Contested governance: culture, power and institutions in indigenous Australia

Contested Governance......Page 1
Contents......Page 3
List of Figures......Page 5
List of Tables......Page 7
Notes on contributors......Page 9
Abbreviations and acronyms......Page 13
Foreword......Page 17
Acknowledgements......Page 21
Scene 1: the opening of Parliament House, Canberra, May 1927......Page 23
Scene 2: the opening of Parliament, Canberra, February 2008......Page 24
Contesting governance......Page 26
The purpose of the book......Page 28
Researching governance......Page 29
Conceptualising governance......Page 31
Theorising governance......Page 33
Conclusion......Page 42
References......Page 44
Part 1: The governance environment......Page 47
Background......Page 49
Changing the arrangements......Page 50
Development discourses and the alleged ‘failure’ of self-determination......Page 53
Indigenous discourses......Page 55
The Homelands debate......Page 56
Mainstreaming CDEP and CHIP......Page 57
The outcomes of the COAG trials......Page 59
The 2007 intervention in the NT......Page 60
Governance complexity and contestation......Page 62
Conclusion......Page 65
References......Page 66
Background......Page 77
Making the concept of governance tangible......Page 80
Research funding as a determinant of methodology......Page 82
Positionality and ‘balance’......Page 84
The role and power of ‘officials’......Page 85
Enforcing marginalisation: what’s in a name?......Page 89
Notions of good development......Page 90
References......Page 91
Part 2: Culture, power and the intercultural......Page 95
Introduction......Page 97
The research process......Page 99
Seeing governance like a state......Page 100
The collaborative phase......Page 103
Reverting to coercion......Page 106
The collaborative phase......Page 107
Coercive implementation......Page 111
Constructing the region......Page 115
Seeing the pattern of Indigenous governance......Page 117
Governing ‘two-ways’......Page 120
Transforming institutions......Page 122
Conclusion......Page 125
References......Page 130
Introduction......Page 135
The incursion of the pastoral frontier......Page 139
‘Mission times’......Page 140
Mining and land rights......Page 141
The homelands movement and the origins of Laynha......Page 142
The Yolngu ‘world’......Page 143
Rom and gurrutu: the foundations of Yolngu governance......Page 144
Mobility in the midst of stability......Page 149
Leadership in the Yolngu world......Page 150
Laynha as an intercultural zone......Page 151
The Laynha constituency: connubia and ‘membership’......Page 152
The Laynha ‘community’......Page 153
Leadership in the Laynha context......Page 155
Power, accountability and value......Page 156
The view of the neo-assimilationist state......Page 158
The Yolngu view, 2005......Page 160
Culture mismatch?......Page 162
Meeting the neo-assimilationist challenge, 2005–07......Page 163
Conclusion: towards a negotiated and empowering system of governance in the intercultural space......Page 165
References......Page 168
Introduction......Page 175
The Aboriginal domain, the mainstream and the intercultural field......Page 176
Kaanju homelands......Page 180
Kaanju outstations (1989–96)......Page 183
Development of Chuulangun (late 1990s–present)......Page 186
Discussion......Page 188
Acknowledgements......Page 192
References......Page 193
Part 3: Institutions of Indigenous governance......Page 197
7. Different governance for difference: the Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation......Page 199
A brief regional, social and historical background......Page 200
Theory, methods and caveats......Page 203
A potted history of BAC’s organisational evolution......Page 205
Governance challenges......Page 210
Adaptively managing governance tensions......Page 213
Recent external threats......Page 216
Governance for difference: analytic explication......Page 219
A final reflection......Page 221
References......Page 222
Introduction......Page 227
The problem with ‘community’ and ‘family’?......Page 229
Community and organisational governance in Newcastle......Page 233
Yarnteen—a quiet economic success......Page 235
Yarnteen’s governance history......Page 236
Yarnteen’s governance model......Page 238
Structural flexibility and diversification......Page 241
A durable governance culture......Page 243
Building institutional capital......Page 246
Leadership for economic development......Page 248
Conclusion: the business of ‘governing for business’......Page 249
References......Page 251
Introduction......Page 255
Colonial views of Australian Indigenous leadership......Page 257
Leadership in the Port Keats region......Page 259
The structural and systemic bases for contemporary Indigenous leadership......Page 260
The develo­­pment of Thamarrurr......Page 263
The concept of Thamarrurr......Page 264
Adaptations of leadership: challenges from without......Page 266
Example 2: The arrival of the mission......Page 267
Example 3: Local government reform and Commonwealth intervention......Page 268
Adaptations of leadership: challenges from within......Page 269
Case study A......Page 270
Case study B......Page 272
Case study C......Page 273
A model of leadership and engagement......Page 275
The ‘gap’ in intercultural understanding......Page 276
Conclusion......Page 277
References......Page 278
Part 4: Contesting cultural geographies of governance......Page 285
Historical context......Page 287
‘All one family’......Page 288
Noongar Land Council......Page 290
Native title claims in the southwest under the Noongar Land Council......Page 293
The Noongar Land Council and the Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia......Page 295
The emergence of the South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council......Page 296
The Single Noongar Claim......Page 298
Family meetings and the Single Noongar Claim......Page 299
Promise and problems with the Single Noongar Claim......Page 301
Where to from here?......Page 302
Conclusion......Page 303
References......Page 304
The emergence of ACGC......Page 305
Actively promoting voluntary regionalism: the Northern Territory Government 1999–2005......Page 309
ACGC around the millennium: centre/periphery tensions......Page 311
Building relationships: working with Anmatjere Community Government Council 2004–06......Page 313
Times of change: working with ACGC in 2007......Page 321
Achievements and limitations: from Anmatjere Community Government Council to Central Desert Shire......Page 325
Postscript......Page 328
References......Page 329
Part 5: Rebuilding governance......Page 333
12. Incorporating cattle: governance and an Aboriginal pastoral enterprise......Page 335
RSPCA......Page 341
The Pastoral Lands Board......Page 343
Office of the Registrar of Aboriginal Corporations......Page 344
Support for the community......Page 346
Incorporation and the community......Page 348
Conclusion......Page 349
Acknowledgements......Page 350
References......Page 351
Introduction......Page 353
Kurungal Inc: a brief history......Page 354
Organisation identifies need for governance review......Page 359
Background to the review: the coordinator’s concerns......Page 360
The community’s concerns......Page 361
My observations......Page 362
The consultant’s view......Page 364
The review workshop......Page 365
The consultant’s report......Page 367
Finding practical solutions (meeting half way)......Page 368
Acknowledgements......Page 370
References......Page 371
Key ICGP Publications......Page 373
CAEPR Research Monograph Series......Page 375