Northern Horizons: The Proving Ground for the Country’s Future Capability
Tracks
Concurrent Room 1
Concurrent Room 2
Concurrent Room 3
Concurrent Room 4
| Wednesday, August 5, 2026 |
| 10:35 AM - 11:05 AM |
Overview
Prof Martin Nakata AM | Chair Indigenous Reference Group
Speaker
Professor Martin Nakata AM
Chair & Deputy Vice-Chancellor Indigenous Education & Strategy
Indigenous Reference Group & James Cook University
Northern Horizons: The Proving Ground for the Country’s Future Capability
Presentation Overview
Northern Australia sits at the convergence of the nation’s most consequential agendas: critical minerals, renewable energy, industrial transformation, defence, agriculture, and First Nations stewardship. The opportunity ahead is immense, yet the scale and complexity of the task are equally significant. Remote conditions, thin labour markets, fragmented infrastructure, and a program landscape that rarely fits local contexts all shape the reality on the ground. Communities are navigating a maze of eligibility rules, capital requirements, and program designs that do not align with their priorities, their capital base, or the capabilities available to them. The question before us is whether we can build a policy and resourcing architecture that can sequence effort, maintain pace, and deliver on the horizon we keep invoking.
Biography
Professor Martin Nakata AM is the Chair of the Indigenous Reference Group. The IRG provides advice to the Minister for Northern Australia as well as the Minister for Indigenous Australians, on practical actions to enhance the economic and social prosperity for Indigenous peoples across northern Australia. He is also a Torres Strait Islander and works as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Indigenous Education & Strategy at James Cook University in Townsville. He is a leading scholar in Indigenous Education, Indigenous Knowledge Systems, and Indigenous Studies in Australia, and his ongoing research projects include longitudinal studies to improve a) the academic performance of Indigenous school students in Math and Science, b) the academic success of Indigenous students in university studies, and c) the capabilities and capacities of Indigenous people to drive their own futures. He is widely published on Indigenous matters and has provided over seventy keynote and plenary addresses to professional conferences in over twenty countries.
