This paper provides an assessment of the extent to which Indigenous labour force status has changed over the period 1994 to 2008. It finds that over the period 1994 to 2008 the non-CDEP employment rate of the Indigenous population increased from 31.1% to 50.5%. There were increases for both Indigenous men and women. The non-CDEP...

The paper explains how the vote counting system used in Northern Territory local government leads to very poor electoral outcomes which concentrate representation rather than spread it. It discusses how, in the case of Alice Springs, this has produced a narrowly based council with no representation from town camps. It argues that this vote counting...

The Indigenous estate, the assemblage of Indigenous lands held under a diversity of land rights and native title regimes now covers an estimated 1.7 million sq kms or 22 per cent of continental Australia. For a variety of reasons, including a restricted common property regime that is the dominant form of land tenure and remoteness...

Highlighting the socioeconomic benefits of cultural land management, this paper discusses two NSW Aboriginal groups that are engaging Aboriginal people in looking after their country. Banbai Business Enterprises manages the first Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) in New South Wales, ‘Wattleridge’, on the New England Tablelands north east of Guyra, and is now also managing a...

The Australian Employment Covenant (AEC) was launched on 30 October 2008 with the bold goal of creating 50,000 new jobs for Indigenous Australians within two years. At the end of this ambitious timeframe, the scheme has succeeded in securing more than 20,000 job pledges from employers. This is a commendable achievement, but estimates put the...