HSW2100 Advocacy Allies and Peer Support

Indigenous people in Australia are the mostly incarcerated, hampering their family structure as well as children were separated during the time of colonialism. The history of the indigenous people in Australia, presents the fact that they are struggling with the most common issue that is taking control over their lives, family children and their forthcoming future. There are many young people among the Indigenous community who are suffering detention even after they have not committed any heinous crimes, and this hampers the future and the possibility of development of the Indigenous community where most of the young members are suffering detentions. This situation presents the importance of reforms that needs to be implemented in case of stabilising the community. The Family Responsibilities Commission (FRC) is one of the inquiries that can help in creating reforms, for stabilising the local areas especially in the four specific communities namely, Aurukun, Coen, Hope Vale and Mossman Gorge.

1. Links the issues to the objectives of the Inquiry to which itis addressed.

The FRC has been a key initiative in taking actions for saving the society and provide authority to the indigenous communities of Aurukun, Coen, Hope Vale and Mossman Gorge. According to parliament.qld.gov.au, (2021), the Queensland Parliament is liable for governing the tasks of FRC being fulfilled effectively. Based on the Commission Preamble, who accepts that they work in different communities and some of the communities must have elders and traditional owners. The commission is liable to pay respect and involve them in any further activity that will help them bring development in their community. They are also governing the Cape York Welfare Reform Trial(CYWR trial), and follow the core objectives of securing and providing the safety of family and children, improving their school attendances, involvement in legal behaviours and responsible attitude towards their society, community and themselves. The FRC started in year 2008 with the incorporation of the Family Responsibilities Commission Act 2008 (legislation.qld.gov.au, 2021).

1. b) Background to the Topic
2. Detailed information about the history of the issue

The FRC is considered to be the key community program that have brought tremendous reforms in making the Indigenous community socially responsible, improvising the standards of behaviours that will comply with the legal rules and regulations. The four specific communities have been taken into consideration for the development and inclusion of elders for fostering the growth of the community (frcq.org.au, 2021). The various interventions related to bringing welfare, eradication of social dysfunctionalities, social and economic exclusion were subjected to be addressed, so that strong characters are built up in the indigenous community, before the situation is escalated into hampering the positive relationship built with the elders and the FRC community people.

The issues that have been observed even after the inclusion of the Family Responsibilities Commission Act 2008, is a huge gap in including indigenous in the economy, among the four-community included in the FRC provision two communities Coen and Mossmon Gorge have acquired success in community developments but resist in going to the business fields. The lands of the indigenous people are taken away for constructions and these developments often exclude the advises of the Indigenous elders. The medical facilities and provisions adhere to the medical model ignoring the holistic approaches the Indigenous community have followed for years. The welfare of the Indigenous communities is not possible by taking away the things which helped them in flourishing, and this is the backward step taken by the commission (parliament.qld.gov.au (2021)). In that case, the oversight responsibility of the FRC, according to the Schedule 6 of the Standing Rules and Orders of the Queensland Legislative Assembly is also violated, as these issues are not reported to the Assembly.

Detailed information about the scope of the issue, especially any relevant demographic material.

The main responsibility of oversight responsibility is provided to the Health and Community Services Committee in governing the activities of the FRC, based on the Family Responsibilities Commission Act 2008 and the Parliament of Queensland Act 2001 (parliament.qld.gov.au, 2020). The scope of the issue can be incorporating effective interventions through the CYWR trial, and each community has specific young population which must be restored, such as Aurukun, is situated in the Cape York, and had an estimated population of 784 adult population by the year 2010. Coen is at the tip of Cape York, and it one of the prominent townships consisted of 193 people among the adult population by the year 2010, and in case of Hope Vale which is situated in the Cape York Peninsula had a population of 588 people by the year 2010. Through this program they are getting effective social and economic support (Altman & Johns, 2018). The FRC program is effective because of the CDEP program as well, which provided Indigenous employment seekers ample amount of training, skills and capabilities which will help the indigenous community to become sustainable. The increased employment opportunities also improvise the economic and social structure of the indigenous community

1. c) Social Justice Analysis
2. An analysis of the issues informed by values of promoting social justice.

The FRC being a project of Cape York Welfare Reform arranged numerous conferences with the four communities and their individual leaders in spreading social justice by providing social welfare, community standardisation programs and safeguarding of children and family. Although it has been identified that the Commission has been failing in attending to the obligations especially in case of providing effective care for the children, maintain their school attendance, as well as adhering to the public housing tenancy agreements (Moran et al., 2016). It has also been observed that the Indigenous people are still overrepresented in criminal justice systems.

There is presence of another flaw even after the implementation of FRC is that there is lower life expectancy among the indigenous people in compared to non-indigenous people. There were many steps taken to handle these issues such as the bi-yearly Productivity Commission’s Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage reports, that was published in the year 2003, and the Cape York Justice Study 2001, where many recommendations and solutions were offered the situation is still the same (Nicholls & Strengers, 2015) The FRC along with the Commonwealth have implemented further measures by connecting the representation of indigenous people in the Criminal Justice System to the child welfare, school attendance processes and the fulfilment of the payments that can bring social justice to the communities (Watson, 2008).

1. Outline the barriers to social justice, and related values such as self-determination, equity of access, and outcomes faced by the group of your concern.

The FRC is presently taking measures by analysing the policies that cover the social injustices, such as policies that encourage racial discrimination, presenting their CYWR initiatives, that was designed by an aboriginal man named Noel Pearson (Campbell, 2016). This trial processes are supported by FRC and is effective in presenting legitimacy. Although it is observed that Indigenous people are still exposed to ineffective practices like indulging in alcohol and drug abuse, and there is also lack of payments that help in securing this community.

There are various reports such as Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, the Cape York Justice Study and the Cape York Peninsula Substance Abuse Strategy showing unravelling data’s where Indigenous youngsters are exposed to criminal justice system, incarceration and involvement in violence that is triggered through alcohol or drug abuse. It was found that Indigenous people have 29 percentage of more chances to be detained and kept in prison in compared to non-indigenous people. The income management processes must be analysed by the Commonwealth, as Indigenous culture are defined to be lower and deficient in compared to the modern culture, which portrays the discrimination against the based on their culture. Therefore, there must be analysis based on effectiveness of the processes in providing the equity to the Indigenous through the income management or there are increased chances of racial discrimination.

1. d) Recommendations –

• In case of the income management processes, often there are some criteria, that excludes the Indigenous people from being employed as they are not eligible due to lack of skills or degrees, this represents the high amount of discrimination and stereotypes that encapsulate the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The Health and Community Services Committee must report to the Queensland Commonwealth about effectiveness of FRC in commencing basic intervention that can secure the basic human rights of Aboriginal people. The court should also take actions in regards to analysing the detailed legislations and policies that violate the basic rights of Indigenous people as well as the obligations that were meant to be fulfilled by the FRC.
• In case of housing provisions, there must be processes incorporated that will help in creating recognition space, where the different conditions will be analysed between the tenant and the housing officers.
• The different reforms have been implemented in the regions based on behavioural aspects of the Indigenous people rather than performance, especially in case of expenditure and payments in child welfare, school attendance processes. Therefore, the government must chalk out policies based on evidence rather than behavioural assumptions or ideological perspectives.

There is increased efficacy of the interventions provided by the FRC, especially in case of Cape York Welfare Reform Project, presenting payments to the child welfare processed by taking funding from the Queensland and Australian Governments (Grant, 2013). The efforts of the Australian government have raised processes for conditions in welfare reforms helping in incorporating the income management processes around 73 communities in the Northern Territory. The FRC have incorporated interventions that helped aged pensioners, in allocating their resources for food, shelter and involving in other household needs (Habibis et al., 2014). They have also incorporated processes that prohibit Indigenous people from purchasing pornography, tobacco, alcohol and even participating in gambles. Apart from that, under the Cape York Welfare Reform Project, the FRC taking support from the local community members intervene into welfare situations, and in presence of any adversities there is adherence and contacting of other agencies for meeting the obligations in departments of school attendance, welfare of children and substance abuses.

The FRC through various processes have adhered to conditionalities that include culturally approved and community-oriented approaches that bring changes in the societal norms and also bring changes in the behavioural patterns of the Indigenous people (frcq.org.au, 2021). Therefore, through these processes it can understood that the FRC act has its effectiveness in bringing changes in Indigenous behaviours and social and economic standardization.

References

Altman, J., & Johns, M. (2018). Indigenous welfare reform in the Northern Territory and Cape York: a comparative analysis. Canberra, ACT: Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research (CAEPR), The Australian National University https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/147798/1/CAEPRWP44_0.pdf

Campbell, F. (2016). Special measures and racial discrimination: a study of the Cape York Welfare Reform (Doctoral dissertation, James Cook University) https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/49993/1/49993-campbell-2016-thesis.pdf

frcq.org.au (2021). Retrieved 25 April 2021, from https://www.frcq.org.au/files/2020-report/FRC%20Annual%20Report%202019-20%20Final%20PDF.pdf

frcq.org.au (2021). Retrieved 25 April 2021, from https://www.frcq.org.au/

Grant, E. (2013). Approaches to the design and provision of prison accommodation and facilities for Australian Indigenous Prisoners after the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. Australian Indigenous Law Review, 17(1), 47-55.

Habibis, D., Phillips, P., Phibbs, P., & Verdouw, J. (2014). Progressing tenancy management reform on remote Indigenous communities. AHURI Final Report, 223, 1-103 https://www.ahuri.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/2024/AHURI_Final_Report_No223_Progressing-tenancy-management-reform-on-remote-Indigenous-communities.pdf

legislation.qld.gov.au (2021). Retrieved 25 April 2021, from https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/pdf/inforce/2014-07-01/act-2008-009

Moran, M., Memmott, P., Nash, D., Birdsall-Jones, C., Fantin, S., Phillips, P., & Habibis, D. (2016). Indigenous lifeworlds, conditionality and housing outcomes. AHURI Final Report, 260, 1-138 https://www.ahuri.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/7315/AHURI_Final_Report_No260_Indigenous-lifeworlds,-conditionality-and-housing-outcomes.pdf

Nicholls, L., & Strengers, Y. (2015). Peak demand and the ‘family peak’period in Australia: Understanding practice (in) flexibility in households with children. Energy Research & Social Science, 9, 116-124

parliament.qld.gov.au (2021). Retrieved 25 April 2021, from https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/work-of-committees/committees/CSSC/inquiries/current-inquiries/frc

parliament.qld.gov.au, (2020). Bill 2020 https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/documents/tableOffice/TabledPapers/2020/5620T1226.pdf

Watson, N. (2008). The Family Responsibilities Commission Act 2008 (Qld): Cause For Concern. Indigenous Law Bulletin https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/bitstream/10453/10460/1/2008002063OK.pdf...

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