Remote Australia Online

Objectives: To determine local values for environmental attributable fractions and explore their applicability and potential for public health advocacy. Methods: Using World Health Organization (WHO) values for environmental attributable fractions, responses from a practitioner survey (73% response rate) were considered by a smaller skills-based panel to determine consensus values for Kimberley environmental attributable fractions (KEAFs). Applied to de-identified data from 17 remote primary healthcare facilities over two years, numbers and proportions of reasons for attendance directly attributable to the environment were calculated for all ages and children aged 0–4 years, including those for Aboriginal patients. Results: Of 150,357 reasons for attendance for patients of all ages, 31,775 (21.1%) were directly attributable to the environment. The proportion of these directly due to the environment was significantly higher for Aboriginal patients than others (23.1% v 14.6%; p<0.001). Of 29,706 reasons for attendance by Aboriginal children aged 0–4 years, 7,599 (25.6%) were directly attributable to the environment, significantly higher than for non-Aboriginal children aged 0–4 years (25.6% v 18.6%; p<0.001). Conclusions: By addressing environmental factors, 20% of total primary healthcare demand could be prevented and, importantly, some 25% of presentations by Aboriginal children. Implications: KEAFs have potential to monitor impact of local environmental investments.

Background and methods: Despite a concentration of risk factors for HIV transmission, many remote Aboriginal communities in central Australia have a low uptake of HIV testing. We studied, the uptake of HIV testing in six clinics in remote Aboriginal communities following the introduction of voluntary confidential testing to assess the impact of the intervention and to determine if the program was reaching people most at risk of HIV infection and transmission. Setting: The study was conducted by Nganampa Health Council, an Aboriginal-controlled health service on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Lands in the far north-west of South Australia. Results: Since the introduction of confidential coded testing in August 1994 the number of HIV tests provided through the remote clinics has increased from 83 tests/year to 592 tests/year. In the 12-month audit period (August 1, 1995, to July 31, 1996) 62.7% of women aged 20–24 years, 44.6% of people aged 12–40 years and 24% of the total population had an HIV test. Fifty per cent of tests were accounted for by the 15–25 year age groups and 60% of tests related to an STD consult. Discussion: This study shows that a high uptake of HIV testing in high-risk groups can be achieved in remote Aboriginal communities where a high level of confidentiality is maintained.

In October 2016, Warren Mundine addressed the Minerals Council of Australia Workforce of the Future Forum in Canberra on the topic of Indigenous people and the future minerals industry workforce. In that address he said: "The questions and answers on the future workforce and economic development are the same for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. It’s not corporate social responsibility. It’s business. If you find the right solutions to the challenges, the outlook for Indigenous Australians and the future minerals industry workforce is bright."Following that address, the Minerals Council of Australia commissioned this paper to expand on the key themes and explore how the minerals industry can meet the challenges put to it in that address.

Objective: To examine clinical service activity amongst patients of the Royal Flying Doctor Service South Eastern Section in Far West New South Wales and to evaluate the management of chronic disease among frequent users of evacuation services. Design: A retrospective audit of the Royal Flying Doctor Service South Eastern Section patient database inclusive of patients within the geographical study area who accessed a clinical or remote consultation, or evacuation service at least once between 1 July 2008 and 30 June 2013. Frequent users of evacuation services (≥3 evacuations per year) were investigated through RFDS patient files for determinants of chronic disease management. Main outcome measures: Category of service accessed, clinical consultation amongst frequent evacuees, determinants of chronic disease management. Results: Total number of evacuees increased by 5.4%; number of remote and clinical consultation patients increased by 5.4%. Of the 47 frequent users of evacuation services, 19 (40%) were infrequent or non-users of clinics (≤3 attendances per year) and 32 (70%) did not have a general practice management plan. Frequent evacuees averaged 2.7 chronic conditions per patient and had seen an average of 16.8 primary care physicians over the 5-year evaluation. Conclusion: Most frequent evacuees had several chronic conditions, multiple primary care providers, did not have a general practice management plan and had infrequent clinic reviews. This evidence highlights the challenge of remote primary care and the need to improve systems of chronic disease management. It underlines the importance of current local efforts to improve electronic records, follow-up and team care and to explore further telehealth implementation.

Without major policy initiatives, and rural medical student schemes not withstanding, there will be a serious shortfall in rural medical and dental resources. Currently, the shortfall estimate for rural GPs is over 1,000. In Queensland and New South Wales only eight of 643 recent graduates were working in rural/remote settings. This shortfall extends to many urban areas. Patients are waiting up to six hours in emergency departments, and hundreds are being told they can not get an appointment with their GP for over a week. The quality of care is not likely to increase with the growth in mega-practices. To graduate more doctors to move into the rural workforce will take over a decade. A number of overseas trained doctors are unsuited for rural Australian careers for a variety of social, cultural and professional reasons. Despite the rise in practice nurses who undertake some of the procedural tasks of practice, their use as clinicians is minimal. Categories of clinicians, though less trained than a doctor or dentist, have been successfully employed for decades in both industrial countries such as the US, and the less resourced world. They have worked both independently and in association with general practitioners/family physicians, and emergency physicians. Such practitioners are able to‘recognise andmanage’ common conditions competently. Midwives of course have been doing this in the field of obstetrics for centuries. While many rural practitioners work 24/7, schemes such as the state and federally funded South Australian Rural Doctors Workforce Agency (RDWFA) initiatives, provide significant relief. In South Australia, at least, training programs for hospital-based rural nurses has provided some primary clinical care skills which have enabled some nurses to assess and carry out basic primary medical care e.g. for an acute asthmatic attack. These nurses relieve the need to summon a doctor for every attendance after hours, but there are few of them, and the system needs to provide regular refresher programs. Within 10 years, one quarter of the rural towns in rural Australia supplied with, or presently without, medical or dental practitioners could/will be serviced by nurse practitioners and dental therapists. A few nurse practitioners have been trained during the past decade but remain few in number, e.g. there is only one working in rural South Australia, and she is in the private sector. Rural Australia cannot find adequate numbers of doctors who are prepared to live and work in rural and remote areas. Recently in rural New South Wales even a $500,000 start-up carrot proved insufficient to attract a doctor. There is no reason why such communities should be denied basic clinical care because a doctor or dentist cannot be found to provide it. Nurses on remote communities, with minimal additional training, and dental therapists in South Australian primary schools have been undertaking such care for decades. The fundamental axiom in care provision should be that ‘nobody is prevented from doing anything they can readily be taught to do competently with appropriate supervision’. Such supervision may be in the same room, next door, in the next town, or at the end of telephone. In evaluating patients seen in general and emergency departments for over three decades, I estimate that a nurse trained for a further 12 months in clinical diagnosis and management can undertake in excess of 50% of the medical workload. The use of such a cadre enables the general practitioners to spend more time with those patients whose problems are more complex. Such a clinically trained nurse could provide competent, and much quicker care, to those in nursing homes and hostels, and relieve pressure in emergency departments. I have trained and used nurses‘to recognise and manage competently the common and significant conditions’ in primary medical care in several countries. This includes the ability to ‘recognise’ serious conditions and‘initiate appropriate primary care and arrange referral’. If further consultation for the GP is only as far away as a telephone or an email (with or without photographs), then certainly it is no less so for a nurse or dental assistant.

This paper documents the growth of Aboriginal children in remote communities and gazetted towns of the Kimberley region in the far north of Western Australia over the past 20 years. The study's specific aim was to compare the height and weight growth of children in different environments from birth to five years of age. From 1979 to 1983, children living in towns were significantly taller and heavier than their counterparts in remote communities. From 1984 to 1988 and thereafter, there were no significant differences in the growth patterns of children in towns and remote communities. Overall, weight-for-age and height-for-age of children in remote communities has improved since the 1970s relative to their town-dwelling counterparts. These changes in growth shed light on the quality of the social and physical environment over the past 20 years and may assist with the development of future programs for child health.

Background: Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) populations have disproportionately high rates of adverse perinatal outcomes relative to other Australians. Poorer access to good quality maternal health care is a key driver of this disparity. The aim of this study was to describe patterns of delivery of maternity care and service gaps in primary care services in Australian Indigenous communities. Methods: We undertook a cross-sectional baseline audit for a quality improvement intervention. Medical records of 535 women from 34 Indigenous community health centres in five regions (Top End of Northern Territory 13, Central Australia 2, Far West New South Wales 6, Western Australia 9, and North Queensland 4) were audited. The main outcome measures included: adherence to recommended protocols and procedures in the antenatal and postnatal periods including: clinical, laboratory and ultrasound investigations; screening for gestational diabetes and Group B Streptococcus; brief intervention/advice on health-related behaviours and risks; and follow up of identified health problems. Results: The proportion of women presenting for their first antenatal visit in the first trimester ranged from 34% to 49% between regions; consequently, documentation of care early in pregnancy was poor. Overall, documentation of routine antenatal investigations and brief interventions/advice regarding health behaviours varied, and generally indicated that these services were underutilised. For example, 46% of known smokers received smoking cessation advice/counselling; 52% of all women received antenatal education and 51% had investigation for gestational diabetes. Overall, there was relatively good documentation of follow up of identified problems related to hypertension or diabetes, with over 70% of identified women being referred to a GP/Obstetrician. Conclusion: Participating services had both strengths and weaknesses in the delivery of maternal health care. Increasing access to evidence-based screening and health information (most notably around smoking cessation) were consistently identified as opportunities for improvement across services.

Objective: To examine the accuracy of birth counts for two remote Aboriginal communities in the Top End of the Northern Territory. Methods: We compared livebirth counts from community birth records with birth registration numbers and perinatal counts. Results: For 2004–06, for Community 1, there were 204 recorded local livebirths, 190 birth registrations and 172 livebirths in perinatal data. In Community 2, the counts were 244, 222 and 208, respectively. The mean annual number of babies, indicating service requirements for babies and their mothers, ranged from 57 to 68 (depending on source) in Community 1, and from 69 to 81 in Community 2. Most differences were for births to Aboriginal mothers. Births to ‘visitors’ accounted for 16 births in Community 1 and 30 cases in Community 2. Conclusion: Birth registration and perinatal data apparently underestimate community birth counts at a local level. Mobility of Aboriginal women seems to partly explain this. Implications: The differences in birth counts have important implications for local planning in relation to demand on housing, health and education services. The number of births is also a critical data requirement for measuring infant health status, including mortality rates, with measures of disadvantage strongly influenced by the number of births. Aboriginal mobility is not a ‘data problem’, but an integral part of Aboriginal life that needs to be catered for in administrative data collections in the Northern Territory.

Objectives: To address a shortfall in evidence with which to justify gambling-specific interventions for the Indigenous population, we analysed two surveys (2002 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey and General Social Survey) that contain information on reported gambling problems for the NT. Methods: Estimates of reported gambling problems are presented for each state and territory by remoteness for the Indigenous and total population for 2002. Factor analysis was used to identify the relationship between gambling problems and other negative life events for the NT Indigenous and total population. Results: High levels of reported gambling problems were apparent for the Indigenous population particularly in the remote parts of the NT and Queensland. Gambling problems were associated with other stressors relating to social transgressions. Among the NT Indigenous population, gambling problems were correlated with levels of crowding, community involvement, personal and community violence and self-assessed health status. Conclusions: The high levels of reported gambling problems suggest that gambling is causing significant problems for Indigenous people. The multivariable adjusted associations indicate that gambling-related problems are intimately connected to a range of community contexts. Implications: Policies of intervention need to address broader social and environmental contexts that are intrinsically associated with gambling (and associated problems), in addition to public education in harm associated with gambling and provision of counselling services to assist problem gamblers.

The burden of chronic disease in Indigenous Australia is more than double that of non-Indigenous populations and even higher in remote Northern Territory (NT) communities. Sufficient levels of physical activity are known to reduce the risk of chronic disease and improve the health of those already suffering from chronic disease. It has been identified that effective promotion of physical activity in Indigenous settings requires the diverse cultural perspectives and participation of Indigenous people. However, Indigenous concepts of physical activity are not represented in the public health literature and examples of Indigenous involvement in physical activity promotion are scarce. This study aimed to explore and describe local perspectives, experiences and meanings of physical activity in two remote NT Indigenous communities.

Introduction: Many of the health problems faced by rural and remote Aboriginal people have been attributed to a poor living environment. In the mid 1980s we began a process of defining problems with the immediate living environment that would affect health. These related particularly to safety, washing and hygiene practice. Methods: Between January 1999 and November 2006 we undertook a standardised and detailed assessment of housing in Aboriginal communities. This involved an initial assessment of 250 items in each house and living area, focusing on performance and their impact on these healthy living practices. At the first survey-fix we implemented a limited cost repair of non-functioning health hardware and then six months later returned to the communities for a repeat assessment to examine improvement in performance. Results: Between January 1999 and November 2006 we assessed 4,343 houses in 132 communities in four States and the Northern Territory during survey-fix 1 (SF1) and have repeated that survey-fix assessment (SF2) in 3,448 houses in 112 of those communities. This survey demonstrates extraordinarily poor performance of Aboriginal houses. In the survey period, 71,869 items referred for repair by survey teams were inspected by licensed electricians or plumbers and 49,499 of these have so far been fixed. Only 10% of these house items requiring repair were due to vandalism or misuse. Conclusion: Improvements in the living environment for Aboriginal people will require a sustained commitment to the planning, funding and implementation of maintenance programs in addition to adherence to the design, construction and supervision detail outlined in the National Indigenous Housing Guide.

Objective : To examine the trends of all-cause natural mortality for people aged 15 years and over in a remote Australian Aboriginal community between 1996 and 2010. Methods : The annual population in the community by gender and age group was obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). All known deaths and all records of start of renal replacement therapy (RRT) for renal failure were recorded between 1996 and 2010. Five-year aggregated death rates were calculated and the changes in natural mortality over the interval were evaluated. Mortality was compared with those of the Northern Territory (NT) Indigenous and non-Indigenous people as a whole from 1998 to 2006. Results : Rates of natural deaths were lower in the third interval 2006–2010 relative to the first interval 1996–2000, with higher, but more rapidly falling rates for females than males. Reductions were prominent for both sexes in the 65 and over age groups, but death rates in females of earlier middle age also trended lower. The trends applied whether or not the starting of RRT was considered as a natural death. There was a similar trend in rates of natural death in the aggregate Indigenous population of NT. Conclusions: The downward trends probably reflect improvements in risk factor status since the 1960s, all-of-life health interventions, as well as better chronic disease management in the last two decades. The higher death rates in females than males in this community remain unexplained, but the rapid rate of decline of female death rates predicts that this gap will soon be minimised.

OBJECTIVE: To determine trends in health status over a 10-year interval in a high-risk remote Australian Aboriginal community. METHODS: Two health surveys were performed, one between 1992 and 1997 and the other between 2004 and 2006, on people aged five years or older. Outcomes were compared across age-matched and sex-matched pairs. RESULTS: There were 1,209 matched pairs. In the second survey, birthweights tended to be higher, and there were significant increases in heights of adolescents and young adults, and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels generally. Young adult males were lighter, had lower measurements for waist circumference and blood pressure and less frequently had overt-albuminuria, while elevated blood pressure was less common in older males. However, females≥15 years had higher measurements for waist circumference, waist to hip ratio (WHR), body mass index (BMI) and diastolic blood pressure and a higher proportion of diabetes, notably in those aged older than 45 years. Males aged 15-24 years were less likely to be smokers while women aged less than 45 years were more often current drinkers. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicative of better nutrition among youth, better health of young adult males, stable or lower levels of albuminuria and improved HDL levels are all encouraging. The waist circumference increase in females might reflect better food access. An increase in diabetes in older subjects probably reflects recent enhanced survival of middle-aged and older people with--and at risk for--diabetes.

Objectives: Trachoma remains a major health concern in many remote Indigenous Australian communities, despite behaviour-modifying and biomedical strategies. This review aims to examine the social epidemiology of trachoma in remote Indigenous communities and identify practical, sustainable strategies to alter the social determinants of the disease. Methods: A systematic search and critical review explored the proximal, intermediate and distal determinants of trachoma. The impact of swimming pools in remote Indigenous communities on trachoma and other infectious diseases was further examined. Results: Having a clean face was found to be protective for trachoma, but face-washing education programs have produced no significant benefits. Sanitation infrastructure in a community was the key determinant of facial cleanliness. Installation of swimming pools in remote Indigenous communities has been demonstrated to reduce the prevalence of several common childhood infections. However, minimal research has explored the impact of pools on trachoma rates. Conclusions: The locally supported construction of pools in remote Indigenous communities may contribute to a decline in trachoma. A prospective, controlled trial is needed to test this hypothesis in endemic communities. Implications: If validated by a well-designed study, pool construction may provide a much sought-after practical government strategy to combat trachoma in remote Indigenous communities.

This report attempts to identify a way forward on some of the challenging self-governance and service delivery issues facing governments and Aboriginal peoples, by identifying strategic opportunities for change and the development of more collaborative relationships. It has been commissioned by the Central Australian regional office of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC). However the report has not been restricted, in its commissioning, to either an ATSIC or a Central Australian perspective. The issues here are of relevance to all stakeholders dealing with the related issues of governance and service delivery for remote Aboriginal communities across the Northern Territory. Underlying the report is the basic premise that self-governance, local government and service delivery are inextricably intertwined both conceptually, and in practice.

In 2017, Australia celebrates 50 years since the 1967 referendum, when more than 90% of Australians voted to amend the constitution to allow the national government to create laws for Indigenous people and include them in the census. We spoke with the Honourable Ken Wyatt, the Minister for Indigenous Health and the Minister for Aged Care, about what has occurred over the past 50 years in Indigenous health from a political perspective, and what we have learnt to improve health outcomes in the future.

Agreements between the mining industry and Indigenous people are not creating sustainable economic futures for Indigenous people, and this demands consideration of alternate forms of economic engagement in order to realise such ‘futures’. Within the context of three mining agreements in north Australia this study considers Indigenous livelihood aspirations and their intersection with sustainable development agendas. The three agreements are the Yandi Land Use Agreement in the Central Pilbara in Western Australia, the Ranger Uranium Mine Agreement in the Kakadu region of the Northern Territory, and the Gulf Communities Agreement in relation to the Century zinc mine in the southern Gulf of Carpentaria in Queensland. Recent shifts in Indigenous policy in Australia seek to de-emphasise the cultural behaviour or imperatives of Indigenous people in undertaking economic action, in favour of a mainstream conventional approach to economic development. Concepts of ‘value’, ‘identity’, and ‘community’ are key elements in the tension between culture and economics that exists in the Indigenous policy environment. Whilst significant diversity exists within the Indigenous polity, Indigenous aspirations for the future typically emphasise a desire for alternate forms of economic engagement that combine elements of the mainstream economy with the maintenance and enhancement of Indigenous institutions and ‘livelihood’ activities. Such aspirations reflect ongoing and dynamic responses to modernity, and typically concern the interrelated issues of access to and management of ‘country’, the maintenance of Indigenous institutions associated with family and kin, access to resources such as cash and vehicles, the establishment of robust representative organisations, and are integrally linked to the derivation of both symbolic and economic value of livelihood pursuits.

This project is positioned in the context of reforms to remote Indigenous housing that aim to improve housing conditions and expand housing options. The study is especially concerned with reforms to property and tenancy management and asks what forms tenancy management arrangements are taking in different jurisdictions and what factors have influenced these decisions. The policy framework for housing reforms in remote Indigenous communities is the National Partnership Agreement on Remote Indigenous Housing (NPARIH) and the National Partnership Agreement on Remote Service Delivery (NPARSD). The NPARIH establishes a 10-year (2008–2018) housing strategy in which the Australian Government has provided funding to the states and the Northern Territory for the construction of new housing, refurbishment of existing homes and management of housing on remote Indigenous communities. The NPARIH building and refurbishment program is scheduled to deliver up to 4200 new houses and rebuild or refurbish around 4876 existing houses by the end of 2018 .

AIM: Aboriginal leaders concerned about high rates of alcohol use in pregnancy invited researchers to determine the prevalence of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and partial fetal alcohol syndrome (pFAS) in their communities. METHODS: Population-based prevalence study using active case ascertainment in children born in 2002/2003 and living in the Fitzroy Valley, in Western Australia (April 2010-November 2011) (n = 134). Socio-demographic and antenatal data, including alcohol use in pregnancy, were collected by interview with 127/134 (95%) consenting parents/care givers. Maternal/child medical records were reviewed. Interdisciplinary assessments were conducted for 108/134 (81%) children. FAS/pFAS prevalence was determined using modified Canadian diagnostic guidelines. RESULTS: In 127 pregnancies, alcohol was used in 55%. FAS or pFAS was diagnosed in 13/108 children, a prevalence of 120 per 1000 (95% confidence interval 70-196). Prenatal alcohol exposure was confirmed for all children with FAS/pFAS, 80% in the first trimester and 50% throughout pregnancy. Ten of 13 mothers had Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test scores and all drank at a high-risk level. Of children with FAS/pFAS, 69% had microcephaly, 85% had weight deficiency and all had facial dysmorphology and central nervous system abnormality/impairment in three to eight domains. CONCLUSIONS: The population prevalence of FAS/pFAS in remote Aboriginal communities of the Fitzroy Valley is the highest reported in Australia and similar to that reported in high-risk populations internationally. Results are likely to be generalisable to other age groups in the Fitzroy Valley and other remote Australian communities with high-risk alcohol use during pregnancy. Prevention of FAS/pFAS is an urgent public health challenge.

This paper describes the participatory video (PV) method as a means of engaging children in remote Aboriginal communities as participants in health research. The PV method was piloted in two remote communities in the Goldfields region of Western Australia. There was widespread community acceptance of this approach and preliminary findings are discussed with reference to the key themes of perspectives on health, benefits to participants and benefits to communities. The PV method has a number of strengths, including flexibility to respond to community priorities, a lack of dependence on verbal or written data collection and the capacity to generate immediate benefits for participants. While not without methodological problems, these pilot projects suggest that the PV method is well suited to the remote Aboriginal communities who participated. The ethical implications of the PV method are discussed with specific reference to published ethical guidelines.

The government’s welfare reforms for Indigenous Australians look like slavery: On 19 September 2017 in New York, where I happened to be residing temporarily, the International Labour Organization (ILO) released new research developed jointly with the Walk Free Foundation and published in Global Estimates of Modern Slavery. The research reveals that there are an estimated 40 million victims of modern slavery in 2016, with about 25 million entrapped in situations of forced labour. There are also an estimated 152 million in child labour around the world. The ILO tells us that without dramatically increased efforts the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal Target 8.7, which looks to eradicate forced labour, human trafficking and child labour (including the recruitment and use of child soldiers), will not be achieved.

Buffel grass has been recognised as one of the greatest threats to biodiversity in South Australia’s arid and semi-arid rangelands. It has the capacity to transform ecosystems through habitat loss, competition with native plants and alteration of natural fire regimes. Buffel grass is increasingly impacting on the culture, health and safety of Indigenous communities and new approaches to the management of this devastating weed are being employed. Advances gained from South Australian research and development have resulted in the application of new control options, increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of herbicide application. The emergence of new technologies has resulted in the use of drones and user friendly platforms for the mapping of buffel grass infestations in Indigenous communities and throughout SA's arid rangelands. Building the capacity of Indigenous communities through both formal and informal training is a key focus of the Alinytjara Wilurara Natural Resources Management Board. Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Land Management and Spinifex Land Management. Training provided includes the use of herbicides, mapping equipment and a range of other land management tools, with a southern desert ranger forum planned in 2017 to provide an opportunity for indigenous rangers from SA, NT and WA to learn from the experiences of fellow rangers and traditional owners. In addition, 'healthy country planning' is being used to develop achievable management objectives for a range of cultural and environmental issue, such as weed management. This planning process has a strong emphasis on traditional owner engagement. A focus on building the capacity of Indigenous communities has seen a changing face of Indigenous managed lands. New and innovative ways of effectively managing buffel grass are being employed to improve the condition of country and manage the threats posed to the environment and culture in Australia's rangelands.

This is a research synthesis of the available evidence, since 2005, that demonstrates the extent to which housing can facilitate non-shelter outcomes (health, education, economic development, safety) for Indigenous individuals and communities, especially (but not limited to) remote Indigenous communities

Private health insurance – a good deal in rural and remote Australia?

The northern Australian pastoral industry is intensifying development and grazing systems to facilitate greater productivity and capital value. A three year field trial in the Barkly region of the Northern Territory (Beetaloo) comparing intensive rotational grazing (IRG) combined with wet season spelling (WSS) to set stocking (SS) at similar average annual stocking rates (SR) and paddock sizes, found no change in pasture condition in either grazing system. Given the short duration of the trial we used GRASP to simulate how the intensified grazing system might influence pasture condition in the longer term (30 years) comparing: 1) continuous SS; 2) SS with an annual 3 month WSS; and 3) annual WSS with IRG; for a range of graze dates, climate windows, starting pasture conditions and SR. SR that facilitated pasture recovery in drier climate windows or from C condition pastures were 2/3 of safe SR in wetter climate windows or B condition pastures. Adding WSS to SS facilitated faster pasture recovery times at higher safe SR. For WSS + IRG, if any of the grazes were during the growing season, the SR that promoted pasture recovery was one to two thirds less than the safe SR when grazing occurred only during the dry season. Dry season IRG + WSS had higher safe SR and shorter recovery times than the Grazing Land Management (GLM) derived carrying capacity with continuous grazing, or SS + WSS. This study suggests that WSS + IRG may be a useful tool to enhance recovery of degraded grasslands. However, recovery timeframes were still in the order of decades and any wet season IRG should be avoided or carefully managed to prevent further pasture condition decline.

Linear clearings, such as roads and tracks, are an obvious anthropogenic feature in many remote environments, even where infrastructure is sparse. Predator species have been shown to prefer moving down linear clearings, and therefore, clearings could increase predation risk for other species. We investigated whether tracks cleared for seismic surveys are preferentially used by predators and herbivores in a landscape inhabited by bilbies (Macrotis lagotis), a vulnerable species of conservation concern. We used a paired camera trap array to investigate the use of cleared seismic lines at four time points after clearing (1 month, 3 months, 7 months, 48 months) by six mammal species. Bilbies, cattle (Bos indicus/B. taurus), dingoes (Canis familiaris), feral cats (Felis catus) and agile wallabies (Macropus agilis) preferred to use seismic lines compared with adjacent undisturbed vegetation for almost all surveys, while spectacled hare wallabies (Lagorchestes conspicillatus) avoided them. Bilbies and agile wallabies showed similar temporal activity patterns on and off seismic lines but feral cats, dingoes and cattle used seismic lines at different times of day to control areas. We also investigated microhabitat selection by spool tracking individual bilbies. Bilbies selected a route through vegetation that was more open than surrounding vegetation. While spatial and temporal funnelling of bilbies and their predators (especially cats) may increase the frequency of encounter between the two, it is important to note that bilbies were active at significantly different times to predators both on and off seismic lines. The identified selection for seismic lines, and changes in spatial and temporal overlap between species, can be used to develop effective management strategies, to minimize potential impacts on native species.

The Indigenous Land Corporation (ILC) assists Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to acquire and manage land to achieve economic, environmental, social, and cultural benefits. To support this the ILC maintains a spatial database of property infrastructure information, including property layout, fencing, waterpoints, and other features, for more than 160 Indigenous and ILC-held properties across Australia. The quality and consistency of this information varies depending on information availability and managers, limited access to the information on remote properties or ability to improve it. To address these issues, the ILC, through its wholly owned subsidiary the Australian Indigenous Agribusiness Company (AIA) [formerly National Indigenous Pastoral Enterprises (NIPE)]1, started a project in 2016 to develop detailed property infrastructure information using its in-house Indigenous mapping capability, starting with fifteen NIPE-managed properties. The FarmMap 4D (FM4D) online application [formerly known as the NRM Spatial Hub]2was used to deliver information to the remote property managers. Managers can use FM4D to dynamically view and overlay map layers, and generate maps and reports, to support more effective land management and planning. This single source of information is accessed by project managers, contractors, and property managers alike. But how did the ILC develop its property information, how is the ILC using the FM4D, and what are the ILC’s plans for the future? Moreover, how is this project improving the ability of the ILC and AIA to deliver benefits to Indigenous people?

Social Return on Investment (SROI) is an internationally recognised methodology used to measure and value the impact of programs. Like a traditional cost-benefit analysis, SROI examines economic outcomes, but also includes the social, environmental and cultural outcomes created by the investment. These outcomes are evaluated against their cost, using financial proxies to estimate their relative value. SROI is particularly valuable in the indigenous natural resource management context, because of the strong ‘value’ or importance of non-economic (particularly cultural) costs and benefits. The Alinytjara Wilurara Natural Resources Management Board (AW NRMB) undertook a study of the economic, social, environmental and cultural impacts of large feral herbivores in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands, in the far northwest of South Australia. Camels, donkeys and horses present significant impacts for the community in terms of vehicle collisions, community health, damage to infrastructure and water pollution. With the costs incurred by pest animals inthe APY lands valued at $4.2m and possible benefits valued at $140,000, the study found that there was a net cost impact of approximately $4m. This study also found significant cultural impacts of pest animals, which requires further analysis. Future investment models that consider a broad range of costs and benefits, are considered appropriate for Australian rangelands, particularly Indigenous-owned land.

In the last 20 years there has been a huge surge in development of technological tools to improve the business of producing protein in Australia. While in the early stages this was mostly confined to the cropping sectors, more and more we are seeing the livestock industry embracing technology and the benefits it brings to business bottom lines. Unfortunately the remote pastoral industry has been behind the eight ball due to a combination of harsh conditions, limited access to online service and very low adoption rates, amongst other things. Tech companies have been quite successful in building hardware capable of withstanding the extremes of Australia's hostile climate and gradually, ever so gradually, regional Australia is joining the 21st century in its access to the World Wide Web at speeds not totally reminiscent of a slow motion replay. That leaves adoption... There are now tools available to the pastoral industry that can not only save time and money, but that can also identify inefficiencies, minimize unnecessary production losses and monitor pasture condition and availability to better manage our grazing ecosystems. The PPMS (Precision Pastoral Management System) is a software system based online via a cloud based network. It draws on multiple data products that are customized to each property. The RLMS (Remote Livestock Management System) collects live weight data and also an auto-drafting option, while pasture production is collected via satellite. Data is streamed back to the PPMS via the telemetry unit. This system is used to maximise animal productivity while minimizing overgrazing and land system degradation. The telemetry units also support other cost saving tools like Tank Level sensors, Digital Rain Guages, Remote Start/Stop function for motors and many more.

Towns in central western Queensland are especially exposed to the risks of drought, with approximately half of the businesses directly linked to agriculture. This paper reports on surveys undertaken in 2015 and 2017 of town business. A significant reduction in turnover is reported by businesses in the region’s largest town, Longreach. Populations have declined sharply over the past four years, partly due to itinerant agricultural workers leaving the region. Townspeople are major contributors to social cohesion and resilience in rural and regional communities. Declining grazier incomes have led to reduced spending in town businesses as well as a negative spiral of declining population and declining services, resulting in lower social resilience in rural and remote communities. Policy makers have four options: do nothing; understand the local context; support local capacities; and/or transform. Transformation of governance arrangements is crucial if social resilience is to be restored. Drought assistance can contribute to developing more resilient communities. Recommendations include fostering innovation and changing the roles and responsibilities in collaboration between government and local organisations.

Current models of care are not reducing oral health disparities between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians. Poor oral health in Aboriginal Australians remains a significant concern. Evidence suggests that, despite dental caries being largely (theoretically) preventable, Australian Aboriginal people have worse periodontal disease, more decayed teeth and untreated dental caries than non-Aboriginal Australians. Current health care delivery systems need reviewing for their effectiveness in providing services that are culturally appropriate and understand the issues that many Aboriginal people face including marginalisation, racism and socio-economic disadvantage. Knowledge of Aboriginal perspectives of oral health and dental services is integral to developing responsive and appropriate oral health services that focus on upstream approaches such as preventing disease as well as providing tertiary dental care. The original concept of this project was suggested by a Noongar elder and developed over time through conversations with Community, Aboriginal health colleagues with leadership roles and with an Aboriginal co-investigator. Designed to respond to a pressing need to generate new knowledge and identify practical solutions to improve the provision of adequate primary oral health care to Aboriginal people, it was anticipated that project findings would provide evidence of how Aboriginal people perceive oral health and dental services, including barriers and enabling factors that can inform policy and practice development and future research projects.

Introduction: In Australia, many small birthing units have closed in recent years, correlating with adverse outcomes including a rise in the number of babies born before arrival to hospital. Concurrently, a raft of national policy and planning documents promote continued provision of rural and remote maternity services, articulating a strategic intent for services to provide responsive, woman-centred care as close as possible to a woman’s home. The aims of this paper are to contribute to an explanation of why this strategic intent is not realised, and to investigate the utility of an evidence based planning tool (the Toolkit) to assist with planning services to realise this intent. Methods: Interviews, focus groups and a group information session were conducted involving 141 participants in four Australian jurisdictions. Field notes and reports were thematically analysed. Results: We identified barriers that helped explain the gap between strategic intent and services on the ground. These were absence of informed leadership; lack of knowledge of contemporary models of care and inadequate clinical governance; poor workforce planning and use of resources; fallacious perceptions of risk; and a dearth of community consultation. In this context, the implementation of policy is problematic without tools or guidance. Conclusions: Barriers to operationalising strategic intent in planning maternity services may be alleviated by using evidence based planning tools such as the Toolkit.

Development is not a new word for the Fitzroy Catchment in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. However, it is currently the focus of an enormous level of interest and investment driven primarily by the State and Federal Governments development papers, with significant diversity and different agendas with respect to pastoral, environmental and indigenous groups. Rangelands NRM is facilitating opportunities to make the most from these initiatives and ensure the programs follow a sustainable pathway that is grounded in best practice environmental stewardship, is respectful and inclusive with community, and pursues sustainable and appropriate economic developments. History has demonstrated that significant investment alone will not bring about sustainable change to the region. Only through an inclusive, triple-bottom-line approach will we see lasting positive change that is driven and supported by community. Our approach is to use a networking ®problem solving ®coordinated program to assist stakeholders along a journey. We bring an openness to discuss the issues, without having the answers or driving the direction of discussions. Together, the group is developing a framework and facilitating the creation of a body who can navigate environment, social and economic needs. We are using a ‘collective impact’ strategy to seek shared commitment through understanding of a collective goal between participating stakeholders. This encourages the pooling of resources, tasks and objectives across multiple stakeholders to change the disposition of a complex system towards resilient, sustainable and hopefully flourishing outcomes.

Objective: We compared self-reported dietary intake from the very remote sample of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (VR-NATSINPAS; n=1,363) to one year of food and beverage purchases from 20 very remote Indigenous Australian communities (servicing ~8,500 individuals). Methods: Differences in food (% energy from food groups) and nutrients were analysed using t-test with unequal variance. Results: Per-capita energy estimates were not significantly different between the surveys (899 MJ/person/day [95% confidence interval −152,1950] p=0.094). Self-reported intakes of sugar, cereal products/dishes, beverages, fats/oils, milk products/dishes and confectionery were significantly lower than that purchased, while intakes of meat, vegetables, cereal-based dishes, fish, fruit and eggs were significantly higher (p<0.05). Conclusion: Differences between methods are consistent with differential reporting bias seen in self-reported dietary data. Implications for public health: The NATSINPAS provides valuable, much-needed information about dietary intake; however, self-reported data is prone to energy under-reporting and reporting bias. Purchase data can be used to track population-level food and nutrient availability in this population longitudinally; however, further evidence is needed on approaches to estimate wastage and foods sourced outside the store. There is potential for these data to complement each other to inform nutrition policies and programs in this population.

Aboriginal households in remote Australia are far less likely than other Australians to have an Internet connection at home. Until recently, telecentres were the preferred policy approach to addressing the digital divide, as these were assumed to be most appropriate given the 'communal' lifestyle of Aboriginal communities. In this chapter, I discuss a 4-year research project, in which three outstations, two Indigenous organizations, a consumer peak body and a group of university researchers, set out to test that assumption by bringing Internet into 20 homes. The chapter focuses on the research approach, and how the project revealed dimensions of the digital divide that were not observable through statistics or other methods.

Northern Territory (NT) government policy acknowledges the “need for active participation by all people, including Indigenous people, for the north to achieve ongoing prosperity.” However the majority of Aboriginal adults cannot engage due to low levels of English language, literacy and numeracy (LLN). Aboriginal people constitute 30% of the NT population and more than half speak English a second language (54%). Reading, writing, oral communication in English and numeracy skills remain a persistent challenge and the issue continues to be treated as peripheral, complex and “too hard”. English LLN is central to social capacity building, engaging with the economy, society and systems. Recent consolidation of an NT wide sample of 670 assessments points to very low levels across the NT, with the majority of people falling well below the level required to participate in education and work. The monetary cost of low literacy and the benefits of improvement have never been calculated for the NT. A Strategic Project has been underway to raise awareness, build the evidence base and catalyse change - much remains to be done. Excellent models in service provision exist, with high levels of Indigenous aspiration identified, and there is real momentum for change - but where is the commitment to collective and sustained action by Government, and who has responsibility for adult LLN in the NT?

This book explores the experiences of Indigenous children and young adults around the world as they navigate the formal education system and wider society. Profiling a range of different communities and sociolinguistic contexts, this book examines the language ecologies of their local communities, schools and wider society and the approaches taken by these communities to maintain children’s home languages. The authors examine such complex themes as curriculum, translanguaging, contact languages and language use as cultural practice. In doing so, this edited collection acts as a first step towards developing solutions which address the complexity of the issues facing these children and young people. It will appeal to students and scholars of sociolinguistics, applied linguistics and community development, as well as language professionals including teachers, curriculum developers, language planners and educators.

There is much talk about the seemingly intransigent gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal educational outcomes across Australia. From a critical theoretical perspective, a new paradigm is needed to frame the situation. One of these is becoming known as ‘red dirt thinking’: a metaphor intended to create a connection between western and Aboriginal theories of knowledge about education. In a nutshell red dirt thinking aims to use local narratives of aspiration and success. This means rethinking schools using a foundation of local languages, theories of knowledge, worldviews and ways of being. It includes using multi-linguistic spaces for learning and development, “creating a people-based education system; one where everyone belongs in the system, rather than the system insisting that people belong to it” (Bat & Guenther, 2013, p. 131). In 2015 a study comprising a literature review and qualitative methodologies was implemented in remote communities in the East and West Kimberley regions of Western Australia. The research question was: ‘how can remote schools build upon Aboriginal culture to function as sustainable community-engaged learning centres?’ This paper reports the outcomes of an ethnographic method which was used in two communities to ascertain teachers’ and community members’ hopes and accounts of children’s learning of Aboriginal theories of knowledge, worldviews, language and culture. The writers assert that for Aboriginal young people’s wellbeing and healthy development into adult-hood, local Aboriginal languages, narratives and beliefs need to be the foundation of their education. In this way Aboriginal cultural healing and cultural strength underpin non-Aboriginal determinations about Aboriginal children’s futures. In short, there is a need to rethink the goals and means of schooling in order to address entrenched problems that are located within the Australian schooling system itself. Red dirt thinking offers this potential.

Achieving educational equality for Australia’s Indigenous peoples remains one of Australia’s principal educational challenges. The issue of non-attendance in Australia’s remote community schools continues to be of significant concern, as one issue impacting on educational outcomes. This paper reports the findings of a study seeking educator perspectives on strategies for enhancing the attendance, engagement and retention of students enrolled at The Ngaanyatjarra Lands School (NLS) in remote Western Australia (WA) and examines factors supporting and inhibiting attendance. The multi-campus NLS is one of Australia’s most educationally disadvantaged schools with an Index of Community Socio-Economic Advantage (ICSEA) of 619 compared to 1000 as the average for all Australian schools. This school experiences a high level of transiency and non-attendance with four per cent of students attending regularly. The Ngaanyatjarra people are highly traditional and retain a close connection to their Land and traditional customs. This study utilised a single case qualitative research design, incorporating the perspectives of 11 practising NLS educators. Data was collected through semi-structured individual and focus group interviews, and documentary analysis. Four key areas of intervention for enhancing the attendance, engagement and retention of students are presented: 1) school-based learning and teaching; 2) school-based personnel; 3) family and community; and 4) pre-service preparation and induction. This study supported significant change to the provision of secondary education in The NLS. It also highlighted the importance of providing a culturally relevant and enriching curriculum for enhancing attendance and engagement in schools such as The NLS. Explicit Standard Australian English programmes were recommended in providing students with personalised pathways into Vocational Education Training. The changes called for highly qualified school leaders that can integrate the students’ cultural and linguistic needs with quality personnel development strategies. Daily school programmes prioritising the health and well-being of students in this context, coupled with extensive communication between the school, family and agencies, were found to enhance the attendance, engagement and retention of students at The NLS. The paper concludes with the implications for developing policy, practice and future research. Government agencies have a significant role to play in differentiating mainstream policy for The NLS. Human resource management policies need to prioritise the preparation, induction and development of quality NLS educators using two-way community development strategies. Further research into Ngaanyatjarra perspectives extending to student movement across the ‘culturally invisible’ borders of WA, Northern Territory and South Australia is recommended.

Education is recognized as a critical factor in children’s future life opportunities. However, there is a significant gap between the educational performance of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian children that perpetuates the recognized disadvantage. One strand of the National “Closing the Gap” initiative is that of supporting Indigenous early childhood development, with this approach recognizing the critical importance of the earliest experiences of children with school to their longer term achievement. Parents and Learning (PaL) is one home-based program, developed by the remote Indigenous Napranum PaL Group, which engages Indigenous parents and caregivers in their young children’s early literacy learning. In this program Indigenous tutors link with parents in their homes to provide regular reading activities for the children, with tutors supporting the parents in the use of these materials. This program operates at the level of school readiness through a strengthening in the child’s literacy skills and school behaviours, with parents developing a greater capacity to support their children’s learning and a stronger engagement with the school environment that will support their child across the transition. This paper explores the experiences of parents and students across this transition experience. Findings to date have shown higher levels of literacy achievement of the children involved in PaL and also more positive involvement by parents with preschool school and also in their community – assisting in overall school readiness. Data from interviews of parents and children provides reflections on how the children and parents differentially experience the transition into school, adding to the understanding of the key elements of the preparation process, and the identification of possible strategies that could be implemented to further support parents and children across this process for more successful outcomes.

This research examines how NAPLAN-as-policy impacts on school organisation, teaching, the curriculum and ultimately the education experience and outcomes of Indigenous students in remote school settings. 124 respondents from remotely located schools across South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland participated in an online mixed methods survey. Site visits were conducted in 3 large remote schools in South Australia where 95% of staff participated in the research. The survey collected data on school demographics, teaching and learning, school organisation and the impact of school contextual factors. Over 75% of respondents wrote detailed responses in regard to perceived risks, benefits and change associated with the NAPLAN. The significant majority of respondents strongly agree that NAPLAN is a powerful influence shaping teachers' work, school organisation and the curriculum. 'Teaching to the test,' narrowing the curriculum and increased pressures to deliver improved NAPLAN results were common responses. Respondents strongly agree that localised school contextual factors play a significant role in the school's NAPLAN result. Application of the NAPLAN as a measure of school performance does not sufficiently take into account the complexities associated with teaching and learning in remote school contexts. A national policy focus on NAPLAN performance has had a mostly reductive influence on teachers' work in these settings. Broader accountabilities of the education process are required to ensure more equitable and differentiated resourcing, including teachers' on professional site development, more in line with local funds of knowledge and aspirations. The NAPLAN could and should be repositioned as one means to enable this.

Teacher Education in Australia has largely focussed in recent years on Indigenous Education through providing a subject in their degree on social contexts and diversity. The Australian Curriculum and changes to the AITSL teaching standards 1.2 and 1.4, emphasising teacher responsibility to learn Indigenous content and how to work with Indigenous students in their classes pose important challenges to teacher educators, requiring attention to Indigenous education in different ways. The purpose of this paper is to report one aspect of a five-year teacher education initiative to support the renewal of regional teaching through a first placement in rural and remote schools; here we focus on our strategies in a metropolitan university to build resources and capacities for all graduate entry teacher education students to work with Indigenous students - who will be in all their schools. In particular, we analyse student orientation and debriefing for those pre-service teachers who undertake this placement on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands, an area administered by local Indigenous people who hold the title to the land. The concept of socially situated teacher education, proposed by Green and Reid, will be both used and extended by the Indigenous perspectives taken up in this aspect of the initiative. Using place-based pedagogies, and an orientation to the specificity of cultural, geographic, historical and economic circumstances of place and community, the paper analyses the issues addressed on campus, in community and in schools for pre-service teachers to be oriented to Indigenous students, communities and knowledge in order to build respectful and challenging curriculum for their students. As two teacher educators actively involved in the teaching and supervision of the students, we consider the range of strategies undertaken in the teacher education program and the resources developed to support students. Data from student journals, applications to undertake placement on the Lands, support materials developed including video, historical and community background data, curriculum materials generated by pre service teachers, and briefing and de-briefing sessions will be analysed. This analysis will help us to explore the adequacy of teacher education's key social justice commitment to building knowledge and competency to work with Indigenous students, their communities, colleagues and knowledges as developed and embodied in our initiative.

The aim of this paper is to explore the self-reflexivity required to be a researcher in very remote communities. Specifically, the current experiences of a non-indigenous PhD candidate working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are considered. This paper arises from thirty years of lived experiences in remote cross-cultural contexts and relationships with people in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands of South Australia and also in Papua New Guinea. It highlights the influence of relationships upon the PhD journey thus far. Thereby it recognises a fundamental ontological premise of relatedness which researchers must bear in mind when locating and positioning themselves at this significant and contested cultural interface. When working in such remote cross-cultural sites it is a sine qua non that researchers deliberately seek to unlearn matters they have taken for granted, and explicitly examine their personal and academic assumptions. The place of values and phronetic constructivist approaches within a researcher’s role will be investigated. At the same time the use of a postpositive paradigm underlying the common expectation of a researcher to be objective will be considered in the light of the ways in which relatedness affects epistemological, axiological and cosmological perspectives. The notion of a paraclete standpoint will be presented to explore how researchers might identify themselves and how others might perceive them. It parallels issues such as how a researcher could ‘come amongst’ and then ‘come alongside’ Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Possible movement from unknown stranger to known foreigner to friend will be discussed. This paraclete standpoint affirms the importance of relationships and may enhance appropriate protocols, leading to the co-construction of research.

This presentation draws on data from a larger research project investigating the relationship between marketization of schooling and the experiences of early-career teachers in their places of work. In this paper, one case out of nine will be explored: a very particular case, that of a teacher working in a remote school with an almost entirely Indigenous student cohort and an ICSEA below 700. This teacher was working on a temporary contract, was the only teacher of their subject in the school, was relatively new to teaching and had been working in a range of schools on short-term contracts – or in a casual capacity – since graduating. While the difficulties in staffing schools across our vast country are not new, this case explores how processes of marketization, including devolved approaches to teacher employment, can interact with the development of early-career teachers and have impacts even beyond these individuals for schools and communities more broadly. To further unpack this, Bourdieu’s concepts of field and habitus (Bourdieu, 1981; Wacquant, 1989), and the theory of capitals (Bourdieu, 2002), are drawn upon, and Ball’s (1993) notion of second-order policy effects is invoked in an attempt to contribute to the field of ‘policy sociology’. Through this it is argued that competition between schools and between teachers for schools can lead to inexperienced teachers working in unstable employment capacities and in contexts which, simultaneously, make significant emotional, intellectual and socio-cultural demands of their teachers and, as a corollary of this, have limited scope to provide their staff with the kind of support that they need. This in-depth examination of the experiences of one such teacher – working beyond their habitus, often feeling unsuccessful in doing so, and unable to access the support required to improve their situation – is used to highlight such issues. ReferencesBall, S. J. (1993). What is policy? Texts, trajectories and toolboxes. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 13(2), 10-17. doi: 10.1080/0159630930130203Bourdieu, P. (1981). Men and machines. In K. Knorr-Cetina & A. V. Cicourel (Eds.), Advances in social theory and methodology: Toward an integration of micro- and macro-sociologies (pp. 304-317). MA: Routledge and Kegan Paul.Bourdieu, P. (2002). The forms of capital. In N. W. Biggart (Ed.), Readings in economic sociology. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishers Ltd.Wacquant, L. J. D. (1989). Towards a reflexive sociology: A workshop with Pierre Bourdieu. Sociological Theory, 7(1), 26-63.

Both the domestic and international academic literature’s analysis of links between transport and wellbeing focuses mainly on urban settings and vulnerable population groups including older people, people with health issues, socio-economically disadvantaged people, or people undergoing more frequent extreme climatic events. While the relationship between remote Australians wellbeing and travelling activities is evident, its complexity still remains an under-researched topic. This is paradoxical when considering that extreme distances, high supply chain costs, limited access to services and to economic participation are well recognised obstacles for sustaining vibrant remote Australian communities. The latest accessibility-driven technological innovations in both the digital and the sharing economies are highly topical in transport projects in urban agglomerations but still a distant reality for remote Australia. There is a need for researching an appropriateness framework of such technologies because of the strong relevance of the multiple outcomes in terms of wellbeing that some of these innovations provide. Furthermore what defines a good quality of life can sometimes be very similar and other times greatly differ between remote and urban contexts. In the light of some recent transport and mobility research this paper analyses the potential connections between more appropriate transport innovations and increasingly resilient remote communities.

This paper provides an overview of preliminary findings associated with the Well Network, a research project located in the Northern Territory (NT), and outlines particular challenges to teacher wellbeing in remote and very remote settings. The project was conceived as an initial response to a lack of dedicated services and professional learning available to support teachers in remote locations, particularly with respect to supporting personal and intra-personal aspects of wellbeing and resilience. Apart from identifying the scope of wellbeing issues involved, the project also investigated mindfulness training as an effective strategy to promote and support teacher wellbeing. Given the remote context of the NT - as well as a highly mobile population - a private, online peer-supported community was designed as an appropriate platform that could serve the dual function of both a research space and a supportive environment. Because access to this online community was available to self-recruited teachers throughout 2014, the Well Network also functioned as a pilot service that might also inform more formal responses from the NT Department of Education at the conclusion of the project. In recruiting teachers into participating a face-to-face seminar was conducted early in the year at Charles Darwin University. As an early indicator of interest, this event was over-subscribed within one week of advertising. This seminar followed a number of small teacher focus groups and together these activities were instrumental in shaping two broad themes to be accommodated in the web space design - personal resilience and positive connections. As a further response to the particularities of NT life, the imperatives of country, indigeneity and spirit, have also informed the discussion of teachers connecting with the Well Network. The efficacy of building an online community that aims to support and sustain wellbeing is further discussed as well as a range of technical issues that needed to be addressed in the launch and fine-tuning of the platform. Preliminary findings suggest an enthusiastic response from teachers for continuity of a peer-supported online community. Likewise, the positive response to engaging in mindfulness training suggests that professional learning focused on the intra-personal domain has benefits for professional performance.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation in Higher Education (HE) is significantly lower than non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rates (Behrendt et al. 2012). National data indicates that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are less likely to complete Year 12 compared to non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are less likely to gain a Tertiary Entrance Rank (Wilks & Wilson 2015). According to the data Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are less prospective university students; less likely to gain entrance on their prior educational achievement; more likely to be mature age students >25 years); and have completion rates half that of their non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander counterparts (Pechenkina, 2015). More Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students enrol in Vocational Education and Training (VET) than in HE (Wilks & Wilson 2015), therefore supporting the transition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students from VET to HE promises to increase Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander HE participation (Anderson 2011; Bandias, et al. 2013). This is crucial for rural and remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students who have completed a VET qualification (Bandias, et al. 2013). Unfortunately, such pathways are relatively uncommon with only 4.9% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students currently making this transition (Wilks & Wilson 2015). While enabling programs have received significant recent attention, the potential of the VET to HE pathway to increase Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander HE participation remains largely unexplored. Our research project expands on this by moving beyond the investigation of enabling programs, towards a deeper examination of additional practice-based (and evidence-informed) strategies being developed by dual sector universities. This presentation will present the research findings.REFERENCES:Anderson, I. (2011). Indigenous pathways into the professions. A paper commissioned for the Review of Higher Education Access and Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People.Bandias, S., Fuller, D. & Larkin, S. (2013). Vocational education, Indigenous students and the choice of pathways. National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER), Adelaide. Behrendt, L., Larkin, S., Griew, R. & Kelley, P. (2012). Review of Higher Education Access and Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People: Final Report. Fredericks, B., Kinnear, S., Daniels, C., Croft-Warcon, P. & Mann, J. (2015). Path+Ways: Towards best practice bridging and Indigenous participation through regional dual-sector universities. Report submitted to the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education (NCSEHE), Curtin University: Perth.Pechenkina (2015). Nothing has changed since Indigenous higher ed review. The Conversation (https://theconversation.com/nothing-has-changed-since-indigenous-higher-ed-review-41354Wilks, J. & Wilson, K. (2015). A profile of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander higher education student population. Australian Universities Review. 57 (2), 17-30.

Participatory Action Research (PAR) has emerged as a common approach used in community-based research, including education research. It acknowledges the place of community in defining its own educational trajectory and can be particularly useful in Indigenous research contexts. Developmental evaluation is a more recent concept, which focuses on applying complexity concepts to enhance innovation and use. It has seldom been applied in Indigenous education contexts. We explore the linkages between these two approaches by using a remote Indigenous case-study from the Northern Territory. Charles Darwin University recently embarked on the Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program (HEPPP) – Whole of Community Engagement (WCE) initiative. This involves adopting a bottom-up community engagement approach with six remote Indigenous communities across the Northern Territory. The primary aim is to build a deeper understanding of the aspirations and opportunities of Indigenous learners, in concert with identifying the potential levers for system improvement, to promote Indigenous participation and achievement in higher education. This is a multi-site PAR project involving a combination of interviews, observational techniques, photography, critical reflections and case studies. Priority actions are community-identified and community-driven. Our PAR approach has indicated the importance of valuing local context and acknowledging complexity. The explorative and community-focused nature of the WCE initiative means that linear and phased research and evaluation approaches, such as the use of program logic, are not well suited to the contexts in which we are working. This instigated a need to find an evaluation model that would cater for complexity, contextual and cultural factors. Developmental evaluation fills this niche, and is emerging as a new and innovative approach that may suit Indigenous education research contexts. We argue that there are synergies between developmental evaluation and PAR, which include acknowledging complexity and uncertainty; appreciating change and improvement; valuing new or alternative knowledge systems (such as Indigenous knowledges); and listening to and respecting community viewpoints. We will draw on the research and evaluation data collected and analysed through the WCE initiative to illustrate these points. We argue that there is theoretical, conceptual and practical congruence between PAR and developmental evaluation approaches. We also suggest that this has significant utility for Indigenous education research contexts, particularly those that favour bottom-up community engagement approaches.

Genuine community engagement is heralded as an important process when engaging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in discussion about education. This has been repeatedly emphasised in numerous policy documents, particularly those relating to remote education contexts. Whilst it is broadly acknowledged that community engagement is best approached as a ‘bottom-up’ endeavour that is participatory and developmental in nature, there is relatively little information about what this looks and feels like in a practical sense. Evidence suggests that the physical, social, cultural, economic and political landscapes of remote Aboriginal communities differ markedly and that unique place-based approaches to community engagement are likely to work best. We argue that this understanding is important if community engagement practices are to be effectively implemented across the education continuum, including tertiary education settings. We also assert that community engagement practices that explicitly link early childhood, primary, secondary and tertiary education levels will better support improved education outcomes over the longer-term. This is important as each education sector is approaching the concept of community engagement in different ways. In this paper we draw on current academic scholarship, grey literature, government policies and reflections on recent experiences in education research to explain what is currently known about good practice approaches to remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community engagement. We will discuss the respective implications for future research and strategy development, particularly in relation to enhancing community engagement with remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities through tertiary education settings.

It is well documented that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are under-represented in Australian universities. This was highlighted in the Behrendt Review (2012) with a range of social, cultural, structural and political factors used to explain why. Importantly, this under-representation disproportionately affects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who live in regional and remote settings. A need exists for tertiary institutions to address this disparity by implementing strategies that better engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to identify and address their needs on their terms. Over the past two years, Charles Darwin University has been implementing the Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Programme (HEPPP) funded Whole of Community Engagement (WCE) initiative. This has involved working with six remote communities across the Northern Territory to enhance opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to pursue further education. Using a collaborative research approach campus-based and remote Aboriginal community-based staff have co-developed community action plans that clearly define the strategies and activities identified and prioritised by each community. This process has resulted in the development of numerous agreements with local Aboriginal community controlled organisations to strengthen a commitment towards further education, ultimately shifting the power of control to the community level and increasing self-determination. It has also supported a heightened awareness of, and interest in, opportunities to pursue tertiary education pathways within each community. In this presentation we will draw on progress against the community action plans to demonstrate outcomes achieved through the WCE initiative. We will also describe key lessons learned during the planning and implementation phases.

Social Network Analysis (SNA) is the methodical study of social networks. It is increasingly used in a range of interdisciplinary research contexts to examine the relationships between people, groups and organisations. The potential to use SNA for collaborative research projects is increasingly recognised, yet it has seldom been applied in projects set in remote Indigenous contexts, or in education research. We have commenced exploring this potential and will discuss how SNA has been applied through the Whole of Community Engagement (WCE) initiative at Charles Darwin University. This is a multi-site participatory action research project that uses a bottom-up community engagement approach with six remote Indigenous communities across the Northern Territory (NT). The primary aim is to build a deeper understanding of the aspirations of and opportunities for Indigenous learners. This is in concert with identifying potential levers for system improvement to promote Indigenous participation and achievement in higher education. We will explain the explorative process that has taken place to collectively identify the most appropriate and useful application of SNA within our research project. This includes intensive SNA training; consideration of ethical issues and the possibilities and limitations of SNA; data collection techniques to support SNA; and the identification of suitable SNA software (i.e. Gephi). We describe the methods used to map the diverse and emergent relationships developed between the WCE project team and individual people and organisations within the remote Indigenous community contexts. Using SNA diagrams we will show how relationships were mapped at the commencement of the WCE initiative community engagement process based on case studies from East Arnhem, West Arnhem and Central Australia regions of the NT. We will also draw on complementary qualitative research arising primarily from interview data and field notes to provide additional evidence about the nature and quality of these relationships and to show the benefit of combining SNA with other research methods. We argue that SNA used in conjunction with qualitative research methods can provide an important research tool to illustrate the growth and nature of relationships developed during a community engagement process associated with an Indigenous higher education program in the NT. We encourage other educational researchers to consider the utility of SNA, particularly within Indigenous research contexts.

Proving native title in southern Australia can be an arduous task. In some areas of south west Queensland, the country was almost entirely vacated of Aboriginal presence through the forced removal of entire families from camps on pastoral stations to government reserves. Aboriginal claimants often lament the ‘circus hoops’ they feel they are made to jump through in order to prove their connection to the land and waters they are claiming, to the very government that removed them in the first place. In this paper, I explore these issues of performance, authenticity, and (re) connection to country from the perspective of personal interactions between claimants, ‘the state’, and Queensland South Native Title Services staff made possible by a one-off meeting that occurred ‘on country’ as a final measure to convince the Queensland government of connection, and which eventually led to a consent determination.

Few studies have primarily addressed Indigenous girls’ experiences in contemporary boarding schools in Australia or Aotearoa New Zealand. In response, this research was developed in conjunction with Indigenous students attending boarding schools to look at their school experiences. Fifteen Aboriginal girls attending two non-Indigenous Australian boarding schools and ten girls from one Mãori boarding school were involved in this research. An Indigenous research method termed ‘photoyarn’ was developed as a method students could use to drive and control their own research, on their own experiences, using student photo-graphy, yarning and yarning circles. Underpinned and viewed through the lens of Martin’s (2008) relatedness theory, this research also drew on Indigenous methodologies centred on connectedness and relatedness, such as storywork. Photoyarn allowed participants to lead their own research in ways that many other methods could not, through participant-led data collection, analysis and dissemination.

Each year over 500 Indigenous students from Cape York in Far North Queensland and the communities of the Torres Strait leave their home communities to attend boarding school in a variety of locations in Queensland and interstate. A significant number of these students do not complete their first year of secondary education, let alone their Year 12 studies. For young people from the remote Indigenous community of Lockhart River, 800 kms north of Cairns on Cape York, the transition to boarding school is a fact of life when they complete Year 7. In 2015 the transition will occur at the end of Year 6. With this transition, Lockhart River mirrors remote Indigenous communities throughout Far North Queensland and remote regions in South Australia, Western Australian and the Northern Territory. Access for remote Indigenous students to comprehensive secondary education in major urban centres is a key element of government policy aimed at addressing significant disparities in education outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. Despite this, there is little recent research into the transition process and its effectiveness in ensuring the delivery of a quality secondary education. A review of the literature reveals that ‘little research has exclusively explored the experience for Aboriginal children of studying away from home at boarding school’ (Mander, 2012, p.9). The research described in this study uses qualitative methods, especially from a phenomenological orientation, to examine the transition from the perspective of the participants: students, parents and caregivers and school and support staff. Interviews and the analysis of relevant documents allow the research to ‘go inside’ the experience and provide detailed participant perspectives on the transition to boarding school. The research is conducted in a manner consistent with the requirements for working with Indigenous communities and is supported through the operation of an Indigenous advisory group. In all, the research works to engage the Lockhart River community and make an important contribution to the literature regarding participant perspectives on a transition process, the success of which is central to maximizing the opportunities for success for Indigenous students who must participate in secondary education well away from their home communities. In giving voice to a range of participants in the transition process , the research focuses on an area which has received little in the way of detailed analysis and scrutiny despite the importance of successful transitions in improving education and life chances for Indigenous children.

This paper examines the effectiveness of a professional learning model designed to support early years teachers to effectively teach mathematics to Indigenous students in, and from, remote and very remote communities in Queensland. All these schools are known to be educationally disadvantaged and to experience the poorest learning outcomes nationally. The situation is not improved by a revolving door of mostly inexperienced graduate teachers who are unprepared for the marked cultural, linguistic and social boundaries that exist between the majority Indigenous community and the predominantly non-Indigenous teaching community. A bank of pedagogical wisdom for non-Indigenous teachers to draw from rarely exists in these communities and access to professional development is often difficult due to the location. Low self-efficacy about their abilities to affect change in student learning can often result in teachers adopting a deficit model of teaching that further cements a cycle of student non-achievement. Effective PD is recognised globally as a key factor in shifting teachers' beliefs and attitudes about themselves and their students, on defining the goals they have for their students, which in turn influences their classroom practices. However, for change to be authentic and enduring a professional development model needs to be longer in duration and provide: extensive learning opportunities, frequent collaboration with an 'expert' in the field, regular opportunities to reflect on classroom practices and student learning, and ongoing classroom support. Data was collected from 35 teachers situated in 15 schools in the first stage of a large, four-year longitudinal study known as RoleM (Representations, oral language and engagement in Mathematics). The specific aims of RoleM are to (a) identify effective pedagogical practices that may assist young Indigenous Australian students to negotiate Western Mathematical understanding, and (b) investigate professional learning models that effectively provide the structure to support the needs and concerns of teachers within their situated context. The findings to date strongly indicate that teacher attitudes and beliefs can be transformed by a model of professional learning that enables teachers to experience repeated success in implementing a rigorous mathematics program and adopting a range of pedagogical practices. Improved student motivation, engagement and learning in mathematics, a result of changing pedagogical practices, increases teacher self-efficacy, and further enhances teacher confidence in their mathematical knowledge, teaching ability, pedagogical practices and understanding of students learning needs.

Since mining commenced in Australia, miners have continuously and repeatedly fallen off the wagon. With the prime focus being on commercial prosperity, many promises are made but few are kept. So what does it take now, in the 21st century, to stay on the wagon? In 2011 Western Desert Resources Limited (WDR), a small explorer, commenced its journey to development and production in late 2013 of its iron ore project in the remote Roper and Gulf of Carpentaria regions - in record time for a bulk commodity miner in Australia. Close by, other new mines are also beginning operations. The Northern Land Council (NLC) has negotiated new agreements for these mine and infrastructure developments, and is now focused on employment and training outcomes for local people to help these miners “stay on the wagon” and not revert to decades of repetitive history.

There is considerable uncertainty surrounding population estimates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians at both the aggregate and subregional levels. Given well-documented limitations of efforts to enumerate the existing population at a point in time, the task of projecting future populations is even more problematic, and currently no regular projections are produced below the state level. However, information on future trends in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations at more disaggregated geographical and demographic levels would be of enormous value for policy and planning. This is particularly so for remote Australia and the remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities for which there has been ongoing controversy about the provision of services and infrastructure and even their very ‘viability’. Policies, planning and funding models based on inaccurate assumptions of future populations are likely to lead to misallocation of resources and sub-optimal outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This paper sets out a proposed methodology for generating projections of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations in Outer regional and Remote Australia, down to the community (or ‘Indigenous Location’) level. Based on 2006 and 2011 Census data, projections for remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities for 2016 are presented by age group and gender, and the implications of those estimates for policy are discussed. These estimates should be considered experimental and are selected from a range of models under development. Release of 2016 Census data will enable validation of the different models and provide a panel dimension that can be used to substantially enhance modelling for generating 2021 projections and beyond.

The Cooperative Research Centre for Remote Economic Participation’s Remote Education Systems project is midway through a five year research program. The focus of the research has been firstly on understanding the nature of the problems encountered by the system and those living in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities as they grapple with how to achieve success for students. In the process of gathering data, the project team has challenged many of the assumptions underpinning the core of the education system. It has also considered how success, aspiration and educational advantage might be reconceptualised if the system was to take into account the voices of those who live in the expansive ‘red dirt’ of remote Australia. Internationally and in Australia, Indigenous academics have called for a shift in the power dynamics that inform what knowledge is valued in Australian schools. Over the last few decades, political policies and priorities have moved through a series of positions on the continuum of the knowledge interface, ranging from two (or both) way learning, the ‘anti-colonial’ knowledge position and more recently, a return to nationally uniform approaches to measuring student achievement and ‘success’. In the current period of federating teacher standards, curriculum and assessment tools, the nation’s attention has shifted away from prioritising how schools might amplify the intergenerational knowledge and values that exist in very remote communities in order to close the achievement gap that exists between very remote Aboriginal students and other Australians in relation to nationally uniform education outcomes. This paper brings together Aboriginal educators from the very remote contexts of Central Australia and poses the question ‘what do young people in very remote Aboriginal schools need to know and why?’ In proposing the concept of a ‘red dirt’ curriculum, we explore the perspectives of senior Aboriginal educators in relation to the knowledge contest that plays out in schools across the very remote regions of Australia. In doing so, we then propose some key considerations for remote educators, leaders and the systems they work in as we pursue quality education and the justice agenda.

Sam is currently conducting a series of interviews as part of his PhD research in tri-state remote communities in Central Australia. This paper examines the methodological challenges in privileging the voices and standpoints of senior community members in the critical conversation about education, young people and the future. Are the voices of senior community members ignored in the education conversation? Are they still relevant in a post-modern world almost unrecognisable to the world they were born into? Or is it simply a matter of remote educators and leaders not knowing how to ‘hear' these voices and take account of the experience, wisdom and potential they offer to the educational experience for Anangu students? This paper highlights key aspects of the methodological approach Sam is undertaking in his study and also explores some of the emerging issues and challenges that are posed from the data and the collection process. In doing so, it also raises discussion in regards to the challenges and the opportunities for Anangu standpoints in tri-state communities to inform educational leadership and the broader system to improve education outcomes for students.

This paper presents a number of key findings in a PhD thesis that critically and qualitative investigated the 2008 Northern Territory (NT) school language education policy, 'Compulsory Teaching in English For the First Four Hours of Each School Day’. This policy led to the sustained abandonment of bilingual education policy in the NT as well as the demise or severe compromise of the nine remaining bilingual education programs in remote Indigenous schools. The paper relates some of the critical discourse analysis (CDA) findings of the policy text and policy discourse in addition to the content analysis and CDA findings of interviews on two remote communities in relation to the effects of the policy. The community interviews involved methodology that included critical participatory ethnographic case study research in the field.Given the onus on Fairclough (1989) and Reisigl and Wodak’s (2009) Historical Discourse Analysis, the analysis has been informed by the works of Foucault, Bourdieu, and others. As such, it explores in the policy the influence of neoliberal globalization, the positioning and representation of Indigenous people and how these are related to the nation-state. The strong Indigenous ‘voice’ in the community texts also allows an Indigenous appraisal of key facets of NT education policy formation and implementation.

The term ‘community engagement’ has become common in governmental discourse across OECD countries including Australia. In the context of remote Aboriginal Australia there is a strong evidence base pointing to the importance of local community control and ownership for effective service delivery particularly in sectors such as health and wellbeing, land management, education and employment. Yet the term ‘community engagement’ means different things to different people with recognised tensions between communities, service providers and governments. A call for strengthening and building meaningful relationships which benefit Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples residing in remote areas continues to be heard and questions around how true and meaningful engagement is or does occur continue to be asked. Through drawing on qualitative data collected as part of the CRC for Remote Economic Participation Interplay Project, this paper helps to define what is meant by engagement in the context of ‘remote’ Aboriginal Australia. In particular, it draws attention to what it might mean for researchers to ‘engage’ in these spaces and what insights such experiences can provide in terms of service provider and governmental relationships with ‘community’.

The Cape York Aboriginal Australian Academy began operation as part of the government schooling system at two campuses in remote Aboriginal communities in Cape York (Coen and Aurukun) in 2010 as a three-year "pilot". In 2011, the Academy expanded its operations to the Hopevale Aboriginal community. The proposal for the Academy was developed by Cape York Partnerships (CYP), an organisation headed by Noel Pearson, a prominent Aboriginal activist. The Academy incorporates activities across three overlapping "domains": Class - the formal schooling component; Culture - Indigenous and non-Indigenous cultural knowledge; and Club - sporting, cultural, music and physical education activities. The Academy operates over an extended school day. It makes use of the controversial instructional strategy known as Direct Instruction. Unlike other public schools in Queensland the Academy has a "board" that oversees its operation. Implementation of the Academy pilot has been marked by a number of problems but also apparent successes. This year (2012) is notionally the final year of the Academy pilot. Additionally, significant funding to support the pilot was drawn from the Low SES Schools National Partnerships Program, which is due to conclude at the end of the 2012-13 financial year. It is therefore timely to consider what the evidence to date shows about the efficacy of this reform. While a framework for rigorously evaluating the Academy trial has been developed, there have been delays in implementing the evaluation process. It is possible, but unlikely, that some preliminary data will be available from the formal evaluation to inform this paper. The paper draws on the following sources: - Data provided by the Academy, CYP and the Queensland Department of Education, Training and Employment; - Literature reviews relating to Direct Instruction and Indigenous school reform; - Personal observations at the Academy in 2010 and 2011; - Meetings/interviews/discussions with staff at the Academy, DETE and CYP. A significant problem is expected to be the failure to complete the planned formal evaluation within the timelines of the three-year pilot. That said, it is possible to draw some tentative conclusions from the available evidence, which indicates: Literacy, numeracy, behaviour and perhaps attendance have improved; - Disputation about the efficacy of Direct Instruction is not likely to be resolved based on student performance data relating to the above areas; - Sorting through the relative contributions of other factors (e.g. additional funding, a high expectations approach, small classes) will be difficult; - Assessment of the Academy is likely to be coloured by one's position on Noel Pearson's wider Indigenous social policy agenda. In short, debate about the degree to which the Academy provides a model for Indigenous schooling reform will be ongoing

This working paper provides a focused review and discussion of literature, research and industry conversations pertaining to the use of native plants of inland central Australia, particularly those procured by Aboriginal people in remote drylands. It integrates key factors from bush foods plant business research with reference to complex systems theories used to (re)frame what we understand about the interrelationships of plants, knowledge and society in this arid region. The customary economic intersections stem from a small research project about the incorporation of customary practice and knowledge that is in everyday community use into social enterprise or other markets, value chains and systems of production. The paper seeks to integrate what we know through such research partnerships with Aboriginal custodians, harvesters and entrepreneurs with theories and policies relevant to the human geographic context of remote inland central Australia, and with a wider industry-focused literature related to horticultural development of agribusinesses. In addition, conversations with industry stakeholders reflect on the current policy discourse and its lack of reflection of remote inland central Australian networks, values and priorities in Australian Government northern development agendas. Formative findings from a research conference paper delivered at the Taiwan Austronesia 2016 conference: Community Economy, Market System and Transnational Trade Agreement (Lovell, 2016) reflect some questions and findings about current Aboriginal native plant use at an intersection with the health of people and the ecology of central Australia. Excerpts are included here, with further analysis towards incorporating central Australian native plants use, and their protection and value as assets of Aboriginal people and lands, into development scenarios based on ecological health and wellbeing outcomes. The public policy context and agenda are discussed in light of how they intersect and reflect the networks, agency and activity. This necessitates reframing the problem of a marginal remote inland that is associated with northern Australian development policy to include a functional remote and networked domain, albeit far away from the coastline-dominated discourse of Australian governments’ northern development agenda.

Building research capacity and achieving positive impacts in remote communities

Being there: Why is fly in fly out research failing remote Aboriginal Australians

Despite concerted effort and expenditure, improving the numeracy outcomes for Indigenous students particularly those in remote regions continues to be a major challenge. There are many factors that impact on the learning of Indigenous students in remote communities. For students, learning mathematics is a complex task when English is their second or third language. Other student factors involve attendance, transience and retention. In Western Australia, many teachers in remote Indigenous communities are new graduates, and as well as being inexperienced in teaching mathematics, they also have little experience being in a remote community with Indigenous people. Some larger schools may have numeracy specialist teachers who can provide mentoring and professional learning support. However in the smaller schools there is an often limited face-to-face professional learning opportunities. In 2010 seven schools in the Kimberley in Western Australia established the Fitzroy Valley Numeracy Project. The project aims to improve the numeracy outcomes of Indigenous students by developing a systematic and co-ordinated approach to teaching mathematics that can be sustained long-term, beyond staff turnovers, transfer of 'expert' teachers, or one-off funding arrangements. A study was commenced to examine the impact of the project on primary teachers' content-pedagogic knowledge and classroom practice. This paper is part of an ongoing larger study. It examines some data from an initial survey and a follow up survey after almost a year of implementation of the project. Twenty one teachers responded to the Initial Questionnaire, twelve teachers responded to the Follow Up Questionnaire, and of that number 8 responded to both. At the end of the year they seemed confident to select a mathematics focus, cater for the range of achievement in their classes, monitor student learning and use classroom management strategies. They seemed less confident in diagnosing student learning, making the mathematics focus of the lesson clear to their students and providing activities that engage their students. The results indicate that dealing with the literacy demands in the mathematics lesson needs more investigation.

This paper interrogates the knowledge reported in current international writing about inclusive education (IE) in regional and remote settings, with explicit reference to Australian considerations, including the emergent National Curriculum. It establishes the types of knowledge reported about IE in minority, marginalized and 'other' inclusive educational settings, and locates the absences of knowledge that the current literature indicates. Finally, future directions for research into IE in minority educational settings are proposed.

Skills for Life' is a strengths-based social and emotional learning program that aims to promote resilience, coping and problem-solving skills for Indigenous youth in remote communities. It has a focus on mental health, wellbeing and help-seeking and aims to help reduce risks of self-harm. It represents a synthesis of the best available evidence-informed research into teaching of social-emotional learning (SEL) in schools. 'Skills for Life' has been developed by a team of researchers at Menzies School of Health Research in Darwin, and is funded by an NHMRC grant (APP1076817). The program was piloted in 2015 in Maningrida, a coastal town West Arnhem Land, and is now being scaled up in a number of Northern Territory schools.Evidence-based resources to support social and emotional learning are now widely used in Australian schools. However to date, SEL materials have not been systematically adapted, much less explicitly designed, for Australian Indigenous youth in remote and very remote communities. An essential consideration in developing the 'Skills for Life' program was that in the target communities lifestyles and social relationships are largely shaped by traditional concepts of kinship and associated relational patterns and social-emotional competencies. In the pilot school, as in most remote settings, it was also necessary to cater for students with a wide range of literacy skills (in this case ranging from Year 3 to Year 9 equivalent).In this paper we discuss some of the measures we took to develop the content and pedagogical approach for Skills for Life in order to best engage with students’ cultural realities and preoccupations, and to match the materials to students’ literacy levels and proficiency in English. These measures included staging activities carefully to help students build language and abstract concepts, and developing short scripts to help teachers frame each activity in an intentional and explicit way. We also designed specific resources, such as cartoons that represent scenarios students can relate to, and that provide a narrative prompt for in-depth discussion.

Participation in vocational training is strong among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from remote communities. However, despite the high level of participation, completion rates for courses are very low—on average, about 90 per cent of participants drop out. High attrition rates are used to judge the system as inefficient. Training providers who operate in remote parts of Australia have become accustomed to high drop-out rates, but what would it take to turn an adult learning or training system in remote Australia around so that completion rates exceeded drop-out rates? And what would it take to make remote training programs more effective or transformative for trainees and communities?These are key questions posed by a research project funded by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research and conducted by a consortium of researchers from five jurisdictions. The researchers examined the questions by analysing data from five different training programs that were considered successful in terms of retention and employability outcomes. The answers to the question are multifaceted. One key finding was that delivery efficiency is not dependent on an employment outcome (that is there does not need to be a job at the end of training for it to be effective). Another key finding was that course completion is not the only factor contributing to potential benefit for training clients—some of our data suggests that cultural embeddedness of training is where benefit lies. A third key finding is that for some courses, it is employment that leads to training, not the other way around. This turns the notion of pathways to employment on its head.The purpose of the paper then is to problematize the notion of transformative adult education in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. To be transformative (for individuals at least) training systems do not need to be efficient (in terms of completion rates). However, an efficient system that is transformative we argue, is not necessarily the cheapest system—increasing efficiency may come at a price in order to make it effective. One important point of our discussion will be to consider who determines what transformation means and then how adult learning systems can accommodate the desired transformation.

Schools in very remote Australia, where the students are mainly Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders, are often characterised as failing or behind with intractable problems. The recent Northern Territory Review of Indigenous Education makes just that point: "These children, who have been the focus of improvement efforts for a decade and more, are still left irretrievably behind almost as soon as they start school" (Wilson, 2014, p. 11). A critical examination of that statement and several more like it, would show that ‘behind' is inevitably a judgement based on a set of assumptions and values that are not necessarily shared by those they talk about. But what do the students and families themselves say about their vision and expectations of their future, how they see success and how they view their experiences of school? This paper reports on the findings and implications emerging from an evaluation of 31 very remote Australian schools with 80+ per cent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander enrolment. It is based on a series of ‘Collegial Snapshots' conducted by Dare to Lead (a project of Principals Australia Institute) between 2009 and 2013. The Snapshots sought the perspectives of 672 participants as either school leaders, Aboriginal Assistants, classroom teachers, students or parents and carers. Analysis of the data looking through a lens of aspiration, success and school experience, carried out with the support of the Australian Council of Educational Research adds to the findings of the Cooperative Research Centre for Remote Economic Participation's Remote Education Systems project. The findings presented here, provide valuable insights into the perceptions of local people in remote communities and how they compare with the non-locals. Not surprisingly there are some marked differences in the way that locals and non-locals view their experiences and expectations of schools and their views about the future. The paper considers the implications for educators, school leaders and education systems as they grapple with the challenges of working with remote communities to get the best outcomes for students and families. In particular the diverging opinions point to a careful examination of the claims of disadvantage and who has the intractable problem.

The Cooperative Research Centre for Remote Economic Participation's Remote Education Systems project is midway through a five year research program. The focus of the research has been firstly on understanding the nature of the problems encountered by the system and those living in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities as they grapple with how to achieve success for students. In the process of gathering data, the project team has challenged many of the assumptions underpinning the core of the education system. It has also considered how success, aspiration and educational advantage might be reconceptualised if the system was to take into account the voices of those who live in the expansive ‘red dirt' of remote Australia. At this phase in our research, we are ready to put forward some tentative models that could pave the way for stakeholders to explore alternative forms and structures that better reflect the needs of students, their families and their communities. In this paper the authors present these models in the frame of a developing theory of educational engagement in remote Australia, based on a set of co-constructed philosophical assumptions that both build on mainstream aims of education (for example as expressed in the 2008 Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians) and at the same time reflect the realities of life in very remote Australia. The models are generated at the ‘cultural interface', situated in the ‘red dirt' of remote Australian communities. The models consider issues of governance, curriculum, reporting and pedagogy. The authors' intentions are not to provide definitive solutions, but rather options that can be debated and considered for practical use by the key stakeholders in very remote communities.

Schooling for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in remote or ‘Red Dirt’ (Guenther, Disbray and Osborne, 2016) communities has been cast as ‘problematic’, and ‘failing’. The solutions to deficit understandings of remote schooling are often presented as simple. But for those who work in red dirt schools, the solutions are not simple, and for education leaders positioned between the local ‘red dirt’ school and upward accountability (Rizvi & Lingard, 2010) to departments of education they are complex. Between 2011 and 2016, the Cooperative Research Centre for Remote Economic Participation’s (CRC-REP) Remote Education Systems project explored how education could better meet the needs of those living in remote communities. More than 1000 people with interests in remote education contributed to the research. Education leaders were identified as one stakeholder group. These leaders included school-based leaders, bureaucrats, community based leaders, and teacher educators preparing university graduates for ‘red dirt’ schools. This paper focuses on what ‘red dirt’ education leaders think is important for schooling. The findings show school leaders as ‘caught in the middle’ (Gonzales and Firestone, 2013) between expectations communities, and of system stakeholders who drive policy, funding, and accountability measures. The paper concludes with some implications for policy and practice that follow on from the findings.

The Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education emerged in the early 1970s in response to changes in government policies towards self-determination and self-management. These policies and the resulting structures that came from them, recognised the importance of Aboriginal teacher training. Since 1974 the Institute originally the Aboriginal Teacher Education Centre, then from 1979 Batchelor College, and from 1999 the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education) has had an important role to play building the skills and capacity of Aboriginal teachers and Teaching/Teacher Assistants across the Northern Territory and other parts of Australia. It has had a particularly strong role in the development of the remote teaching workforce, initially through its Remote Area Teacher Education (RATE) program from the early 1980s and then through the Deakin-Batchelor Aboriginal Teacher Education (D-BATE) program from 1986 (see Uibo, 1993 for a full discussion of the history). From 1990 Batchelor College was recognised as a Higher Education institution in its own right (Batchelor College, 1991) and progressively increased the offering of diploma and advanced diploma courses, but with a continued focus on education. Batchelor’s 43 year history is significant and the learnings that come from this history are important for consideration of the Review (Huijser et al., 2015). Scope of the submission: Our intention is to respond to issues of relevance to the Institute. In particular we will address the following issues: - Remote education and schooling for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce development for remote schools - Curriculum and pedagogical issues for remote schools - Strategies for building successful remote schools - Infrastructure and resourcing issues - Access to secondary schooling, boarding and its alternatives

Boarding schools for remote secondary Aboriginal learners in the Northern Territory: Smooth transition or rough ride?

The Remote Education Systems (RES) project within the Cooperative Research Centre for Remote Economic Participation (CRC-REP) has, over the last four years, gathered and analysed qualitative data directly from over 230 remote education stakeholders and from more than 700 others through surveys. The research was designed to answer four questions: (1) What is education for in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities?; (2) What defines ‘successful’ educational outcomes from the remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander standpoint?; (3) How does teaching need to change in order to achieve ‘success’ as defined by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander standpoint?; and (4) What would an effective education system in remote Australia look like? Based on this data, the paper reveals how perceptions differ for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from remote communities compared with people who come from elsewhere. The analysis points to the need for some alternative indicators of ‘success’ to match the aspirations of local people living in remote communities. It also points to the need for school and system responses that resonate with community expectations of education, and to develop narratives of aspiration and success alongside community views.

A lot of research in Australian schools, has focused on the important role that teachers play in educating students. Conversely, in the discourse about remote schools for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, the quality of teaching and teachers is often blamed for the relatively low academic outcomes students in remote community schools achieve. The remote teaching workforce is relatively young, inexperienced and staff turnover is relatively high. But what about the role that ancillary staff play in remote schools? Research from the Cooperative Research Centre for Remote Economic Participation’s Remote Education Systems (RES) project shows that ancillary staff including but not only assistant teachers (‘non-teaching staff’ on the My School website) play a vital role in facilitating children’s learning and mediating community and local cultural knowledge to teachers. The research also shows that they also act as a conduit for knowledge from the mainly non-local teachers to parents and the broader community. Beyond this, quantitative analysis of data from very remote schools with more than 80 per cent Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander students suggests that higher non-teacher to teacher ratios are associated with higher levels of attendance. Further, the analysis shows that higher proportions of non-teaching staff are associated with higher NAPLAN reading and numeracy scores, particularly for years 3 and 5. The paper offers some explanations for why this may be the case. Based on qualitative findings from the RES project it also suggests some workforce development responses that could further enhance a broader range of outcomes (beyond NAPLAN scores) for very remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

The education system, as experienced by remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Australia, presents considerable challenges. While 'the system' continues to apply considerable resources to remote schools, outcomes have not, for the most part, improved. Low enrolments and attendance are indicative of a mismatch between the real needs of community education and the resources needed to support it. It could be argued that rather than focusing on learning, the emphasis is on providing an education product that mirrors the classrooms of mainstream Australia, perhaps with the desks moved around to suit the remote context. There may be a tendency to place the blame for the system's failure on communities (for example by applying sanctions for non-attendance) without questioning what the real problem is. The Cooperative Research Centre for Remote Economic Participation (CRC-REP) in its Remote Education Systems (RES) project is trying to understand why this might be and is also attempting to identify local, community driven solutions to the 'problem' of remote education. The RES project is in the process of building its research program across five remote sites in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia. As the project begins, the researchers involved have begun to consider what the assumptions behind the 'system' in its current form(s), are. The paper begins with an outline of the context of remote education in Australia within a rapidly changing global environment. However, the purpose of the paper is to outline many of the assumptions built into remote education and to question their validity before suggesting some alternatives to these assumptions. The authors go on to imagine a different education system in remote communities where 'success' is measured and achieved in terms of the community's imagined future for its children and young people. There are of course risks associated with trying new things, but ultimately given the apparent failure of the remote education system-measured by its own indicators of success-the authors ask' 'do we really need those desks?'.

The latest national results for the National Assessment Program—Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) were released in December 2016 amid gloomy international comparisons and media messages that nothing has changed. Each year the story is more or less the same. Among the pessimistic reports and analyses, the failures of remote schooling are lamented even more. Teachers are blamed, parents are accused of not being interested in their children's education and the tests themselves are blamed for their inappropriateness for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. There is however, a different story. The story I tell in this paper uses NAPLAN data from the nine reports released since 2008. It shows that for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students from very remote Australia, overall trends are positive. My analysis shows, based on trends across all NAPLAN test domains, that the proportion of students from very remote Northern Territory achieving the national minimum standard has increased by 20 per cent since 2008. Nationally, the trend is similar, with an increase of 16 per cent. The paper argues against a short term, year by year review of NAPLAN results, instead suggesting a long term view of change, with less of a concern about 'gaps' between non-Indigenous and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander academic performance and more of a concern about change over time.

The term ‘red dirt thinking’ was coined by researchers who were part of the Cooperative Research Centre for Remote Economic Participation’s (CRC-REP) Remote Education Systems (RES) project. The researchers, who were particularly interested in remote schools asked: “What would education look like if it was grounded in the red dirt context of remote parts of Australia?”. Red dirt is a powerful metaphor that reflects the landscapes of most parts of remote Australia and captures something about the wide open possibilities of thinking from within the places where many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people live. Red dirt thinking: challenges the assumptions that underpin system thinking as it is often applied to remote Australia; encourages those who live in remote Australia to have a voice and be heard; and it demands respectful engagement between non-Indigenous and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, such that local ways of being, knowing, believing and valuing are intrinsically valued. Red dirt thinking challenges generalised notions of deficit and disadvantage while supporting strengths and aspirations of those who live in red dirt communities. How might red dirt thinking be applied to adult learning in the Northern Territory? In the first instance, it is important to understand where current strategic policy comes from. What philosophical and theoretical bases do policies designed to facilitate adult learning (including training) have? How well do they work (or not work)? What does aspiration and success look like from and adult learning or vocational training perspective in remote communities? How would systems measure these and what outcomes would we expect if we applied red dirt thinking to adult learning? What structures would be required to facilitate these contextually responsive outcomes? There are lots of questions in this, but the clues to answers to these questions are already available as we look back at the successes and failures of policies and interventions from the past. Further, as we take time hear the voices of remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adult learning stakeholders, the answers will no doubt become very clear, as they were for the RES project

According to national reports on student outcomes, remoteness influences students’ ability to succeed at school. That is, the more remote students are, the more likely they will not succeed. While this holds true for the entire population, it is more noticeable for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. Many education stakeholders have conspired for a long time to improve remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student outcomes. The results of these attempts is a set of strategies, programs and interventions that are designed to inspire students to lift their aspirations. It would seem, based on the publicly available data, that despite the effort applied, little has changed in remote community schools over the last seven years. One reason for this, according to data from the Cooperative Research Centre for Remote Economic Participation’s Remote Education Systems (RES) project, is that the strength of local views about what an education should be for, may have been underestimated or not understood by remote education strategy designers. Similarly, how students are inspired in remote community schools may not have been taken into account. Drawing on four years of RES research, this paper will firstly unpack what aspiration and inspiration look like from remote community perspectives. Secondly it will consider the impact of system-wide strategies on remote communities. Finally, the paper will consider how repositioning education in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, not as an issue of geographic remoteness, but as one of cultural distance, might help better shape a system-wide response in the future.

FAST (Families And Schools Together) is an eight-week, early intervention/prevention program, designed to strengthen family functioning and so build protective factors in children. The program targets the whole family and participation is strictly voluntary. It is conducted in the context of a local school. The core of the program involves eight weekly multi-family meetings usually held in the school during which positive interactional experiences for families are structured and facilitated by a collaborative leadership team. The collaborative team consists of at least four members: a parent partner, a school partner, a community-based agency partner, and a community-based partner. A two day FAST training program for team members allows for checking of activities against local cultural practices, and for planning the first night’s program. The training is beneficial to the team members, as it sets them up for the eight week implementation of the program. Once they have completed the eight week process and have participated in evaluation, team members receive certification and accreditation as FAST team members. Once the team experiences a successful program, the confidence of the team members is raised. In particular, parent partners are brought to a level where they gain an interest to pursue further endeavours. In 2010, FAST conducted its first program in Tasmania. Negotiations began with a number of schools in the Burnie area early in the year (and it was originally considered that the program could run in more than one school) but ultimately negotiations with Havenview Primary School were successful. The program commenced in October and was completed in November. Nine families participated in the program and all completed the program. Team training was carried out on two occasions through the year. A number of team members who completed the first training were not able to continue in the role. Therefore a second session was arranged to allow for a full complement of trained team members. The team consisted of two parent partners, two representatives from Centacare, a teacher from Havenview Primary School, a representative from the Salvation Army (who auspiced the program) and a representative from Anglicare Tasmania plus the coordinator, who was also employed by The Salvation Army. This report summarises the findings of an evaluation of FAST at the Havenview site, based on team member perspectives. The evaluation was built around qualitative methodologies and was designed to be formative and developmental. The intention is to use the findings to improve practice for future iterations of the program. It is a site-specific evaluation and does not attempt to draw conclusions beyond its immediate geographical context

This paper explores the meaning of effectiveness as it relates to vocational educationand training outcomes. The findings presented are based on research being conducted into theways that education and training can be applied to tropical savanna communities for better regional planning and management. The paper explores some of the issues related to definitionsof effective training delivery before presenting findings from the research, with a particular focus on the tourism/hospitality industry. It is suggested that three foundational building blocksshould be understood before aspects of training delivery are considered in order to makeeducation and training effective: the identification of a need for training; the presence of amotivator for training; and the presence of enablers to resource training. It is argued that skillsshortages in themselves are not sufficient to ensure that training programs will be effective.

Money, culture and financial wellbeing in remote Indigenous Australia

This presentation reports the evolvement of Sharing Place, Learning Together (SPLT), an integrated, inquiry-based education project involving an interdisciplinary team at the University of Melbourne and Maningrida College, a remote community school in north-east Arnhem Land. The project commenced in 2010 with funding from an anonymous donation to support Indigenous health-related activity. It collaborates across the faculties of medicine and education, recognising education as a critical social health and wellbeing determinant. The SPLT project aims to support the development of multimodal scientific and literacy skills of remote Aboriginal students through knowledge exchange, and to deepen both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal student understanding of Australia’s biodiversity and natural resource management. This participatory, school based project aligns with Maningrida College’s operational plan that seeks to increase school attendance and halve the gap in reading and writing achievement for Indigenous students within a decade. Central to the fulfilment of this plan is the College’s Learning on Country program grounded in place-based pedagogy where learning and communication are structured around what is most meaningful to the students – their places, their culture, their experiences (Gruenewald, 2003). The SPLT project is premised on learning being two ways, a meeting of Indigenous and Western knowledge and communicative capacities. Consideration of student engagement levels with multimodal practices, and their capacity to produce their own creative literacies (Kral, 2009) shaped interventions planned by the UoM team with the school community. The project built on the ‘eight ways’ model of Aboriginal learning developed by DET staff, James Cook University’s School of Indigenous Studies and the Western New South Wales Regional Aboriginal Education Team. This model informed holistic, relationally responsive practices to working with the community that were mindful of people, land, culture, language, roles, responsibilities, spirit and the relationships between them. This presentation details the capacity and partnership building between the UoM Team and the Maningrida College Community over the project’s duration (2010-2013). The planned learning experiences that emerged from ‘on country’ visits are described, including a pocket book series (First Aid, Catch ‘n’ Cook, Animal Tracks and Bush Tucker), a student website and a student visit to Melbourne focusing on science-based activities. The presentation concludes with a discussion of how the project has embraced a pedagogy of responsibility (Martusewicz & Edmundson, 2005) engaging with questions of diversity, democracy and sustainability, which has shaped the team’s current research focus on partnership formation.

Challenging current understandings about the introduction of gambling to remote Aboriginal communities in Northern Australia

This presentation explores issues related to early childhood workforce development in remote Indigenous services in the NT. Issues include the importance of developing inclusive concepts of quality and mutual mentoring processes for managing power relations and cultivating intercultural understanding amongst Indigenous and non-Indigenous staff in remote services. Each of these issues impacts significantly on service sustainability, quality, community use and development. Early childhood services in remote Indigenous communities are receiving significant attention under the impetus created by new government initiatives designed to ensure high quality for young children's development and care. One of these includes a requirement to employ 4-year university trained early childhood teachers in early childhood services serving 4 year olds. Recruiting qualified staff in remote schools is difficult, let alone finding such staff for children's services where conditions of employment are far less appealing. When recruits can be found, they usually enter the service as the director and/or mentor to local staff. As non-Indigenous staff members, these individuals are likely to find themselves in a profoundly unfamiliar situation where their cultural values, views and expertise are not necessarily accepted or understood. Given the many other challenges of living remotely, it is not surprising that many of these recruits do not last. What is often not recognised is that there already exists a strong and remarkably tenacious local Indigenous early childhood workforce in many remote communities. However, with a few exceptions, they hold no formal qualifications in early childhood. Support for negotiating cultural expectations around what quality means and what qualifications a person must possess to ensure quality, from both Indigenous and non-Indigenous perspectives, may be the key to staff retention and quality service development. The consequences of frequent staff turnover include a lack of continuity in the direction and focus of the service, fluctuations in the levels of quality and significant variation in the degree to which the families will use the service, depending on their confidence, trust and belief that the service is being run properly and in the best interests of their children. In order to develop a sustainable local workforce and increase service quality, it is critical that workforce issues are addressed appropriately. The starting point is a better understanding of the intercultural dynamics that operate in early childhood workforce development in remote NT.

The presentation aims to generate new understandings for effective teacher education around the notion of ‘building belonging' of non-Indigenous teachers to their professional identities in remote Indigenous schools and communities in Australia. Increasing mobility of teachers, internationalisation polices in higher education and a globalised knowledge economy is shaping teacher education courses in Australia in distinctive ways. These trends translate into opportunities for pre-service teachers to undertake professional learning placements beyond their local community in overseas and interstate locations. The research is located in the experiences of non-Indigenous pre-service teachers (PSTs) who undertook a professional learning placement in remote Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory in 2012. Using understandings of place based pedagogies and professional identities, this paper explores the knowledge, skills and experiences the PST take from this professional learning placement. The experience provided PST with opportunities to disrupt and transform their understandings of history, culture, race, curriculum and knowledge that were highly valued by the PST as they build belonging to the teacher profession.

In Australia, Government agencies and not-for-profit organisations have had long involvement in the funding and provision of community disability services. Significant change has occurred over the past decade in the way funds are expended with marketplace mechanisms becoming increasingly prevalent. In 2013, a new national policy, the National Disability Insurance Scheme ( NDIS) was introduced. Under the new policy, people with a disability who may the most complex needs, such as Indigenous children living in rural and remote areas may be disadvantaged if a market is not created that encourages organisations to offer services to meet their needs. This project invesitgates the impact of the new funding model on levels of awareness, access and ultilisation, and issues experienced by families of Indigenous children with disabilities in rural and remote areas. The following research questions guided the study: How do Indigenous families conceptualise disabiliites in different communities and cultures? Do barriers exist to the utilisation of specialist services ? What is the preferred model of services? How can other ways of knowing and community values such as Aboriginal extended family relationships be incorporated into service delivery? The research participants were Indigenous families with children with disabilities in rural and remote areas of New South Wales and Queensland. The research methodology was qualitative and consisted of interviews and focus groups with Indigenous participants . The data will provide authentic rich information and lead to the development of culturally relevant protocols, strategies and resources for services for Indigenous families.

The Remote Education Systems project within the Cooperative Research Centre for Remote Economic Participation has gathered and analysed qualitative data directly from over 230 remote education stakeholders and from more than 700 others through surveys over the last four years. Four research questions guided the study: 1) What is education for in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities?; 2) What defines ‘successful’ educational outcomes from the remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander standpoint?; 3) How should teaching and learning look to achieve ‘success’ as defined by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander standpoint?; and 4) What would an effective education system in remote Australia look like? This paper reports findings that identify teacher qualities important from the perspective of remote community members and local teaching staff. Dominant themes have that emerged include community relationships, support for home language and culture, cultural safety, safety and well-being, and English as a second language pedagogy. The analysis relates these themes to system responses for remote education contexts and the mechanisms for such responses. These include policy for teacher standards, recruitment, orientation and in-servicing at level of the teacher, and school-wide practice, and resourcing at the level of schools. The paper explores the notion of a quality teacher for the remote context. It proposes policy and practice that allow systems to meet these aspirations. A key means is through recognition of remote education as a specialist area of teaching and the provision of targeted professional learning, at pre-service and induction, and in on-going learning. The second is through ways that schools respond to aspirations on the ground through the active involvement of community members in education settings.

Current national discourse presents a consensus on the importance of recognising, celebrating and maintaining Australia’s Indigenous languages as a national agenda (Australian Government, 2013), yet Indigenous languages do not enjoy a clear role in education policy (Disbray, 2015; Truscott & Malcolm, 2010). On the ground, in Northern Territory remote locations, where traditional and contemporary Indigenous languages are widely spoken, educators and community members work to develop the bilingual resources of young people in the spaces that remain, spaces or opportunities described in this paper as ‘affordances’ (Aronin & Singleton, 2012). This paper looks at language and culture learning ‘affordances’ which take place in in and out of school learning settings. In a handful of schools, language and culture teaching and learning takes place through bilingual education programs, as developed in the 1970’s. In others, Indigenous language and Culture (ILC) programs operate, with one or more classes within a school. However, in classrooms, in interactions between students and Indigenous teachers, speakers draw on their linguistic repertoires in emergent ways, in practices termed translanguaging in the ethnographic education literature (García & Wei, 2014), providing a rich affordance for language use and learning. Finally, country visits and cultural events, trips with local Ranger groups and other partnerships provide collaborations for teaching and learning. The burgeoning domains of digital technology, cultural and land management embrace and enhance local knowledge, and intergenerational learning opportunities. Such projects are increasingly linking with schools, through learning on country and cultural heritage and language projects. Here, educators and community members are creating and taking up spaces that allow innovative language and cultural teaching and learning. This paper analyses these bottom-up responses to policy (Canagarajah, 2005; McCarty, 2011; Schiffman, 2006; Shohamy, 2006) in a framework drawn from a theory of affordances (Aronin & Singleton, 2012) to explore and propose means to build on new approaches and partnerships for multilingual learning in remote Indigenous contexts.

Background: Indigenous Australians suffer a disproportionate burden of end stage kidney disease (ESKD) but are significantly less likely to receive a transplant. This study explores Indigenous ESKD patients’ views on transplantation as a treatment option. Methods: The Improving Access to Kidney Transplants (IMPAKT) research program investigated barriers to kidney transplantation for Indigenous Australians. An interview study, conducted in 2005–2006, elicited illness experience narratives from 146 Indigenous patients, including views on transplant. Interviews were conducted at 26 sites that collectively treat the majority of Indigenous ESKD patients. Key themes were identified via team consensus meetings, providing a flexible framework and focus for continued coding. Results: Four inter-related themes were identified in patient commentary: a very high level (90% of respondents) of positive interest in transplantation; patients experienced a range of communication difficulties and felt uninformed about transplant; family involvement in decision-making was constrained by inadequate information; and patients needed to negotiate cultural and social sensitivities around transplantation. Conclusions: Indigenous ESKD patients demonstrated an intense interest in transplantation preferring deceased over living kidney donation. Patients believe transplant is the path most likely to support the re-establishment of their ‘normal’ family life. Patients described themselves as poorly informed; most had only a rudimentary knowledge of the notion of transplant but no understanding of eligibility criteria, the transplant procedure and associated risks. Patients experienced multiple communication barriers that - taken together - undermine their engagement in treatment decision-making. Families and communities are disempowered because they also lack information to reach a shared understanding of transplantation. Cultural sensitivities associated with transplantation were described but these did not appear to constrain patients in making choices about their own health. Transplant units and local treatment providers should collaborate to develop user-friendly, culturally informed and region-specific patient education programs. Quality improvement cycles should underpin the development of national guidelines for patient education. Noting Indigenous patients’ intense interest in transplantation, and nephrologists’ concerns regarding poor transplant outcomes, research should prioritise exploring the predictors of transplant outcomes for Indigenous Australians.

In the current Australian higher education context, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students continue to be significantly under-represented (Behrendt, Larkin, Griew & Kelly, 2012; Pechenkina, 2015). They are particularly and seriously under-represented in business education compared to other disciplines, and compared to non-Indigenous students. Little research has been undertaken on encouraging the study of business subjects to improve the uptake of higher education in business courses and consequential careers in business (Dang, Vitartas, Ambrose & Millar, 2016). An understanding of why the majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people do not choose to study business at tertiary level is fundamental to improving the status quo.Against this backdrop, this paper presents the findings from a systematic review of the literature to identify key barriers to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation and engagement in business education. The review reveals that the barriers range from financial issues, lack of university readiness to issues involving living in remote communities. Deep seated barriers to participation and engagement at university are related to cultural issues in the hidden curriculum dominated by Western practices and knowledge systems, a lack of cultural safety in higher education institutions and complex issues involving educational pathways. With regard to business education, a discipline with seriously low participation by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, further barriers specific to business as a profession and business as an academic discipline increase the burden. Identifying these barriers helped to create a framework of interrelated elements shaping Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation and engagement in business education. These interrelated elements include geographic and demographic factors, financial and economic factors, curricular and pedagogical factors, sociocultural factors, and socio-political historical factors. The framework graphically depicts areas required for policy consideration and to guide further research in the area.The paper then discusses the major current strategies of Australian educational institutions to increase participation and engagement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. Drawing on the review of the barriers and current strategies, the paper concludes with recommendations for higher education institutional policy to further improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation and engagement in business studies.

For early career teachers, the first months of teaching is a time of enormous excitement and also high anxiety. These early teaching experiences are critical as they influence early career teachers professional efficacy, job satisfaction, career length and future teaching quality (Day & Gu, 2010). Exploring ways to support and retain high quality graduates continues to be an ongoing concern for the Australian teaching profession in general, and particularly for the rural and remote schools that are often their first places of employment. Recent research indicates that early career teachers require ongoing support as they develop confidence in their own professional practice (Crosswell & Beutel, 2013) but more importantly, as they negotiate their emerging teacher identities (Morrison, 2012). This paper outlines the design of an innovative project that is exploring the professional identity formation and resilience of early career teachers. These teachers have been part of a targeted pre-service program to prepare them for rural and remote teaching. A previous paper reported on how QUT and Education Queensland have worked together with a cohort of pre-service teachers to illuminate challenges associated with early career teaching in rural and remote settings and better prepare them for it (see Willis et. al, 2012). This project has evolved to include research aimed at capturing the unfolding and formative experiences of these teachers by asking: What social and individual practices enhance early career teacher resilience and identity formation in rural and remote settings? The project called Becoming Colleagues honours the voices and experiences of early career teachers. From their first week of teaching in 2013 we have been gathering the perspectives and listening to the stories of seven beginning teachers. Five of these teachers have also been involved as co-researchers throughout research design and implementation. This paper will give an overview of the project purpose, design and progress and report on the emerging findings in relation to the negotiation of emerging teacher identify and resilience. Implications of this project include enhanced understandings of what individual and contextual factors promote early career teacher resilience and identity formation that is productive and enduring. These outcomes will contribute to how we prepare future pre-service teachers, how the profession builds capacity in rural and remote school districts and across the workforce generally.

The Northern Territory Government established an Office or Aboriginal Affairs in 2015, tasked with fostering economic development and job opportunities for Aboriginal communities. The Office of Aboriginal Affairs (OAA) guides and coordinates Aboriginal affairs through innovative policy development and supports Aboriginal Territorians to participate in the economy, while maintaining their links to their lands, language and culture. The OAA provides an integrated and coordinated approach to service delivery, program and policy development and supports Aboriginal Territorians to participate in the economy, while maintaining their links to their lands, language and culture. The OAA provides an integrated and coordinated approach to service delivery, program and policy development. This is in partnership with Aboriginal people, businesses, government and non-government organisations. The key priorities for the OAA include: - implementation of a Northern Territory Aboriginal Affairs Strategy - promoting the Remote Contracting Policy - managing a Grants Program, the Remote Aboriginal Economic Development Fund - managing the First Circles Engagement Group, made up of 26 Indigenous community representatives Chief Executive Mike Chiodo will present on the OAA and their key policy, the NT Aboriginal Affairs Strategy and outline the cross-government approach, targets, challenges and successes to date.

High prevalence of preventable chronic and infectious diseases in the Indigenous population is a major public health concern. Existing research has rarely examined the role of built environmental factors in relation to remote Indigenous health. This study engaged stakeholders to examine their perceptions of built environmental factors in relation to the development of chronic and infectious diseases in remote Northern Territory communities. Built environmental indicators (n=1,120) were consolidated from publicly available community and regional planning documents. Representatives from the Indigenous and non-Indigenous public and environmental health workforce were engaged to further consolidate, sort and rate a final set of indicators (n=84) based on their experiences working in remote communities. The indicators and perceived importance ratings were displayed using concept maps, outlining 9 built environmental domains. ‘Facilities for health/safety’ and ‘essential services’ were the highest ranked domains in mean importance ratings for both chronic and infectious disease. Within these domains, adequate housing, housing infrastructure maintenance, water supply, storm water and drainage system, access to health services, reliable sewerage system and power infrastructure were identified as the most important contributors to the development of these diseases. These results can inform public health planning efforts to improve living conditions in remote Indigenous communities.

Engagement keynote address: A proven methodology to solicit the views of people living in remote Australia

Panel presentation: Evidence and wellbeing (the Interplay Wellbeing Framework: Building the evidence on pathways to wellbeing with community indicators from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in remote Australia)

One of the key challenges for education in Northern Australia is attracting and recruiting teachers who can respond to the challenges of the region at the start of their careers through a pre-service professional experience in the region. For pre-service teacher education students in regional locations such as the Northern Territory these challenges include coping with the distance and isolation, the diverse and profound learning needs of students and the dynamic schooling environments with high staff and student turnover. In response to these challenges there are initiatives to improve teacher quality and promote remote and regional areas as options for study to employment pathways. These initiatives have to be able to provide adequate mentoring and support to students in such a challenging environment and respond to newly developed professional standards. This paper describes and discusses the Teaching Schools Partnership, developed in 2006, involving teacher employing authorities in the Northern Territory and Charles Darwin University to provide professional experience. Utilising Wenger and Lave's notion of 'Communities of Practice' as a theoretical framework this paper analyses the challenges of offering professional experience in a regional setting in a pre-service teacher education partnership. The partnership has in particular, mutual engagement and joint enterprise of both parties. The paper will explore the following questions. · What benefits do Teaching Schools bring to the partners? · How is Teaching Schools to be sustained in the context of change? · What features of the communities of practice are evident in Teaching Schools and how do they promote professional experience in remote northern Australia? · How do participating schools and their teaching staff benefit from being a partner in Teaching Schools? In answering these questions, the paper briefly describe the efforts of the partnership that looks beyond the conventional constraints of university and school-based placements requirements and explore what has worked to develop effective and sustainable practices. The paper will outline the current theoretical and conceptual principles and the framework of the Teaching Schools Partnership and describe practices that have made this collaborative successful between communities, schools and universities. Close examination of this partnership reveals a current need to extend the present strategic outlook and potentially engage at a broader scale with increased focus on community.

Transformation of Australian education is occurring at a rapid rate through the implementation of a number of initiatives. These initiatives include the Digital Education Revolution, the move to a National Curriculum and the implementation of a National Framework for Professional Standards for Teachers and Principals. As these initiatives are rolled out to schools across Australia, the equitable access to professional learning to support all teachers, regardless of their geographical location, is in question. A number of studies have been conducted in Australia that highlight the importance of professional learning and the difficulty faced by regional and remote teachers with regard to access (Gerard Daniels, 2007; Lyons, Cooksey, Panizzon, Parnell & Pegg, 2006; Ministerial Review of Schooling, 1994; Rural and Remote Education Advisory Council, 2000; Vinson, 2002). Along with access to professional learning, has been the discussion of effective modes of delivery. Face to face professional learning, in regional and metropolitan areas, is offered in isolation, or in some cases, is complimented with virtual learning environments. The need for a more sustainable approach to professional learning is highly necessary. A mixed method research approach was utilised in order to answer the primary research question 'In what ways might technology be used to support professional learning of regional and remote teachers in Western Australia?' This research paper outlines the findings from the study including the significance of travel time; impact of limited relief teachers; implications for promotion and teacher registration; professional learning communities being valued but often limited by small staff numbers; professional learning conducted in the local context being preferred; professional learning established at the teacher and school level being desirable; teachers being confident in using technology and accessing PD online if required; and social cohesiveness being valued and often limited by isolation. Further, this research has culminated in the development of a 'model of rethinking connectedness' that would facilitate improving the amount and variety of professional learning available to regional and remote teachers.

Remote Australia remains a complex educational environment. Boarding schools in regional or metropolitan areas have long been an option that provides remote students with access to opportunities available in a mainstream setting. Recently, media and policy focus on Indigenous boarding programs has increased dramatically, yet research on the impact and experience of boarding school on remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island students, families and communities is scarce. Schools that employ models of shared governance between the school (principals, teachers, students), the community (parents, Elders, wider community), and others (education department personnel and researchers) result in improved outcomes for Indigenous students both in Australia and internationally. Previous research has highlighted the need to understand how Indigenous parents and communities in remote Australia can remain involved with their children’s schooling despite the constraints of (often vast) geographical distance. Furthermore, understanding students’ background and cultural context is beneficial for educators, especially due to the stark contrast in environment between remote communities and metropolitan areas. This paper presents findings from the author’s broader doctoral research on boarding school experiences, expectations, and outcomes, based on an Aboriginal Residential program in South Australia. It aims to understand the ways in which the program communicates and interacts with the families and communities of students. Thematic analysis of qualitative, semi-structured interviews with staff and parents involved with the program suggests that successful strategies are currently in place to bridge the gap between community and boarding life, however more visits by staff to community, increased cultural awareness training, and further involvement of family in the program may be integrated to improve these connections. By including the perspectives of staff and family, this paper contributes valuable insight to the broader impacts and practical implications of the boarding school model in the context of remote education. Insight from those most closely affected by boarding is valuable and necessary to inform future policy and practice.