An initial three-day Summit was attended by 200 people from across the Cape, at Djarragun Wilderness Centre on 29-31 August 2017.
Minister Scullion attended and said if people wanted to take it up, this was a real opportunity to drive and accelerate social, cultural and economic development. He stated he was willing to empower people by giving each sub-region a 75% weighting in decision-making for expiring grants under the Indigenous Advancement Strategy (IAS), and to transition the Community Development Programme (CDP) from external providers to greater Indigenous ownership and control.
It was a universal message that there was a need for the grassroots to be empowered, and there was a high level of support for the Land Council to be restructured.
It was recognised that sub-regional planning was needed to progress Land Rights, Empowerment and Economic Development reforms.
Delegates authorised follow-up correspondence to Minister Scullion outlining the next steps, and proposing that the Commonwealth’s commitment to our plan going forward be formalised in a procedural Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) committing the parties in a binding agreement under the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth).
