By Adam Copp, CEO, Infrastructure Australia
The infrastructure industry is increasingly playing a significant role in delivering meaningful outcomes for First Nations communities, thanks to methodical and thought-out engagement frameworks.
Every year, in the first week of July, Australia celebrates NAIDOC Week, which is a time to recognise the history, culture, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The theme for the week was ‘For Our Elders’, which acknowledges that across every generation, Elders have, and continue to play, a significant role as stewards for their respective community’s history, traditions, customs, and cultural connections to Country.
It serves as a reminder about the important role Elders have with helping us engage with their communities and understanding their needs when delivering major projects. Over the years, the infrastructure industry has started to make significant inroads into improving the way we engage with First Nations communities, especially in respecting the unique role of Elders, when looking to plan for and deliver major projects.
A want and need to engage
As the nation’s independent infrastructure adviser, Infrastructure Australia has observed State and Territory Governments undertake specific stakeholder engagement with First Nations communities in their major projects.
In fact, as part of our assessments of nationally significant projects, or where a proponent is seeking $250 million or more of Commonwealth funding, we see proponents regularly acknowledging the importance of undertaking engagement with these communities.
Better still, we see an expressed intention to engage with these communities, whether it be in metropolitan areas or in the regions. While it is pleasing to see the acknowledgment and the intention of proponents to engage with these communities, what is more pleasing is the follow through with some strong examples of First Nations engagements that have been led by State and Territory Governments.
Right across Australia, State and Territory Governments have developed specific frameworks that ensure project delivery teams speak directly with key First Nations communities. These strategies go beyond simply helping embed their respective history and culture into the design of a project, or using a project to help preserve the cultural connection they have to the land.
They go further by facilitating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander involvement in the whole process of infrastructure project planning, decision-making and delivery, by making sure there are considerations given to procurement and employment.
Examples of best practice
There are a number of examples across Australia where both companies and governments alike have developed effective engagement frameworks to include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in infrastructure project planning, decision-making and delivery.
One example is the Western Australian Government’s engagement approach for its METRONET program. The State Government has created an Aboriginal Engagement Strategy, which outlines their commitment to embed “genuine engagement with the Aboriginal community” across all METRONET transport infrastructure and station precinct projects.
Titled Gnarla Biddi, which translates to ‘Our Pathways’, the strategy sets out five streams of engagement running through each stage of the project life cycle. These streams include Noongar Cultural Recognition, Noongar Cultural Input into Place Making, Aboriginal Procurement, Aboriginal Employment, and meeting legislated requirements for Land Access and Sites Management.
This strategy is implemented by requiring project delivery teams to prepare an Aboriginal Engagement and Participation Plan prior to a contract being awarded, that outlines how they intend to embed these engagement streams into their project delivery processes.
What this engagement strategy provides is a genuine opportunity to include First Nations people in the entire process. Better yet, it offers an opportunity to include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the procurement and employment needs of a project.
Another example is the New South Wales Government’s Recognise Country: Guidelines for development in the Aerotropolis. This set of guidelines provides practical tools to deliver positive outcomes for the First Nations people in the Aerotropolis and Western Parkland City of New South Wales.
More specifically, the guidelines set out the importance of meaningful consultation and responding to Aboriginal culture and knowledge, through the design process. Among the objectives detailed in this document, is a need for anyone wanting to build in the region to undertake meaningful engagement with Traditional Custodians and knowledge holders.
This engagement is to ensure Aboriginal perspectives and needs in the built environment are met, while also ensuring their values are captured as well. Included in the guidelines is also an overview of all the steps to be considered by including economic development opportunities.
In fact, the document outlines that all development within the Aerotropolis should aim to promote economic development opportunities for Aboriginal people. There are also countless other national and state-focused guides and policies on the importance of proper engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
These include the National Indigenous Infrastructure Guide, Transport for NSW’s Beyond the Pavement policy, and the Victorian Level Crossing Removal Authority’s Indigenous Design Guidelines. Most of us still have much to learn on how to engage with First Nations’ communities. What these plans, strategies, guidelines and policies provide is an important framework for us all to build on, to deliver meaningful outcomes for First Nations’ communities.