Consultation is the new C-word

Abstract

The neoliberal turn has had significant impacts across Australian universities and First Nations communities, especially since the emergence of the global pandemic. These developments have highlighted the inherent flaws of the consultation process in developing programs and policies. Here, the weaknesses of the consultation process are analyzed using an anti-politics framework together with two comparative case studies. The first case study concerns the consultation process that Australian universities conducted after the global pandemic, and the second case study pertains to consultation processes commonly experienced by First Nation communities with mining companies and museums. The weaknesses of these processes have been understood by First Nations communities for generations, but they are only recently coming to light in mainstream thinking. It is time to recognize consultation as a failed system and to start calling for collaboration and accountability.