Commissioner for Country
Seeking an independent, authoritative First People’s voice to protect Australia’s biodiversity
We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country and their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay respect to their Elders past and present and to the pivotal role that First Nations Peoples continue to play in caring for Country across Australia.
Nature Positive may sound like a new concept, but First Peoples have been nature-positive for millennia. We call it caring for Country. Whether it’s land, sea or sky, caring for Country has been part of our stories and songlines for generations. It’s driven by one simple principle: leaving Country better than you found it.
On countless occasions, the world has seen the social and economic good that comes when indigenous peoples are supported to care for Country. To have Healthy Country, we must invest in it. We must provide First Peoples the resources and cultural authority they need to revitalise their Knowledge and practices on Country.
Urgent submission to establish a Commissioner for Country at the federal level.
The Commissioner for Country will be an empowered public champion that provides a geographical voice to protect, restore, manage invasive species, and repair Country - a voice of Country. This voice does not replace or supersede the voice of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities but elevates and empowers those seeking to care for Country. This voice is for Country, working toward healing Country.
An Indigenous Ranger looking for signs of Tjakura (great desert skink) on recently burnt Anangu Country. Image source: Jaana Dielenberg.
Since colonisation, Australia has lost over 100 native plants and animals to extinction; these species are gone forever. Valuable Traditional Ecological Knowledge is lost when a species disappears. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people lived in harmony with this Country and the species that evolved here for thousands of years. Our culture understands the importance of caring for Country. We are calling for a voice of Country to end this ongoing damage to Country.
The lack of consideration for Indigenous knowledge in decision-making is why there is a strong need for an independent, authoritative Indigenous voice that guides the protection and management of natural and Indigenous cultural heritage values protected under national law.
Budget
Commissioners Office and Commissioner
11 FTE
$2M per annum
Caring for Country Funding Program
$40M per annum
Key responsibilities:
Support First Peoples as land managers with information and navigating Federal Government agencies.
Provide resourcing opportunities to ensure First Peoples have the resources required to care for Country.
Provide uplift and capacity building for Indigenous groups underpinned by cultural knowledge exchanges through connecting communities.
Be an advocate for biodiversity and culturally significant species within government and with the general public.
Provide advice on decisions under national law that impact Indigenous people, particularly regarding Caring for Country.
Progress Indigenous-led solutions in the environmental sector and inform environmental policy and program design.
Ensures Cultural Authority through Culturally appropriate and co-designed governance arrangements for Indigenous participation and engagement in decision-making.
Proposed governance:
An Identified position established in statute with roles and responsibilities defined in law, appropriately resourced with an office and ongoing funding to ensure effectiveness.
Appointed by the Environment Minister for a fixed term (no less than four years) with a formal governance relationship to the EPBC Act.
Under the Minister’s Call in powers, the Environment Minister must consider the Commissioner’s advice on matters that impact Indigenous People.
This position will be an independent voice outside of existing departmental structures but can be supported by departmental staff, similar to the Threatened Species Commissioner.
Provide annual reports to parliament on the protection of natural and cultural heritage values and will appear at Senate estimates.
Provide oversight of a recurring funding allocation that supports effective Indigenous-led care for Country projects.
Be a conduit for two-way communication between the Indigenous community and the Minister, bringing grassroots concerns to the Minister or conveying the Commissioner’s advice from the ground up.
Image source: Justin McManus
