Connecting Indigenous people and the emergency management sector – Pathways to effective partnerships

This project has been about how we as a broad and diverse community deal with natural hazards more effectively. It’s been about understanding and working with diversity and more specifically about recognising and respecting First Nations’ indubitable connection to the country and its elements, and the depth of their experience, knowledge and capability. Within this lay the foundations of more effective hazard management and significant opportunities for Indigenous communities to self-empower and to prosper.

True collaboration in this cross-cultural environment has not been a common feature of our mainstream response to hazards, but the frequency and intensity of climate change-fueled disasters is forcing us to look outside of the box for more effective responses. Few in this country are blind to either the extraordinary and often devastating impacts of climate change or to the challenges we face to remodel our response. Indigenous voices speaking about what they have to offer in this space have been getting stronger, infused with centuries of accumulated experience and a working relationship to the land and elements based on familial connection, cultural law and responsibility – largely unrecognised in mainstream approaches to hazard and community management.

Indigenous groups in many parts of Australia are now kick-starting and leading conversations about cross-cultural collaborations and what they might look like. There are many questions and challenges about how collaboration can work but without a respectful and informed process amongst leaders and practitioners they will never be asked constructively or addressed effectively. 

The forum that was invited to happen by Traditional Owners of Moungibi and enabled through a partnership between Carpentaria Land Council Aboriginal Corporation (CLCAC) and the North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance Ltd (NAILSMA) was the focal event of this Natural Hazards Research Australia sponsored project. The forum hosts called on senior emergency management agency representatives, senior Indigenous leaders and land managers to refine and discuss questions and challenges about engagement of Indigenous communities in a better model for hazard management.

• What are the best models for engagement with Indigenous communities in natural hazard management?
• What are the moral imperatives to working in this cross-cultural space?
• What are the principles and tools we need to engage effectively and respectfully in EM?
• What might partnership development pathways look like?

There are fragmentary moments where some of these questions are being asked. This project had the privilege to consider such questions by bringing together the experience gained over the last 15+ years of a growing relationship between Traditional Owners of the Gulf Country through their land council (CLCAC) and QFES - a unique and important opportunity to explore how to do things (collaborations/partnerships/hazard management) better and to consider application at trans-north scale.