Many mainstream non-government organisations committed to enhancing the wellbeing of Australians want to more positively engage with Indigenous Australians. But 'good intentions' do not guarantee that, at the very least, no damage is done through such engagement. This paper explores some of the principles and practices which underpin positive engagement. It shares some of the...

So far in Australia only the Australian Capital Territory has a Bill of Rights. Katharine Gelber looks at current gaps in rights protection and at how to win support for rights-based legislation. She draws on recent surveys of civic knowledge and social attitudes to argue there is already a pool of public support for the...

This project on health related telecommunications (telehealth) in Western Australia aimed to address the lack of a suitable, economically costed communications infrastructure to support telehealth in rural and remote areas. The project used participatory action research techniques and involved extensive community consultation. This paper discusses local participation in projects that are centrally initiated and controlled.

Regional universities have the potential to contribute to progress towards sustainability through community partnerships. This paper considers some case examples in community engagement that work towards sustainability. It examines the benefits of productive collaboration for the community, industry, government and universities.

Three communities, the small rural shire of Nebo Shire in Central Queensland, the remote area council of Lockhart River in Cape York and the large, urban Ipswich City Council in South East Queensland, used various strategies to engage councillors, council staff and the community. These case studies highlight the challenges of designing and building sustainable...