(Adopted August 2014)
Principles
The Queensland Greens believe that:
1. The lives and situations of Indigenous Queenslanders have not improved, and in many instances are worsening, largely due to past and existing policy frameworks.
2. Greater community involvement and self determination by indigenous communities should form the foundation of the design and management of all government policy and program development and implementation
3. Indigenous communities have the right to the same level of public service delivery and infrastructure as mainstream communities.
4. The lives of indigenous Queenslanders and communities will improve with the provision of adequate, culturally and environmentally appropriate housing and culturally appropriate services such as health, education, law and justice.
5. Appropriate forms of economic development will bring employment and prosperity to Indigenous communities.
Aims
The Queensland Greens will:
1. Make it an urgent priority to improve the health and well being of Indigenous Queenslanders by ensuring that all health services are based on the Indigenous understanding of health as described in the National Aboriginal Health Strategy, including:
a) Funding more Indigenous controlled community health services;
b) Re-orienting services whose funding is based on brokering treatment services, towards developing healthy communities;
c) Ensuring that Indigenous communities receive similar access to health services and programs as those of all other Queensland communities.
2. Provide urgent new Indigenous housing developments working closely alongside Indigenous communities especially at places with recognized historical connections such as Mona Mona.
3. Review and restart the Stolen Wages compensation process via negotiation towards a just compensation for Aboriginal stolen wages and under award payments that properly accounts for the sum stolen by the state and interest since it was stolen, in accordance with mainstream compensation principles.
4. Repeal all state Indigenous alcohol laws and hand full control of alcohol management to local Indigenous authorities, and communities.
5. Develop healing based policies and strategies to deal with alcoholism instead of criminal strategies. This will require proper funding for culturally appropriate health promotion, drug and alcohol detoxification and rehabilitation programs and include diversionary centres as an alternative to police incarceration.
6. Implement intensive economic development projects based on Indigenous land, especially in remote communities and ensure that they have access to sustainable water, power, sewerage and telecommunication services.
7. Implement job skills training as well as business and enterprise training.
8. Invest heavily in joint ventures with Indigenous entrepreneurs as well as facilitating joint ventures with the private sector.
9. Recognise customary law as an asset in maintaining law and order and the basis for family education and discipline in Indigenous communities.
10. Educate the whole community on the real nature of customary law.
11. Immediately increase the number of Indigenous police officers and Police Indigenous liaison officers.
12. Establish an indigenous unit within the police force under the command of senior Indigenous officers. This unit should develop operational protocols that ensure, where possible, specially trained and resourced Indigenous officers take the front line in confronting Indigenous street crime and public disturbances.
13. Extend Murri Court (where an Aboriginal elder gives advice to the court on sentencing) to Aboriginal defendants who plead not guilty and include cultural interpreters during the giving of evidence.
14. Make available adequate funding for community corrections programs based on intensive work skills training including accredited courses, secondary and tertiary education and apprenticeships.
15. Ensure the removal of Indigenous children by the state is an action of last resort and return to family and community occurs as quickly as possible.
16. Extend or re-direct child welfare budgets to assist Indigenous extended families to properly care for children whose immediate parents are not able to look after them.
17. Develop and implement culturally appropriate child safety policies, programs and services.
18. Ensure that syllabuses for Queensland schools foster understanding of Indigenous culture and investigate the possibility of offering one or more Queensland Indigenous languages.
19. Make the successful completion of accredited training in courses on the indigenous perspective and courses on cultural sensitivity, mandatory for all public servants required to service Indigenous communities, including but not limited to, health professionals, members of the judiciary, school teachers, police and ministerial officers.
20. Implement an audit of all state legislation relating to land and land use in order to amend these laws to accommodate and reinforce native title.
21. Institute a Royal Commission into all events surrounding the death in police custody of Mulrunji Doomadgee.
22. Begin consultation with the Indigenous community about a treaty and constitutional reform that could include indigenous recognition in the constitution as well as Indigenous political representation.