Joe Morrison, Executive Officer, NAILSMA
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Welcome to all those readers of the only
Indigenous newsletter for north Australian Indigenous land and sea
management and development by Indigenous people in northern
Australia.
Much has happened since the last edition of Kantri Laif,
which has experienced a slight delay due to staff changes in the
NAILSMA office. On that note, I’d like to thank a few
important individuals that have worked hard to shape the alliance
to where it is now.
Ms Lisa Binge was the first staff member that joined me in
establishing the alliance, and worked tirelessly on Kantri
Laif, scholarships and scoping the leadership issues for those
future generations of people in the rural and remote parts of the
north. Lisa’s efforts on these activities have not gone
without notice, and she has been an integral part of the face of
NAILSMA. Our thanks go out to Lisa in her future endeavours,
and hope that one day she may be able to cross our paths again when
she feels the need to return north from her country.
Mr Steve Johnson worked on the Indigenous Knowledge Strategy and
joined us at our initial forum at Menngen on Wardaman
country. This is the first IK strategy to be developed across
the north, and most likely, the country and I have no doubt that
Steve’s efforts over the past two years
through the strategy will provide much more appreciation of the
unique position that IK holders have in maintaining vast expanses
of important landscapes. Again, our thanks and deepest appreciation
go out to Steve, and wish him well in his new job working as the
Coordinator for the Li-Anthiwirriyarra Rangers at Borroloola.
NAILSMA has undergone continual growth around both projects, but
respect as an entity that advocates and supports strategic research
and development around land and sea management across the north has
increased. A region that is dominated by Indigenous people, culture
and heritage, and a region that will increasingly be recognised as
a global centre of high biodiversity that has been managed by its
residents for millennia. The opportunities as well as issues that
are on the horizon before us include water, biodiversity, coastal
management and surveillance, carbon and employment.
Opportunities to work with industry and the private sectors
through partnerships are also growing daily, as the values stated
above become global assets that provide an opportunity for
Indigenous people to present their positions for national and
international benefit. The hard fought battles on land rights and
native title have provided these opportunities.
Unfortunately, NAILSMA’s relationship with the Cooperative
Research Centre for Tropical Savannas Management is coming to an
end, as the TS–CRC was not successful in gaining a third
round of funding. This means that the TS–CRC will effectively
cease to operate at the end of the 07–08 financial year.
It’s important that the TS–CRC is recognised for the
positive foundational support it has provided to the alliance over
the past 4 years, in particular the support from former CEO’s
Dr John Childs, Professor Gordon Duff, current CEO Dr David
Garnett, Advisory Committee Chair Daryl Pearce, NAILSMA Chair Peter
Yu and Board members. The vacuum of research, collaborations and
opportunities will decrease as there is no other entity working
across the region — only NAILSMA remains.
The establishment of the Indigenous Water Policy Group has been
a significant and important addition to our activities and fills an
important gap in light of the attention that our rivers are gaining
in the north for non consumptive and consumptive purposes. I
believe that whilst it’s important to ensure that Indigenous
rights manifest into real outcomes for people on country, I also
believe that we have some important foundational work to do with
ensuring Indigenous aspirations are on the national agenda around
water development in the north. You can read about the membership
of the group in the article inside this edition.
Importantly, our logo, which you can see on our newsletter and
our website was designed by Larrakia brothers Ian and Anthony
Lee.
It was a monumental effort to come up with a design that
encapsulates the values, people, traditions of the north and I
think they done an outstanding job. Thank you both!
Finally, NAILSMA is developing a stronger position on important
matters for Indigenous people across the north through the creation
of policy positions that can be articulated to governments at all
levels to ensure that Indigenous development around land and sea
management can continue to grow in accordance with the needs,
aspirations and requirements at the local, regional and national
level. This will take some time and effort to finalise, but
is inevitable and necessary to ensure that the delicate mix of
rights, responsibilities as well as recognition can be provided
with the purposes of our future generations.
