Lockhart River Aboriginal Shire (Lockhart River) is situated on the eastern coastline of the Cape York Peninsula in remote far-north Queensland. Management of the Lockhart River is administered by the Lockhart River Aboriginal Shire Council under the Lockhart River Deed of Grant in Trust (DOGIT) and Mangkuma Land Trust traditional owner management arrangement. The Shire is predominantly an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community with ancestral lineage to six traditional family (language) groups.
1.4On Tuesday, 15 August 2023 the committee travelled to Lockhart River to meet with representatives from the Lockhart River Aboriginal Shire Council. The committee members in attendance were the Chair, Ms Marion Scrymgour MP, the deputy Chair, the Hon. Mr Warren Entsch MP, and Mr Luke Gosling MP.
1.5Lockhart River is 765km from Cairns by road. The committee therefore travelled to Lockhart River on a chartered plane that departed from Cairns. Upon arrival, the committee were greeted by Mr David Clarke, Chief Executive Officer and Mr Paul Piva, a former Councillor of the Lockhart River Aboriginal Shire Council (the Council).
1.6The committee were taken on a tour of the community, and inspected various sites, including the:
Lockhart River Airport;
Iron Range Cabins;
building site of the new cultural precinct;
building site of new campgrounds;
building site of a new sub-division with new house construction scheduled for the 2024 dry season;
men's shelter;
local store, 'the Freddy Clarence Moses Store';
Lockhart River Arts Centre;
newly renovated Football field;
Lockhart River State School; and
the Social Club.
Figure 1.1Mr Clarke and Mr Piva explaining the work of the Lockhart River Aboriginal Shire Council to committee members
1.7During the tour, Mr Clarke informed the committee of community development initiatives that may be viable upon the completion of the cultural precinct and campgrounds, including:
tourism enterprises, such as providing cultural and historical tours of the area and bird watching tours;
holding the Laura Quinkan Dance Festival;
expansion of Lockhart River Car Hire business, established by Mr Piva in 2008; and
hosting the Cape Cluster Rugby League rounds and inter-community women’s sports at the new Football field.
1.8The committee also incidentally met with Ms Lainie Poon, Relationship Manager at Regional Development Australia Tropical North, and Mr Ross Contarino, Community Engagement Manager at the National Broadband Network (NBN).
1.9Mr Contarino told the committee that 50 per cent of the community has access to satellite dishes and wireless connection. As part of the Round 2 Regional Connectivity Program, Telstra were awarded a grant to upgrade the Telstra macro cell base station and transmission infrastructure in Lockhart River, providing improved mobile coverage to the area.
1.10However, this type of telecommunications infrastructure is unreliable and prone to lightning strikes and cyclones, meaning community wide outages are common. NBN are currently conducting a feasibility study for the operation of a fixed wireless communication device and the introduction of a 4G network.
1.11The committee then visited the Council office building. Whilst there, Mr Clarke provided an overview of the major impediments to building the economic and social infrastructure required to support the expansion of local enterprise and create jobs in Lockhart River. These include the timing of state funding for capital infrastructure projects, and land tenure issues, as discussed below.
Timing of state funding for capital infrastructure projects
1.12The construction and maintenance of capital infrastructure (that is, the basic facilities and systems servicing the community such as roads, water and sewerage systems and buildings) in Lockhart River is routinely delayed due to the weather and the timing of state funding for such works. The committee heard that the community can only undertake construction and maintenance works during the dry season (May to November), however funding for such works is not received until after the dry season finishes. As a result, the community can undergo prolonged periods of construction and maintenance inactivity, resulting in an immediate loss of local work opportunities.
Improving processes for doing business on Indigenous land subject to native title
1.13The committee heard that unintended barriers to workforce development have been created due to the interaction between current land use regulatory bodies, and local community needs and expectations. For example, despite good faith negotiations, the Township Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) between the Prescribed Body Corporate (PBC)—the native title corporation—and the Council has been under negotiation since 2014. The absence of an ILUA and the ability of the community to utilise land has unreasonably restricted development of the community. Mr Clarke cited the need to review mechanisms to secure long term tenure, an ILUA and/or leasing of traditional lands for tourism developments and investments.
1.14Mr Clarke outlined the need for greater community engagement by Traditional Owners, citing concerns about disengaged Traditional Owners, those living off-Country and ongoing confusion amongst Traditional Owner groups and the Council regarding roles and responsibilities over land.
Acknowledgement
1.15On behalf of the committee, Ms Scrymgour thanked the Mr Clarke and Mr Piva for hosting the committee's visit.
Dampier Peninsula communities, Western Australia—21 August 2023
1.16The Dampier Peninsula is located north of Broome in Western Australia. It has four major Indigenous communities: Ardyaloon, Djarindjin, Lombadina and Beagle Bay.
1.17Djarindjin is located approximately 200km north of Broome, Lombadina community is directly adjacent, with Beagle Bay and Ardayaloon being 60km south and 2km north-east respectively. The Peninsula is accessible via car along the Broome-Cape Leveque Road, which has recently been sealed all the way to Cape Leveque, the northern most point.
1.18Several different land tenures exist within the area, including freehold, special purpose lease, reserves, leasehold land, Aboriginal Land Trust Land, unallocated crown land and community-owned land. All types of land tenure, except for the freehold land areas, are subject to exclusive possession native title interests by the Bardi Jawi people.
1.19On 21 August 2023, the committee travelled to the Dampier Peninsula and visited the communities of Djarindjin, Lombadina and Ardyaloon. The committee members in attendance were the Chair, Ms Marion Scrymgour MP, and Senator Glenn Sterle, Senator for Western Australia.
Djarindjin and Lombadina Aboriginal communities
1.20The committee first travelled to Djarindjin and met with Mr Nathan McIvor, Chief Executive Officer of the Djarindjin Aboriginal Corporation (DAC), other members of the organisation, and a representative from Lombadina Aboriginal Corporation. DAC are the largest employer in the Dampier Peninsula, currently employing approximately 60 people across its operations.
1.21For the benefit of the representatives, the Chair outlined the role of the committee and its current inquiry into workforce development and securing employment outcomes.
1.22The committee were then briefed on some of the recent local community initiatives that have encouraged workforce activity, such as:
completion of the new playground;
completed refurbishments of the Roadhouse accommodation units;
taking over the airport in February 2022, making Djarindjin Airport the only indigenous owned and operated airport in Australia; and
completion of the Caravan Park at the Roadhouse.
1.23The committee then engaged in discussion regarding the Community Development Program (CPD), community governance arrangements, and land tenure.
Community Development Program
1.24The CDP is a legacy federal government employment and community development program serving people living in remote Australia. In May 2021, the then-Government committed to replacing the CDP with a new remote jobs program in 2023. In the October 2022 Budget, the Government announced the New Jobs Program Trial that is currently in operation.
1.25Whilst DAC is not a CDP provider, many of its employees have extensive experience and involvement with local CDP activities which keeps DAC engaged with the CDP.
1.26DAC told the committee that it valued a federal government program like the CDP to encourage local employment where participants can contribute to making their community a better place to live. However, it raised concerns about absenteeism, mutual obligation requirements, poor quality activities and training opportunities offered to participants, and the extent to which the CDP was delivering ongoing employment. It was stressed to the committee that the absence of viable on-country employment options led to disengaged community members, many of whom may travel to Broome as a result and transfer negative social norms and behaviours to the community upon re-entry.
1.27Therefore, to support the community to achieve real change and promote sustainable employment, DAC were of the view that the replacement program for the CDP should:
be primarily developed in-community and on-country with government support, as opposed to the top-down approach of the old CDP;
involve the National Indigenous Australians Agency, in consultation with other agencies, developing a richer measurement of performance and outcomes for the new CDP;
focus on long-term job creation that is culturally appropriate to the operating region;
encourage participation without punitive measures; and
promote self-determination of Indigenous communities.
Community governance and land tenure
1.28The committee also heard about the conflicting governance roles of PBCs and community/shire councils. DAC told the committee that there is a lack of clarity in the community about who the decision-makers are and who has the authority to administer services in communities and be the main point of engagement for government. Additionally, PBCs and community/shire councils compete for government funding and resources for community services, land management and housing. As a result, economic development, coordination and planning has stagnated.
1.29The committee heard that leasing arrangements have also deterred the creation of business ventures that may promote sustainable local employment. For example, the Djarindjin Airport is situated on a Special Purpose Lease, allowing DAC to run the business with some certainty of tenure and employ community members. However, the rest of the community is on Aboriginal Land Trust land controlled by the Kimberley Land Council. Due to this, the community have little self-governance or certainty about the key civil services that support the community including housing, and waste and water management. The resulting uncertainty has deterred investment in local business ventures.
1.30The committee notes the need to develop appropriate mechanisms for resolving conflicting governance arrangements and the administration of land tenure to promote economic and social development for Indigenous communities.
Figure 1.2Ms Marion Scrymgour and Senator Glenn Sterle with representatives of the Djarindjin Aboriginal Corporation and Lombadina Aboriginal Corporation
Acknowledgement
1.31On behalf of the committee, Ms Scrymgour thanked Mr McIvor and the DAC and Lombadina representatives for speaking to the committee and facilitating its visit.
Ardyaloon Aboriginal Community
1.32The committee then travelled to Ardyaloon and met with Mr Col Woodman, Chief Executive Officer, and Mr Andrew Carter, Chairperson of the Ardyaloon Aboriginal Corporation, at their main office.
1.33The key issues discussed during the committee’s visit included:
Aboriginal Lands Trust Divestment and land tenure arrangements. Unlike Djardinjin, Ardyaloon does not have an agreement for a Special Purpose Lease, meaning that it has no autonomy over the governance of the land on which the community sits. It is therefore complex for the community to plan and develop businesses to continue to build a social and economic capacity over the long-term;
ongoing issues related to housing, including lack of availability and the high costs of insurance;
difficultly in accessing funding from state and federal government due to the incorporated status of Ardyaloon Aboriginal Corporation to federal registers such as the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations, and poor cross-government coordination;
inequality in the allocation of funding and resources across Dampier Peninsula communities;
concerns for a downturn in tourism due to degrading infrastructure, particularly of secondary roads networks, and isolation during the wet season;
cultural heritage protection and tourism and business case support;
addressing social impacts of unemployment and disengagement in community;
skills and training funding support; and
local aquaculture and tourism business opportunities.
1.34A final point stressed to the committee was that new developmental programs to address workforce development in the community should be identified, established and controlled by the community. Government programs should be supplementary and support the autonomy of the community.
Acknowledgement
1.35The committee thanked Mr Woodman and Mr Carter for hosting and speaking with the committee.
Kullarri Regional Communities Indigenous Corporation (KRCIC)
1.36Finally, the committee met with representatives from the Kullarri Regional Communities Indigenous Corporation (KRCIC) at their office in Ardyaloon.
1.37KRCIC administer a range of services and programs in Broome and the Dampier Peninsula to encourage local employment, including federal government employment programs such as the CDP, Transition to Work, and ParentsNext. The committee were told of some sustainable ventures that have been derived from the programs, including:
traffic management training and employment on the upgrade of the Cape Leveque road;
hospitality training and the running of a local bakery;
a local bus running between Ardyaloon and Broome; and
infrastructure work including upgrading the KRCIC office to include accessibility features and fencing at the Ardyaloon airstrip.
1.38Asked about the redevelopment of the CDP, KRCIC representatives told the committee that, whilst they welcomed the development of a new program, it needed to consider that attendance for CDP activities has been an ongoing issue. For example, upon mutual obligation requirements being modified in May 2021, it was reported that there was a significant and instant drop in attendance across the Dampier Peninsula.
1.39Some impediments to developing local infrastructure were identified as:
lack of short and long term accommodation options;
land tenure arrangements; and
collaboration and information streams between local communities, state and federal government.
Acknowledgement
1.40The Chair thanked KRCIC representatives for hosting and speaking with the committee.
Figure 1.3Ms Marion Scrymgour MP and Senator Glenn Sterle with representatives of the Kullarri Regional Communities Indigenous Corporation
Public hearings
1.41As noted in Chapter 1, the committee held public hearings across Northern Australia, including:
27 June 2023 in Alice Springs.
28 June 2023 in Katherine.
29 June 2023 in Darwin.
14 August 2023 in Weipa, Queensland.
22 August 2023 in Broome, Western Australia.
23 August 2023 in Fitzroy Crossing, Western Australia.
24 August 2023 in Kununurra, Western Australia.
1.42The committee thanks all those who contributed to the inquiry and provided evidence at the public hearings and attaches some photos taken during them below.
Figure 1.4Ms Marion Scrymgour MP, Mr Warren Entsch MP, Mr Luke Gosling MP, and representatives of the Western Cape Communities Trust and Western Cape Communities Coordinating Committee in Weipa, Queensland.
Figure 1.5Ms Marion Scrymgour MP, Mr Warren Entsch MP, Mr Luke Gosling MP, and representatives of the Western Cape Communities Trust and Western Cape Communities Coordinating Committee in Weipa, Queensland.
