This report provides an assessment of the environmental, economic and community impacts of existing and proposed forestry and mining operations on the Tiwi Islands, and reviews governance arrangements relating to existing operations.

The report recommends that federal and Northern Territory agencies work with Tiwi Islanders to assess the economic viability of the plantations and prepare appropriate business plans, and consider providing infrastructure. It recommends that, consistent with the view of Oakton and the Land Council, the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs should work with the Tiwi Land Council and other major stakeholders to develop guidelines for the distribution of money to traditional owners. It also recommends that the Tiwi Land Council and the business entities of the Tiwi people work to ensure that those business entities operate in the most efficient and transparent manner possible, and that the Tiwi Land Council and the business entities of the Tiwi people initiate new communication strategies to ensure that their structures, roles and activities are more widely understood by the Tiwi people.