Recalibrating the machinery of government for Indigenous affairs: Towards a new policy design for self-determination

Abstract

Relations between First Nations and the Commonwealth government are in a parlous state in Australia, and the Commonwealth government's response to the Uluru Statement from the Heart has prompted much criticism from First Nations leaders. This paper examines the impact of one of the significant changes made by the Abbott government, the machinery of government change placing Indigenous Affairs into the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, with a Minister for Indigenous Affairs sitting in Cabinet. It considers the rationale for the move and explores the implications of the loss of a ‘shadow team’ function and the placement of a sensitive portfolio in the highly politicised environment of a central agency. Given that the current governance arrangements are not ‘fit for purpose’, the paper notes the call by First Nations organisations in the Redfern Statement for the establishment of a stand-alone Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, and recommends adoption of this as a partial government response to demands for First Nations self-determination.