M3: Learner Manual

Culture is at the heart of every society’s governance arrangements and this is also true for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

For Indigenous governance to be effective it is not enough to simply cherry pick and import foreign governance structures and processes into communities and expect those communities to function effectively within those arrangements.

To be meaningful to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, the component parts of governance must reflect important relationships, networks and values.

The challenge is to craft arrangements that incorporate both the Indigenous requirement for cultural legitimacy, as well as meeting the governance requirements of the wider non-Indigenous society.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have always had their own governance. It is an ancient jurisdiction made up of a system of cultural geographies (‘country’), culture-based laws, traditions, rules, values, processes and structures that has been effective for tens of thousands of years, and which nations, clans and families continue to adapt and use to collectively organise themselves to achieve the things that are important to them.

As Mick Gooda, the Indigenous Social Justice Commissioner (2019) said:

“While Indigenous peoples have governed ourselves since time immemorial in accordance with our traditional laws and customs, when we speak of Indigenous governance we are not referring to the pre-colonial state. Rather, we are referring to contemporary Indigenous governance: the more recent melding of our traditional governance with the requirement to effectively respond to the wider governance environment.”

In many parts of Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander governance systems were disrupted and changed because of British colonisation. Often people were forcibly relocated to settlements that were run according to western governance structures, rules and values.

Today, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have many forms of governance based on their diverse histories, environments and cultures.

Indigenous governance is not the same thing as organisational governance. While governance is a critical part of the operation and effectiveness of legally formalised and registered incorporated organisations, it can also be seen at work every day:

• In the way people own and care for their country, arrange a ceremony, manage and share their resources, and pass on their knowledge.
• In networks of extended families who have a form of internal governance.
• In the way people arrange a community football match or an art festival, informally coordinate the activities of a night patrol and develop alliances across regions.
• In the voluntary work of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and women within their own communities, and as governing members on a multitude of informal local committees and advisory groups.

What makes it Indigenous governance is the role that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and philosophical systems, cultural values, traditions, rules and beliefs play in the governance of:

• Processes—how things are done.
• Structures—the ways people organise themselves and relate to each other.
• Institutions—the rules for how things should be done.

In other words, just like all other societies around the world, the practice of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander governance cannot be separated from its traditions and culture.

Today, many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are working to rebuild and strengthen their contemporary governance arrangements. The challenge in doing this is to ensure that governance solutions continue to reflect cultural norms, values and traditions, while remaining practically effective.[1]