Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What is the role of the Board?
The purpose of this Board is to build stakeholder involvement, consider the structural underpinnings of Indigenous disadvantage and recommend ways in which service delivery can be enhanced.
This will include recommending ways to improve Indigenous engagement in local decision-making and action, as well as enhancing the corporate and non-government sectors’ involvement and contribution to positive outcomes related to the serious issues involved.
It is intended that the Implementation Board be well placed to advise on the causes, not the symptoms, of Indigenous disadvantage and develop a proposal for a regionally based reform agenda that can be progressed through COAG and modelled federally.
Q. Why do we need an Implementation Board?
There is a need for a fundamental rethink about the way Government addresses Indigenous issues.
Clear evidence exists that Western Australia’s Indigenous population continues to suffer from poor outcomes relative to non-Indigenous Western Australians in a number of key areas including health, education, child protection and housing.
It is now also widely accepted that Indigenous communities are locked into a spiral of decline at a time when their numbers continue to grow faster than the non-Indigenous population. As we go into the future, the cost of doing ‘business as usual’ is unsustainable.
It is necessary to explore new options for generating positive economic and social outcomes from within Indigenous communities themselves.
The policy challenge for Government is to examine the structural underpinnings of the existing entrenched disadvantage, much of it arising by virtue of location and requiring a greater commitment to attending to local circumstances.
At the last election, the Government committed itself to re-engaging with Indigenous people, improving service delivery and reducing duplication and inefficiencies.
The Board will report directly to the Minister for Indigenous Affairs.
Q How are members of the Implementation Board chosen?
Good governance is front-of-mind when choosing Board members. In determining board membership the following factors are considered:
• Gender balance
• Inclusion of a new generation of leaders
• Geographic spread
• Expertise and influence
• Indigenous and non-Indigenous balance
The terms of membership are also staggered to ensure strong continuity. The Board is a not a representative body, rather members are chosen based on their expertise and influence.
Q What power does the Board have?
This is a non-statutory Board and, as such, its key responsibilities are action-oriented. In the next two years the Board will focus on:
1. Developing a framework to use to collaborate and focus resources for future agreements with the Commonwealth, Local Governments and other key stakeholders working with Indigenous Western Australians.
2. Establishing accountability mechanisms to monitor achievement against agreed targets and focus resources to maximise positive outcomes for Indigenous Western Australians.
3. Delivering a bi-annual report to Cabinet on progress in the Indigenous Affairs portfolio in Western Australia.
4. Driving fundamental policy shifts through stronger and more accountable government governance, building trust through consistency and commitment.
5. Building effective participation of Indigenous people, and the broader WA leadership, supporting effective community governance, leadership and structures necessary to engage with government.
6. Providing advice on human and financial resources required for Indigenous people to participate in decision-making that affects community lives and the way services are provided.
Q What is the difference between this Board and the Western Australian indigenous Advisory Council (WAAAC)?
WAAAC is a statutory body. In accordance with Section 18 (1) of the Aboriginal Affairs Planning Authority Act 1972 the membership comprises only Aboriginal people. The role of WAAAC is to provide independent guidance and advice to the State Government on Indigenous aspirations and priority issues
The Implementation Board is not a statutory body. It comprises both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people and is responsible for fundamentally rethinking the way Government addresses Indigenous issues in WA. The Board is not representative, rahter an avenue for the voice of Indigenous Western Australians.
Q. How will the Board work with the Department of Indigenous Affairs (DIA)?
There is a strong synergy between the objectives of the Indigenous Implementation Board, and the outcomes to be achieved by DIA. Both will work to improve life opportunities for Indigenous people.
DIA will provide high level executive support for the Board and assist the Board generate positive economic and social outcomes for Indigenous people.
Click here to see Board membership.