Capability and Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage

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Capability and Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage

• Address to the Cape York Institute November 2005
• Dr Ken Henry Secretary
  to the Treasury

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Indicators of disadvantage
Life expectancy
Year 12 completion
Unemployment
Imprisonment
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AMARTYA SEN DEVELOPMENT AS FREEDOM
Substantive Freedoms
Instrumental Freedoms
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Health
Nutrition
Substantive Freedoms Important in their own right
Education
Freedom of speech
Political participation
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Political freedoms
Economic facilities
Instrumental freedoms Important means of
securing development
Social opportunities
Transparency guarantees
Protective security
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A policy framework

• Need a framework that
• Expands capabilities
• Recognises the limitations of using income to
  address poverty
• Recognises interconnections between sources of
  disadvantage
• Recognises the role of institutions
• Enhances individual agency

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A Framework to Address Indigenous Disadvantage
Housing
Welfare system incentives
Health
Income management
Individualcapability
Education
Governance
Employment
Indigenous direction and ownership ofpolicy
Service delivery and infrastructure
Social capital
Law and order
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How can we build capability?

• Focus on five key reforms to encourage change
  (recognising that other ones are vital too)
• Social capital and governance
• Welfare reform
• Commercial development
• Education
• Delivery of government services

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Social capital and governance

• Ensuring social conditions and relationships are
  conducive to development
• How can policy improve social capital?
• Governance arrangements
• Democratic processes for decision-making and
  strategic planning
• Effective management of key institutions
  Council, school, local store, health services

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Welfare reform

• Obligations, capabilities and incentives
• Do we need more fundamental reform of system
  incentives?
• More obligations on income support and family
  payments?
• Is more reform to CDEP needed to better build
  capability and encourage participation in
  education and work?

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Commercial development

• Challenge to develop sustainable businesses in
  regional and remote areas
• Need to address the fundamentals
• Potential for community-led development?
• Role for entrepreneurs outside the community?
• More effective use of assets, such as land
• What role for labour mobility?
• What can we do in communities in crisis?

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Education

• Addressing the demand side ensuring parents and
  children value education
• What role for early childhood education?
• Attracting skilled teachers to remote communities
• Community schools what potential?
• What role for mobility?
• Participation in VET and Unis

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Government service delivery

• Clarifying Commonwealth-State-Local
  responsibilities and ensuring delivery
• Indigenous input National Indigenous Council
  (national) RPAs (regional) and SRAs (community)
  
• Making mainstream services work better for
  Indigenous people
• Flexible assistance to meet needs of each
  community and support policy innovation
• More decentralisation of service delivery?

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Capability and Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage

• Address to the Cape York Institute November 2005
• Dr Ken Henry Secretary
  to the Treasury