Indigenous futures and sustainable development in northern Australia: Towards a framework for full Indigenous participation in northern economic development Discussion Paper
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- Table 1
- Priority Issues Principle Strategy
Concluding remarks As was noted in the introduction to this paper, the interests of the nation in northern development and the interests of the north's Indigenous permanent residents are not inherently in conflict. Finding ways to optimise national, regional and local benefits will, however, require goodwill and hard work. Indigenous people have demonstrated, despite active displacement, economic and social disincentives, and sustained criticsm, a tenacious commitment to their traditional lands and seas and obligations to them. Approaches to northern development that fail to deal fairly and effectively with that Indigenous cultural imperative will create unnecessary confusion and conflict. Participants in the northern Australian Indigenous Experts Forums have an extraordinary opportunity to influence process and practice so that the benefits of recovering land go beyond the satisfaction of seeing rights restored. The next step is to apply and extend those rights to improve the well-being of the north's Indigenous peoples while making a major contribution to the national good. Table 1: Issues, principles, strategies and outcomes identified against priorities identified by the Indigenous Experts Panel. This statement provides a potential structure and checklist for building a northern Australian Indigenous Futures Framework to ensure all significant factors have been considered.
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