The Wire

A new Indigenous Council has been appointed by the government, to provide expert advice on policy, program and service-delivery issues affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The new council has come up against a lot of criticism from ATSIC, the Labor party, the Democrats and Indigenous communities around Australia because its members were not elected – they were appointed. Professor of Law at the University of Technology Sydney, Larissa Behrendt believes that elected representation for Aboriginal people is a huge step towards Aboriginal self-determination. She is also skeptical of the amount of influence this new advisory council will have on government policy direction.