Aboriginal people have been making decisions about their culture, communities, country, and economies for millennia. Australian state-imposed corporation models for service delivery and political representation promote a reactive state-dependent governance approach. This contrasts with a self-government approach that delivers a proactive, deliberate community development program which is specifically designed to empower the socio-cultural-economic success of Indigenous Nations. As Indigenous Nations move towards negotiating treaties, agreements, and other constructive arrangements with Australian Governments, they will need to develop self-determining, self-governing processes that represent and are accountable to the Indigenous Nation itself. Janine’s presentation will discuss the deliberate programs sovereignty, self-determination, and nationhood that she has proposed for the Gugu Badhun Nation and will discuss some operational strategies and methods that Indigenous Nations may need to undertake in transitioning to self-determining, self-governing polities that represent the cultural, social, economic & political aspirations of the Nations.

Timing has never been more critical. Torres Strait Islanders are on the frontline of climate change impacts being located on small, isolated islands in the hard to reach remote region of Northern Australia. You could say we are the canaries on the bottom of the mine shaft, and in a perfect storm. Now in the midst of the avalanche of climate change impacts globally, the need to elevate our voices so that it is not smothered continues to be challenging. Greater self-determination is key to effectively lead and manage our physical, cultural and unique environment.
Consolidating our past knowledge and practices and ongoing aspirations towards self-determination has an added level of urgency as Torres Strait Islanders to preserve our culture and identity and ancestral homelands from the inevitability of climate change impacts.
My keynote presentation will explore where the Torres Strait Islander people are today in our self-determination journey, and how this relates to our next phase of physical and cultural preservation.
Starting the journey of self-determination with the landmark Eddie ‘Koiki’ Mabo native title determination in 1992 for Mer Island in the Torres Strait, I will cover progress made over the last three decades - which has been too slow, as shown in the most recent Closing the Gap reports, and negative social impacts faced in the region.
My address speaks to inspiring thought leadership to look beyond acceptance of the new norm and find ways that empowers Torres Strait Islander people to exercise self-determination and understanding to protect our rights and island way of life as saltwater people.

The three decades that have passed since the Mabo decision and the passage of the Native Title Act have seen vast swathes of Country rightfully returned to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. From a base of zero following colonisation, Indigenous Australians now own, control or help manage over 50 per cent of the Australian land mass – and this is expected to continue to grow.
Across northern Australia, the vast majority of land is Crown Land, with much of it under pastoral lease where co-existing common law rights are recognised. Over 85 per cent of the north is regarded as ‘Indigenous land’, with the vast majority known to have a form of recognised right and interest of Indigenous people. However, First Nations remain overrepresented across most indicators of disadvantage.
How can our First Nations enjoy their Country in their own ways, reignite their own economies, while contributing to the nation’s growth and prosperity?
This question was a key feature of the ILSC’s consultation on its National Indigenous Land and Sea Strategy (NILSS) in 2022.
The NILSS 2023-2028 places Country at the centre and amplifies the priorities of First Nations. It marks a shift in the way of working for the ILSC to adopt and implement across the corporation.
This question was also addressed at the ANU’s Murru waaruu (on track) seminar series, supported by the ILSC. The seminar series produced a report and a series of policy prescriptions aimed at unlocking the potential of land and waters under First Nations care and control, to realise economic opportunities that coincide with the other values inherent in Country.
Collectively, the policy prescriptions emerging from Murru waaruu reflect a transformed paradigm of Indigenous Economic Development in Australia in which First Nations are both producers of wealth and consumers of goods and services – and they have their own social, cultural, and material economies, instead of being participants in policy-based programs not designed or tuned to their unique socio-cultural circumstances or aspirations.
This paradigm of Indigenous Economic Empowerment sits alongside the current approach to addressing disadvantage and exclusion, providing a long term alternative to the deficit-based model that has failed to support positive change in the lives of First Nations that stem from trickle down economic development approaches.

Michael Woodley’s presentation will draw on his traditional upbringing on Yindjibarndi country
in the Pilbara region and how the traditional principles he has learned guide his way of working
with his community, as well as the many non-Indigenous people and organisations that he
deals with regularly. Mr Woodley will explain how the Yindjibarndi people’s relationships are
based on the 5 principles of Yindjibarndi cultural protocol.
Galharra system which defines skins groups and how people relate to each other. These
dealings are strengthened by what is called the Yinyart, which are the reciprocal responsibilities
to each other. These roles and responsibilities are formalised in Burndud law and ceremony.
Finally, Mr Woodley will explain the significance and language and Ngurra (the land) to the
Yindjibarndi way of living.
These principles have not only bound together the Yindjibarndi people to make them one of the
most influential groups in the Pilbara, but they have also underpinned a range of successful
ventures that will help to sustain the community for generations to come. Mr Woodley has led
the community since 2007 as the CEO of the Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation, a native title
body, and he now heads a group of entities that is working towards achieving community,
cultural and commercial benefits for the Yindjibarndi people.
The principles of reciprocity and respect for culture, language and Ngurra are at the heart of
everything the Yindjibarndi are doing on the commercial front. A decade ago, Mr Woodley cofounded
the Yurra contracting business which has grown from a small landscaping business to
a firm that now delivers a range of complex construction and engineering services to the Pilbara
region. The Yindjibarndi people have also launched partnerships in the areas of renewable
energy, housing, water management, media services and car rental.