INDIGENOUS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
CONTESTING CONVENTION , CONSIDERING ALTERNATIVES
Dr Ed Wensing , PhD , BA ( Hons ), ( Life Fellow ) FPIA , FHEA , The Australian National University
INTRODUCTION Australia has a well-advanced economy which by OECD standards ranks among the richest in the world . Yet , Australia ’ s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples face incredible challenges when it comes to their participation in the nation ’ s economy through employment , self-employment or in making a decent living . It is statistically well documented , that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experience greater levels of poverty and unemployment than the rest of the population in Australia , and that they endure significant socio-economic disadvantages .
The term ‘ economic development ’ connotes improvement in well-being , living standards and opportunities , yet it is often conflated with ideas about economic participation , economic inclusion and economic selfreliance . The term ‘ development ’ in this context is also highly problematic , because it is often viewed by the state as a legitimising strategy which has the propensity to trap the poor in poverty and to reproduce existing politico-economic inequality . For example , by promoting home ownership on Indigenous held lands in localities and circumstances where it will only exacerbate inequality and not result in positive outcomes ( Wensing , 2016 ).
Owing to the impacts of colonisation , Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people live in very different economic , social and cultural circumstances , ranging from downtown Sydney to the remote deserts of central Australia and to the islands of the Torres Strait .
A ‘ one size fits all ’ approach to Indigenous economic development won ’ t work and it cannot be imposed from above . Approaches to Indigenous economic development must be cognisant of the diversity of perspectives and circumstances , the different world views and values , and the complexities and the legacies that colonisation has imposed on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia .
RECENT POLICY HISTORY Recent Australian Government attempts at Indigenous economic policy development are arguably more troublesome than helpful and need to be seriously questioned . Primarily because the policies and / or strategies reduce people to numbers that are often disassociated from backlogs , historical legacies and the nature of the realities of the livelihood of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people ( Altman and Markham , 2021 ). Government policies and strategies also promulgate the view that ‘ Indigenous Australians have a right to economic sameness , … while ignoring the right of Indigenous people to pursue a range of economic possibilities , something the state could enable ’ ( Altman , 2013:123 ).
When the Australian Government was developing its Indigenous Economic Development Strategy in 2011 ( Australian Government , 2011 ), Indigenous economic development was defined as a process of enhancing opportunities to maximise the potential of Indigenous people to increase
VOL 15 NO 1 2022 18 www . edaustralia . com . au