Sydney, Australia. Recently, a report was released that raises a disturbing trend in the neglect of Australia’s native population, who have sadly been overlooked for decades, according to the Oxfam report, which recomends reestablishment of a national elected representative body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Australian governments for years, have failed to achieve meaningful change for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, according to a report by Oxfam that calls for a drastic overhaul of all areas of Indigenous policy and interaction with government.
Released on Wednesday, it recommends 10 steps, including changing the native title system to make it easier to both attain and leverage as an economic and cultural asset; reestablishing a national elected representative body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; changing the funding system to prioritise community-run Indigenous organisations; and implementing every relevant recommendation from every major report into Indigenous affairs in the past 30 years.
Australia’s latest report comes a week after a UN investigator released a critical preliminary report saying repeated failure to enact UN recommendations on Indigenous issues would damage Australia’s chances of securing a seat on the security council.
The forward of the report states, former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social justice commissioner Tom Calma said the government should implement the recommendations of the Oxfam report with “all possible urgency” to break the cycle of policy renewal and change that had rarely resulted in real change on the ground.