Economic and Social Policy Research Unit

Department of Geography, University of Sydney, NSW 2006

1. THE RESEARCH AGENDA

In Central Australia, where alienation, oppression and powerlessness of Aboriginal interests dominate social relations, social analysts face significant ethical, methodological and political dilemmas. The fact that such dilemmas have been debated for many years does not eliminate the difficulties. As Bell observed of sociology, most social analysis seems to be done 'on the relatively powerless for the relatively powerful' (Bell 1978, 25, emphasis added). The need to redirect research in Aboriginal affairs away from this dominant model towards Aboriginal empowerment, has long been recognised both by researchers and politically active Aboriginal people. For example, the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress presented a declaration to the Anthropology section of ANZAAS in 1982 in the following terms:

1. Research should be conducted substantially for and by Aboriginal people and not on Aboriginal people.
2. Proposed research programs should develop from the perceived needs by or of Aboriginal people.
3. Research should be conducted within culturally intelligible and acceptable frames of reference and research should be non-invasive.
4. The results of the research should secure immediate short term or long term benefits for Aboriginal people.
5. Research should be conducted and approved by the relevant Aboriginal bodies.
6. The publication and distribution of Aboriginal cultural knowledge should be censored and authorised by Aboriginal people.

In seeking this reorientation of research, Aboriginal groups reflect concerns felt by indigenous people throughout the world who have asserted their right to initiate research on the sources of their powerlessness, and to control research on their own communities (eg IWGIA 1971; Pretes & Robinson 1989).

Links between research, empowerment and education are often implicit in research frameworks and the philosophical principles of researchers, but often left unquestioned in framing practical research proposals. Yet criteria are available to guide social research towards empowering marginalised social groups, and enhancing self-determination. For example, in seeking to break the 'monopoly of knowledge' Hall (1978, 161-63) suggests the following criteria:

1. A research process can be of immediate and direct benefit to a community (as opposed to serving merely as the basis for an academic paper or obscure policy analysis).
2. A research process should involve the community or population from the formulation of the problem to the discussion of how to seek solutions and the interpretation of findings.
3. The research process should be seen as part of a total educational experience which serves to establish community needs and increase awareness and commitment within the community.
4. The research process should be viewed as a dialectical process, a dialogue over time, and not as a static picture from one point in time.
5. The object of the research process, like the object of the educational process, should be the liberation of human creative potential and the mobilization of human resources for the solution of social problems.
6. A research process has ideological implications. Knowledge is power.

Hall goes on to remind us that research often 'effectively denies the knowledge creating abilities in most of the people of the world' (1978, 163).

Ways to incorporate such criteria into research are neither obvious nor easy. On the one hand, questions of professional standards and academic accountability (including academic freedom) cannot be brushed aside as unimportant. Yet, on the other hand, the right of Aboriginal groups to decide for themselves what constitutes appropriate research, and to control information about themselves and their communities is fundamental to self-determination.

The increased availability of discretionary funds to autonomous Aboriginal organisations has allowed some groups to set local research agendas more frequently. In Central Australia, such research is often covered by formal contracts which vest ownership of research products in the Aboriginal organisation rather than the researcher. While this changes the balance of power somewhat, the research itself is not necessarily transformed. The present authors' recent study of Aboriginal economic development in Central Australia commissioned by the Combined Aboriginal Organisations of Alice Springs was able to link the research process to Aboriginal initiatives in education and economic development. This led to some exciting and interesting developments which were not foreseen at the beginning of the research process.

The brief for the research required documentation of the main features of the Central Australian economy, particularly the size and importance of the Aboriginal component of the regional economy, and a strategic assessment of the capacity of the Aboriginal communities of Central Australia to influence economic development in the region. The researchers were also requested to integrate the project into Political and Economic Studies II in the Institute for Aboriginal Development (IAD) Advanced Certificate in Management (Aboriginal Organisations) course, using the twenty students in that course as research assistants. During the research an additional opportunity to link the project to the organisations' strategic deliberations emerged when Northern Territory and Commonwealth funding for a conference on Aboriginal economic development was approved.

To contribute to empowerment, that is, to enable presently marginalised people to define and create more preferable human futures (Galtung 1980), social research cannot be divorced from social processes. In adopting the approach outlined below, this research has consciously pursued empowerment of the Aboriginal organisations involved by attempting to provide meaningful insights into the economic and political relationships and processes which constrain them.

2. THE RESEARCH PROCESS

The research brief was a product of prolonged discussions within and between the organisations and finalised in mid-1988 at a meeting of the Combined Aboriginal Organisations. The CAOs comprise a number of Aboriginal-controlled organisations, including Central Land Council, Central Australian Aboriginal Congress, the Institute for Aboriginal Development and Tangentyere Council. Expressions of interest from various researchers were sought, and the Economic and Social Policy Research Unit of Sydney University's Geography Department commissioned to do the work. In negotiating final arrangements it became clear that the opportunity to work with the IAD management students, all of whom worked in the Aboriginal organisations, provided the research unique access to data, feedback and strategic debate.

The aim of working with the students was to provide basic training in economic research, particularly to begin demystifying research, and to establish a strong link between the CAOs and the research process. In terms of the criteria outlined above, the connection with the students gave practical meaning to principles of direct community benefit from the research, community involvement in the research process itself, relevance of the research to community education programs, and engaging community members in a discourse about the issues being researched. These arrangements, however, owed more to the strategic significance of the research to the sponsoring organisations than any deliberate research framework. The effectiveness of the arrangements evolved as students, managers and Aboriginal leaders became more committed to the research and familiar with the data and its implications for Aboriginal development strategies.

As a result, the research was able to accumulate a substantial data base in a remarkably short period (October-November, 1988). A restricted telephone survey of local businesses, with a small number of follow-up interviews, revealed that some businesses in Alice Springs relied on Aboriginal customers for up to seventy per cent of their turnover. These interviews also confirmed a widely-held perception among the Aboriginal organisations that some sectors, particularly communications, building supplies and builders, regarded Aboriginal projects as a reliable base for their businesses, even during the periodic busts which affect the construction industry in the region. Clearly the continued reliability of this base depends on continued funding from government sources to meet Aboriginal needs.

Supervision of the research was undertaken by a steering committee from the CAOs and the Aboriginal Development Commission. During fieldwork this committee met each week. This system of regular progress reports, ongoing interpretation and cross-checking of interpretation with various people meant that preparation of the draft report was able to proceed very quickly. By mid-January, copies of the report were available to the CAOs, and the steering committee was considering what to do with the report.

Because the report was seen as having enormous strategic significance, the CAOs were unwilling to circulate it widely until they had had time to consider it properly. At this point, the research team may have been expected to withdraw, having fulfilled the contract. Tangentyere Council's success in securing Northern Territory and Department of Aboriginal Affairs funds for an Aboriginal economic development conference, however, provided an opportunity for extra work to be done on making the research more accessible to Aboriginal people. Over one hundred people attended the conference and several other groups received detailed briefings from the researchers.

This is important as too often good research remains inaccessible to those whose need for knowledge is greatest. In this case, it was possible to put as much work into making the research accessible as was put into the original research. In fact, the process of drafting and redrafting graphics and summary statements, trialling oral presentations and briefing workshop leaders and interpreters became an integral component of the research process, generating new interpretative insights. A group of Aboriginal people within the CAOs now have a broad familiarity with the research and is actively using their understanding of political economic processes and practices in the region to pursue improved development strategies within the organisations.

In the course of the research we emphasised that economic issues cannot ultimately be separated from broader social goals and political processes, as Figure 2 illustrates. Clearly the aggregate picture established by the research is only one aspect of a complicated social reality and cannot provide programmatic solutions for all circumstances and at all scales. The expenditure of the various organisations has qualitatively and strategically different outcomes (eg health and housing construction programs) despite their broad similarity on the income side. Thus in seeking to both demystify and problematise economic analysis with the IAD students, we attempted to at least recognise the philosophical positions embedded in our analysis.

3. THE RESEARCH FINDINGS

The principal findings of the research have been reported in Crough, Howitt and Pritchard (1989). In broad outline, the following issues were covered:

Aborigines are the long-term strength of the Central Australian economy

The Aboriginal population is an increasing proportion of the region's population, and, unlike the non-Aboriginal population, is characterised by a long-term commitment to the region. As a result of the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northerrn Territory) Act, Aborigines control areas with significant commercial potential for resource and tourist development. Further, increasing opportunities for equitable Aboriginal participation in the local economy and funding of basic services and infrastructure for Aborigines, will continue to provide a strong basis for regional economic growth through demand-side growth for the foreseeable future.

In 1987/88 the Aboriginal contribution to the region was at least $184 million, out of a total economy estimated to be about $550 million

Aboriginal organisations based in Alice Springs contributed $32 million (18.6 per cent) to the regional economy. As a group, the organisations are the largest single employer in Central Australia, employing over 650 people. They are certainly the largest employer of Aboriginal people in the region. One-third of the organisations' income ($11 million) was derived from commercial undertakings.

Citizen entitlements, the monies distributed by governments to Australian citizens regardless of race, contributed $104 million (56 per cent) to the regional economy. Most of this expenditure ($56 million or 30.4 per cent of the total) consists of mainstream spending on public services such as hospitals, public works and schools etc. Payments through the Department of Social Security for family allowances, unemployment, pension and other benefits contributed a further $27 million (14.8 per cent of the total). The remainder of funds classified as citizen entitlements were Community Development Employment Program funds and local government grants.

Grants to Aborigines based on Aboriginality are often characterised as the major component of the Aboriginal sector. This research, however, demonstrated that such grants constitute only some $46 million, or 25 per cent of the total. Despite many possible justifications for much greater payments as compensation for historical injustices and dispossession, the reality is that Aboriginality grants are vastly outweighed in Central Australia by Aborigines entitlements as Australian citizens.

Aboriginal earned income, derived from Aboriginal wages, commercial operations of the organisations, and Aboriginal enterprises contributed some $31 million (17 per cent) to the regional economy. While there are other payments which could be seen as 'earned' income, such as mining royalties earned from mining on Aboriginal land, some of these monies were classified as Aboriginality grants (see Crough, Howitt & Pritchard 1989, 61).

Finally, the Aboriginal bureaucracy, often portrayed as vast imposition on Australian taxpayers, cost some $2.2 million, of which $400,000 was used to employ Aboriginal people.

While the Aboriginal sector is crucial to the economic health of Central Australia, structural inequities and other constraints limit the benefits which flow to the Aboriginal communties

Three major constraints on Aboriginal economic development in Central Australia were identified: the characteristics of the Aboriginal population (eg health, poverty, high proportions of aged and young people, housing, unemployment, education etc); the political environment; and the size and state of the regional economy. The colonial legacy of poverty resulting from the alienation of resources, especially Aboriginal land, the exploitation of Aboriginal labour, and the marginalisation of Aboriginal people from virtually all economic activity, has produced a complex set of structural barriers to Aborigines achieving equitable participation in the Central Australian economy.

With generations of accumulated traditional wealth (eg culture, environmental knowledge, the land and resources etc) expropriated and devalued, Aboriginal groups are only now gaining control of resources which allow local strategies for equitable economic development to be developed. Similarly, despite the existence of extreme antagonism to Aboriginal interests in some elements of the political environment, it is clear that Aboriginal groups are developing political as well as economic power, and that many local non-Aboriginal interests are beginning to see their future prosperity is linked to a just settlement of Aboriginal claims for equitable participation in and benefit from the local economy.

The strategic significance of the findings of the research revolves around two issues. On the one hand, the aggregate picture confirms the economic importance of Aboriginal people in the region, even in their current impoverished and under-serviced circumstances. The appropriateness of various levels of co-operation and co-ordination of organisational and community activities was a key issue discussed in the meetings to discuss our findings.

On the other hand, the recognition that Aboriginal interests shape, even determine, the future of certain sectors and individual enterprises, has resulted in very specific discussions about ways of securing better economic and social outcomes from changed relationships and arrangements. This could include, for example,. joint purchasing by a number of different Aboriginal organisations. Essentially recognition of the centrality of Aboriginal resources, custom, welfare, culture and people to the regional economy, and particularly to the town economy in Alice Springs, has made many Aboriginal people even less willing to tolerate consumer 'rip-offs' and economic injustices.

While clear opportunities (as well as problems) exist in the current policy context, the present climate of privatisation and deregulation means Aborigines will need to look beyond governments for their continuing economic development. The fact that Aborigines in Central Australia already generate 20 per cent of their funds, and are actively seeking opportunities to further advance independent economic activities, suggests that substantial internal growth may be possible in the short term. The vulnerability of the local capitalist economy generally, however, is a major constraint on enterprise-based strategies, particularly as viable market niches are already dominated by (principally) non-Aboriginal enterprises.

Most industrial sectors in Central Australia have experienced low growth rates in recent years. Support and subsidies from the public sector remain crucial for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal interests in the Central Australian economy. The balance of investment, training and community welfare schemes represented ADC, DEET and DAA, while subject to wide-ranging criticisms, remains fundamental to the strategic strength of the Aborignal 'sector'.

Entry of new Aboriginal enterprises into an economy beset by booms and busts, characterised by short-term operations which take great windfall profits and leave, and with an inescapable history of colonial racism is problematic at best. Most industries suffer significant disadvantages in Central Australia because of small markets, remoteness, high costs and seasonal downturns and upturns. With limited opportunities to succeed, Aboriginal groups recognise that commercial operations need to be well-planned, well-supported, and closely tuned to community needs and expectations.

4. THE RESEARCH OUTCOMES

Where social change incorporates diverse influences, as in Central Australia, it is not appropriate to try to identify certain changes as specific outcomes of a particular research project. In this case, the extent to which the research has become the 'property' of a wide range of Aboriginal people highlights the dynamic relations between research and community action in contemporary Aboriginal politics. The project was, however, central to several events which have the potential to exert lasting influence on the political economy of Central Australia.

Unlike many examples of non-participatory research, there is no monopoly of knowledge involved here. The purpose of the research was to make a critical and strategically relevant economic analysis accessible to a strategically important group of Aboriginal people. The work of IAD students and interpreters, CAO staff and managers, workshop leaders and many others, as well as the research team to transform complex economic analysis into comprehensible material for community discussion gave people more accurate knowledge of their circumstances and a basis for better-informed decision-making.

The research has provided an opportunity within the Aboriginal organisations to focus discussions on economic development. Recognition of the power of their combined economic activity has been a catalyst for exploring programs for joint-purchasing of vehicles and stationery, and for other avenues of co-ordination within and between Aboriginal organisations throughout the region. The aim is not to develop a single, all encompassing Aboriginal economic strategy. Rather the intention is to build on existing linkages and coalitions of interests, while maintaining the autonomy of participating groups. The approach of the Pitjanjatjara, Ngaanyatjarra and Yangkunyatjara Councils to meeting common needs (see eg Last 1986) is seen as providing useful guidance in linking local autonomy and common needs at the regional scale.

While nothing will change immediately as a result of this research, the processes of change in Central Australia have reached a significant point. It seems likely that new directions, new local opportunities and co-operation will produce previously unforeseen economic and political possibilities in quite a short time. The recent breakthrough on pastoral excisions, increased co-ordination of training and planning, and extension of similar political economic analysis beyond Alice Springs all suggest a period of significant change is emerging. The contrast between the optimism of Central Australia and the pessimism from analysts in other areas, such as Coombs in the East Kimberley (eg Coombs et al 1989) is based principally on the issue of land rights and secure land tenure. The strength of the Aboriginal position in Central Australia is their land. Not only is this a source of great cultural strength, but it is also crucially an economic base which cannot be ignored by other interests who seek to make a future in the region.

REFERENCES

BELL, C. 1978, Studying the locally powerful, In C. Bell and S. Encel (eds), Inside the Whale: ten personal accounts of social research, Pergamon, Sydney: pp 14-40.

CENTRAL AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL CONGRESS 1982, A brief statement prepared by the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress to the Australian Association of Anthropologists, paper circulated at ANZAAS Conference, Macquarie University, August, 1982.

COOMBS, H.C., McCANN, H., ROSS, H. and WILLIAMS, N.M. (eds) 1989, Land of Promises: Aborigines and Development in the East Kimberley, CRES, ANU and Aboriginal Studies Press, AIAS, Canberra.

CROUGH, G., HOWITT, R. and PRITCHARD, W. 1989, Aboriginal Economic Development in Central Australia, Combined Aboriginal Organisations, Alice Springs.

GALTUNG, J. 1980, The True Worlds: A Transnational Perspective, Free Press, New York.

HALL, B. 1978, Breaking the Monopoly of Knowledge: research methods, participation and development, In B. Hall and R. Kidd (eds), Adult Learning: a design for action, Pergamon, London, pp 155-168.

IWGIA 1971, Declaration of Barbados, IWGIA, Copenhagen

LAST, M. 1986, Funding allocation in Pitjanjatjara areas as a model for other Aboriginal land councils, in B. Foran and N. Walker (eds), Science and Technology for Aboriginal Development, CSIRO and Centre for Appropriate Technology, Melbourne.

PRETES, M. and ROBINSON, M. 1989, Beyond boom and bust: a strategy for sustainable development in the North, Polar Record, 25.153: pp 115-120.

NOTES

APPENDIX - CONFERENCE DECLARATION

Aboriginal Economic Development Conference, Alice Springs, June 1989

Despite the history of theft of Aboriginal land and resources, and the imposition of poverty and powerlessness on Aboriginal people, The Aboriginal population is the economic base of Central Australia. We provide one third of the regional economy and are the key to a healthy economic future for all Central Australians.

The achievement of Aboriginal goals is in the interest of all people in this region and depends on Aboriginal organisations and communities developing sound strategies, greater co-operation and increased participation in all areas of the economy.

This conference has produced concrete recommendations in discussions and workshops. We accept these recommendations as a guide for ongoing activity and the development of a local Aboriginal economic strategy.

We recognise that Aboriginal people in the region have different goals and live in many different situations, and we need to respect the rights of individuals, organisations and communities to preserve and develop their own independence. In the short term we propose to take a series of steps towards strengthening the economic position of Aboriginal people in the region and achieving common goals.

1. From consultation to negotiation

We propose developing a model agreement between Aboriginal organisations and communities on the one hand and the business interests we deal with in the region on the other hand. This model will provide businesses with guaranteed support from the Aboriginal sector in return for guarantees of fair participation in the ownership, management and training available in the private sector. In particular, we wish to see our school children getting their fair share of holiday jobs in Alice Springs.

2. Education of our children

We declare that education is crucial to Aboriginal economic development. Schools must do a better job of preparing our children for their roles in the Central Australian economy and strengthening Aboriginal culture, languages and identity. This can come only when Aboriginal people have greater control over the education system. This will include:

• schooling in our own languages;
• Aboriginal schools;
• fair representation of Aboriginal parents on School Councils;
• a significant increase in the number of Aboriginal teachers through development of local teacher education courses;
• increased Aboriginal involvement in development of school curriculums;
• Aboriginal people teaching Aboriginal culture in all schools.

To achieve these things, we resolve:

1. To conduct an awareness campaign focused on Aboriginal parents to emphasise the importance of and need for them to support their children's education;
2. To call on FEPPI to follow up on all complaints of racism in schools;
3. To lobby the Northern Territory and Commonwealth Governments to support our aims; and
4. To educate children, students and parents about their rights.

3. Community education

We declare that community education is also an essential part of Aboriginal economic development. We resolve to take the ideas from this research and this conference to bush communities and to other regions (for example the Barkly Region). We will also try to make these ideas more widely known to Aboriginal people not directly involved with the organisations.

Training and adult education should be aimed at community needs not funding bodies' guidelines. Board members and other people expected to exercise power need training about what power they do have so they do not give the power to non-Aboriginal managers. This training must be under Aboriginal control.

4. Health

Because good health is also an essential part of Aboriginal economic development, more resources must go into educating people about health, nutrition and grog.

5. Government programs

Government programs such as CDEP, ABSEC and TAP must lead to a better economic future for Aboriginal people. We want secure ongoing employment for all people being trained through these programs.

6. Private sector employment

The private sector provides two thirds of the jobs in Central Australia, but employs very few Aboriginal people. Aboriginal people need support and recognition of their culture to compete successfully for jobs in the private sector. We therefore resolve to negotiate with employers and unions to redesign jobs and awards to take account of Aboriginal people's need to preserve their languages and culture; and to commit themselves to cross-cultural education for non-Aboriginal employees to break down racism in workplaces. As a further step to increase Aboriginal employment, we call for all non-Aboriginal employees of Aboriginal organisations to be placed, wherever appropriate, on fixed term contracts which include a requirement to train Aboriginal people to take over their jobs.

7. Co-ordination and follow-up

This conference recommends increased discipline, co-ordination and co-operation within and between Aboriginal organisations and communities to achieve our development goals and to follow up on the strategies and projects discussed at this conference.

We therefore resolve to establish an ongoing economic development committee, with membership drawn from the organisations and communities represented at the conference. The responsibilities of this committee shall be:

1. To establish working parties to follow up the resolutions of this conference;
2. To seek funds for further research and feasibility studies;
3. To provide support and information on economic development to all Aboriginal people in Central Australia;
4. To establish links with Aboriginal people in other regions on issues of economic development;
5. To convene a second Aboriginal Economic Development Conference before the end of 1990 to review progress towards our goals.

Biographical notes:

Dr Richard Howitt is a Q.E.II Research Fellow in the Department of Geography, University of Sydney. Greg Crough is a Research Fellow in the Transnational Corporations Research Project, Department of Geography, University of Sydney.

Bill Pritchard is a Research Assistant and graduate student, Department of Geography, University of Sydney.

The work reported in this paper was funded by the Aboriginal Benefits Trust Account and sponsored by the Combined Aboriginal Organisations, Alice Springs.