Harvard Native American Program: News and Events

In the lead up to the federal election in Australia, which was held in October 2004, the main opposition party proposed the (somewhat) partial abolition of the peak representative body for Indigenous Australians, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC). Not to be outdone, the federal government responded by stating that it would seek the approval of parliament to fully abolish ATSIC, which was established under legislation in 1989. Rather than give way to the government the opposition parties used their majority in the upper house of the federal parliament to refer the matter to a committee, thus providing what is now likely to be the final opportunity for the people to comment on the proposed abolition of ATSIC.

This presentation is based on the submission provided to what is known as the Senate Select Committee on the Administration of Indigenous Affairs. The central thesis of our submission is that while ATSIC was in need of reform, abolition of this organisation was not in the best interests of Indigenous Australians.

As it so happended, this Senate process coincided with a review into legislation specific to the state of New South Wales, the Aboriginal Land Rights Act, 1983. This coincidence provided an opportunity for Jumbunna's research team to consider the implications of these two processes for Indigenous governance and representation, nationally and, within the state of New South Wales. The result is an anlaysis that includes the development of a model of national and state-based representation as an option for consideration by Indigenous peoples.

Jason is a Garawa and Barunggam descendent of Australia . He graduated in law and has been admitted as a member of the High Court of Aotearoa/New Zealand in 1998. Over the past six years he has taken part in a diverse range of research projects including Treaty claims research in Aotearoa/NZ, Aboriginal evaluation projects and comparative legal analysis. Jason is currently a research fellow at Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning at the University of Technology and is in the final stages of a Research Masters titled ‘Strategic Research Pathways through Community and Culture'. Jason continues to pursue documentary and new media potential for enhancement of research and project outcomes in communities and has coordinated a number of creative projects including international Indigenous youth delegations.

Jason Field is from the Yuin Aboriginal nation, whose land is situated on the south coast of New South Wales . Having lived most of their lives in Sydney , Jason's family is connected to the La Perouse Aboriginal community.

Since 1992 he has worked with community, public sector, and higher education organisations in the areas of policy and research and administration and project management, on a diverse range of issues including human rights, education and training, culture and heritage protection, stolen generations and the law. He helped to establish the Office of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commissioner at the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission and progressed to the position of research and policy officer before leaving this office in 1997. In 1993 he completed the Diplomacy Training Program, conducted by the University of New South Wales , and attended the UN WGIP as an assistant to Commissioner Dodson and the Australian Indigenous delegation headed by ATSIC.

Jason worked on the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from their Families as a policy and community liaison officer during 1995/96. Following the Inquiry he continued working on ‘stolen generations' issues at the community level as Coordinator of the NSW Sorry Day Committee and Treasurer of the National Sorry Day Committee (1998-2000) and as a member of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre's Reference Group on the provision of reparations to members of the stolen generations. He also provides guest lectures and conducts workshops on stolen generations and Indigenous policy issues.

Since 1997 Jason has worked as a senior project officer with the NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group and as a senior policy officer in the Cultural Heritage Division of the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. Previously, he was the Coordinator of the Indigenous Law Centre at UNSW.