Remote Australia Online

In an era of metrification and managerialism there is widespread acceptance that a lack of Aboriginal wellbeing reflects a culture of welfare dependency. But Indigenous wellbeing is more complex than simple equations suggesting ?getting off welfare? will achieve betterment. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to issues of Indigenous disadvantage. Social work literature establishes that moral, social, and political aspects of working the social are in tension with technical and rational aspects. This paper draws on Charles Wright Mills's concept of the ?sociological imagination? to render an historical, social-structural, and biographical account of addressing wellbeing within West Australian Kimberley Aboriginal communities since the 1970s. Highlighting the actualities of community as shaped by time, place, and interaction, an argument is made for developing a social work imagination that researches ?what is happening here? through ethnographic approaches that consider the intersectioning of history, biographies, and social systems. Without such local knowledge and engagement, effective social policy cannot be enacted from the centre.

This article explores a contemporary politics of recognition as it relates to Ngarinyin Aboriginal people of the Northern Kimberley region of Western Australia. I focus on the reflections and experiences of a Ngarinyin man, ‘the Alchemist’, who was involved in a native title claim across the region during the 2000s. Through ethnographic examples drawn from along the Gibb River Road, I show that time on country is animated by unexpected encounters imbued with interpersonal recognition and indeterminacy. These encounters involve non-Aboriginal people (including tourists) and non-human animals: allies who are co-opted at a time when people's intimate knowledge of country is becoming further attenuated. This article contributes to a growing literature on Aboriginal people's perceptions of and experiences in country in post-native title contexts.

To date, modernist thinking has dominated the interdisciplinary field of intellectual inquiry engaged with utopia and utopianism. In this article, I argue that in order to fully engage with the possibility of different utopias emerging in the early decades of the 21st century, we have to be prepared to decolonise the premise on which utopian imaginings are conventionally based. Drawing on the Northern Territory Intervention as the latest iteration of ongoing utopian aspirations by white Australians on behalf of indigenous peoples, I call for the pluralising and indigenising of utopian imaginaries. This entails, I go on to suggest, the recognition that non-Western constructions of what can be imagined as a better future are valid and legitimate. Moreover, in some instances these alternatives may even provide us with some instructive visions of our collective futures.

This thesis investigates the linguistic and cultural resources that eight Indigenous children draw on when they pursue affiliative and disaffiliative actions in talk with peers. These children are L1 speakers of Murrinhpatha, a traditional Australian language spoken in and around the remote Aboriginal community of Wadeye, in the north of Australia. Just as the linguistic context these children are growing up in is unique, so is their sociocultural context. While increasingly informed by Western culture, Murrinhpatha speaking society at Wadeye is still to a large degree organised around traditional Aboriginal identity categories, involving connections to ‘country’ and ‘totem’, as well as more universal categories such as gender. Communicative exchanges between children are thought to be highly revealing of their linguistic and socio-pragmatic abilities. Peer talk is also viewed as a site in which children’s understandings of the world play out. This is particularly true when category terms are employed in spoken interactions. Categories are held to index local common-sense knowledge about ‘types’ of people or personae and how they behave. In any given interaction, the category term an individual selects, and the action they pursue with it, offers a window onto that speaker’s sociocultural world, as does the way in which their interlocutor responds to its use. By investigating children’s productions of category terms in interactions with peers, not only are children’s linguistic capabilities illuminated but also aspects of their cultural understandings. The data drawn on in this study is spontaneously occurring speech, which was recorded at four regularly spaced intervals over 21 months, resulting in a corpus of child speech spanning the ages of 2;10 to 7;2 years. The data was analysed using Membership Categorisation Analysis (MCA), and was done so to produce a broad description of how the cohort uses categories when pursuing affiliative and disaffiliative actions with peers at different ages. This study is one of the very few on Indigenous children’s interactions, and the first to apply MCA. It also appears to be the first MCA study to investigate the use of social categories which do not exist in the Western world. The application of MCA in this thesis is also novel in terms of the scope of its analysis and its descriptive aims. A secondary goal for this study was to maximise comparability with existing studies on children’s talk, a task that, owing to the specific nature of interactional analyses, is often a challenge. While this study does not focus on children’s individual development, findings appear to indicate certain age-related uses of categories in talk. The use of categories by the cohort suggest that from 3 to 6 years of age children move from a focus on themselves as individuals, to experimenting with categories and the interactional clout they can afford, to operating as a member of the broader social group, using categories predominantly to maintain the local moral order. Comparisons with descriptions of children from other linguistic and cultural backgrounds reveal numerous similarities and differences in terms of the selection and application of categories. For example, Aboriginal categories of land appear to be used by some of the Murrinhpatha speaking children in a similar way to notions of friendship by children in Western societies. Through the analysis of children’s use of categories, this study reveals these Murrinhpatha speaking children to be at once ‘just’ children as well as children from a highly specific cultural and linguistic context, and impresses the need to examine language in relation to a speaker’s sociocultural environment.

A focus on prevention of FASD by: » continuing to maximise public awareness and increase health literacy of the risks of consuming alcohol during pregnancy » ensuring our health and human services workforce are aware of their roles in preventing FASD and provide the same clear and consistent key messages » ensuring that adolescents and women of childbearing age, and their partners, have adequate access to sexual health information, reliable and affordable contraceptives, and pregnancy support services » ensuring that treatment for alcohol misuse is available and accessible to all women and that women who are high risk alcohol users are being referred to treatment providers, including through proactive outreach methods » ensuring that wrap around services are mobilised to understand the risk factors, and address the social determinants of health for women who are high risk alcohol users » strengthening models to attract and support pregnant women in treatment services and providing follow up and after care services following periods of residential treatment » continuing to support programs that build healthy and strong families and providing parenting advice and support to new parents. A focus on assessment of children for neurodevelopmental disorders by: » improving the ability of families and communities to recognise and respond to neurodevelopmental impairment » increasing early intervention and the number of children assessed by a multidisciplinary team for neurodevelopmental disorders early in life » upskilling workers in Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services in targeted regions to coordinate awareness raising and community responses to FASD » improving communication between teams who may be involved in the assessment of children at risk of FASD.

While the documentation of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages has attracted considerable research attention, the use of these languages by children has only recently emerged as a field of research. Building on the small number of early studies of these children’s language acquisition, development, and practices, we review the now considerable variety of studies which have explored Australian Aboriginal children’s early language learning environments and processes. In this ecologically complex linguistic environment, studies investigate children’s acquisition of some remaining traditional languages—often in multilingual contexts, child-directed speech styles and practices, and the development of new and emerging contact languages—both mixed languages and creoles, and the ways that children and young people are altering and innovating the language ecologies. The studies focus particularly on those children who are being raised in remote settings where, while English is taught in school, it is neither the language the children learn as their first language nor the language of the community in which the children live.

Since the introduction of electronic gaming machines into public hotels (pubs) and clubs across most of Australia from the mid-1990s onwards, research attention has largely focussed on the impact of gambling venues in densely-populated urban areas along the eastern seaboard. In contrast, despite remote areas being well provisioned with gaming machines and pubs and clubs being important social foci for outback towns, the impact of this form of gambling in remote areas is very poorly understood. As a fi rst step in investigating the spatial catchments of gambling venues in remote Australia we conducted a case study of Lasseter?s Hotel and Casino in Alice Springs. To determine the spatial extent of the casino?s catchment, we adopted a cognitive mapping approach with Aboriginal people, support service workers and regulatory authorities. The collective findings from the cognitive mapping exercise clearly demonstrated that the trade area of the casino is vast, spanning three states and drawing upon many vulnerable remote communities in the central desert. The analysis also revealed that the casino catchment is spatially coincident with the service catchment for Alice Springs. We discuss the potential social impacts of a catchment of this nature, the associated regulatory implications, and the potential of the cognitive mapping methodology for investigating rural and remote accessibility more generally

Aim Chronic respiratory disease is common among Aboriginal Australians. Chronic wet cough is an early marker of chronic disease in children but often goes undetected due, in part, to delayed health seeking by families. Currently, no studies have examined the reasons for delayed health seeking for children's chronic cough. To identify the barriers to, and enablers for, seeking medical help for chronic wet cough in Aboriginal children. Methods This was a qualitative study, gathering data through individual semi-structured, in-depth interviews and focus groups to ascertain Aboriginal family knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about seeking health care for chronic wet cough in children in a regional Kimberley town, Western Australia between October 2017 and March 2018. Results Forty Aboriginal community members participated. The three key barriers identified were: ‘Cough normalisation’, that is, 70% of participants considered chronic cough normal (with 53% of participants' previous interactions with doctors informing their understanding of chronic cough); the lack of health literacy information; and a sense of disempowerment (belief that no medical action would be taken and inability to challenge doctors). The key expressed enablers were provision of health literacy information and health practitioner training to assess and treat chronic wet cough in children. All participants reported that they would seek help for chronic wet cough once they were informed that it could signify underlying disease. Conclusion Results highlight the need for a culturally appropriate information and education to inform Aboriginal families and their health practitioners of the importance of chronic wet cough in children.

The Kidney Health Australia - Caring for Australasians with Renal Impairment (KHA-CARI) Guidelines aims to develop an inaugural clinical guideline for the "Management of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and Maori". In this article we highlight why this clinical guideline is needed at this time, and the pertinent history of Australian and New Zealand nephrology clinical guidelines development. We describe the strategies that will be used in Australia to ensure the guideline is underpinned by recommendations identified from within the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, and which supports clinician need. Three engagement strategies for the Australia consultation are outlined: 1) Engaging a panel of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health clinicians; 2) Targeted site engagements, with formal evaluation, with locally based Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander consumers and services; and 3) Consultation and feedback from the Australian national peak organisations. A separate community consultation strategy is to be implemented in New Zealand. These consumer and community consultation strategies will precede and inform the KHA-CARI guideline technical writing team. The technical writing group includes medical, nursing, and primary health care members, and also members who are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Maori. The diverse technical writing team members will ensure that the guideline will be clinically appropriate, effective and meaningful. Such guidelines, referenced to the needs of the community, are necessary to support health services to deliver quality health outcomes for patients and families living with chronic kidney disease.

Objective: We integrated epidemiological and cultural insights in reviewing the public health response to a mumps outbreak declared in the remote Kimberley region of Western Australia in April 2015. Methods: An iterative process of engagement culminating in co-authorship with an Aboriginal Reference Group (ARG) of our outbreak responses, reflections and future directions. Results: This mumps outbreak was found to affect predominantly Aboriginal teenagers and young adults with pre-existing high mumps vaccination coverage. Outbreak declaration invoked campaigns to implement a booster dose of MMR (Measles, Mumps Rubella) vaccine irrespective of previous vaccination history to people aged 8 to 35 years who were contacts of cases, extended household members, or who resided in nine remote Aboriginal communities. In town settings and regional centres, 8 to 35 year olds in targeted households who had cultural links and frequent movement to and from the affected nine communities were also offered booster MMR vaccine. Following 3,102 MMR vaccines, transmission was effectively halted. In collaboration with the ARG, a fuller picture of particular opportunities for transmission and geographic spread afforded through sports events, Native Title meetings, royalty meetings, funerals and cultural ceremonies was retrospectively gained. The ARG also identified how to strengthen Aboriginal participation in future public health outbreak measures. Conclusions: Retrospective sharing by the ARG of their knowledge of cultural dimensions of remote Aboriginal communities clearly enlightened the Public Health Team’s understanding of communicable disease transmission across the region. Implications: Future outbreaks will be better managed in a culturally secure way.

This article outlines the learning design, implementation and shared outcomes of an intensive placed-based design education programme that was delivered in a specific remote high school learning context in the Warmun Aboriginal community, East Kimberley, Western Australia. Place-based design education seeks to assist vulnerable young people in shaping their own environments and futures. A two-way learning framework that emphasised self-actualisation, co-creation and shared insights and involved learning through story-sharing and connecting content to place was adopted. This article suggests that providing students with opportunities to share and acquire Indigenous design knowledge developed their visual thinking, digital literacy, problem-solving and entrepreneurial skills. Such knowledge, experience and skills build confidence and improve educational outcomes, and will directly benefit Indigenous communities in the long term.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of disability worldwide. Previous studies have shown that males have a higher incidence than females, and Indigenous populations have a higher rate than non-Indigenous. To date, no study has compared the incidence rate of TBI between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians for any cause. Here we add to this rather sparse literature.

PURPOSE: The objectives of this study were to investigate the efficacy of a speech-language pathology teletherapy program for children attending schools and early childcare settings in rural New South Wales, Australia, and their parents' views on the program's feasibility and acceptability. METHOD: Nineteen children received speech-language pathology sessions delivered via Adobe Connect(R), Facetime((c)) or Skype((c)) web-conferencing software. During semi-structured interviews, parents (n = 5) described factors that promoted or threatened the program's feasibility and acceptability. RESULT: Participation in a speech-language pathology teletherapy program using low-bandwidth videoconferencing improved the speech and language skills of children in both early childhood settings and primary school. Emergent themes related to (a) practicality and convenience, (b) learning, (c) difficulties and (d) communication. CONCLUSION: Treatment outcome data and parental reports verified that the teletherapy service delivery was feasible and acceptable. However, it was also evident that regular discussion and communication between the various stakeholders involved in teletherapy programs may promote increased parental engagement and acceptability.

INTRODUCTION: Difficulties in accessing allied health services, especially in rural and remote areas, appear to be driving the use of telehealth services to children in schools. The objectives of this study were to investigate the experiences and views of school executive staff and therapy assistants regarding the feasibility and acceptability of a speech-language pathology telehealth program for children attending schools in rural and remote New South Wales, Australia. The program, called Come N See, provided therapy interventions remotely via low-bandwidth videoconferencing, with email follow-up. Over a 12-week period, children were offered therapy blocks of six fortnightly sessions, each lasting a maximum of 30 minutes. METHODS: School executives (<i>n</i>=5) and therapy assistants (<i>n</i>=6) described factors that promoted or threatened the program's feasibility and acceptability, during semistructured interviews. Thematic content analysis with constant comparison was applied to the transcribed interviews to identify relationships in the data. RESULTS: Emergent themes related to (a) unmet speech pathology needs, (b) building relationships, (c) telehealth's advantages, (d) telehealth's disadvantages, (e) anxiety replaced by joy and confidence in growing skills, and (f) supports. CONCLUSIONS: School executive staff and therapy assistants verified that the delivery of the school-based telehealth service was feasible and acceptable. However, the participants saw significant opportunities to enhance this acceptability through building into the program stronger working relationships and supports for stakeholders. These findings are important for the future development of allied health telehealth programs that are sustainable as well as effective and fit the needs of all crucial stakeholders. The results have significant implications for speech pathology clinical practice relating to technology, program planning and teamwork within telehealth programs.

‘We’re still being dragged to be white’: Learning from Yolŋu ‘growing up’ their children in two worlds

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in remote communities in Australia experience a disproportionate burden of diet-related chronic disease. This occurs in an environment where the cost of store-purchased food is high and cash incomes are low, factors that affect both food insecurity and health outcomes. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander storeowners and the retailers who work with them implement local policies with the aim of improving food affordability and health outcomes. This paper describes health-promoting food pricing policies, their alignment with evidence, and the decision-making processes entailed in their development in community stores across very remote Australia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of retailers and health professionals identified through the snowball method, September 2015 to October 2016. Data were complemented through review of documents describing food pricing policies. A content analysis of the types and design of policies was undertaken, while the decision-making process was considered through a deductive, thematic analysis. Fifteen retailers and 32 health professionals providing services to stores participated. Subsidies and subsidy/price increase combinations dominated. Magnitude of price changes ranged from 5% to 25% on fruit, vegetables, bottled water, artificially sweetened and sugar sweetened carbonated beverages, and broadly used ‘healthy/essential’ and ‘unhealthy’ food classifications. Feasibility and sustainability were considered during policy development. Greater consideration of acceptability, importance, effectiveness and unintended consequences of policies guided by evidence were deemed important, as were increased involvement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander storeowners and nutritionists in policy development. A range of locally developed health-promoting food pricing policies exist and partially align with research-evidence. The decision-making processes identified offer an opportunity to incorporate evidence, based on consideration of the local context.

Social Return on Investment (SROI) is an internationally recognised methodology used to measure and value the economic impact of program outcomes. 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 economic worth. 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 undertook a study of the economic, social, environmental and cultural impacts and benefits of the presence of large feral herbivores in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands, in the far north-west 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, as well as impacts on sites of cultural and spiritual significance to the local communities. With the annual cost impacts incurred by society caused by large feral herbivores in the APY lands valued at $4.2 million and possible dollar value of those animals valued at $140 000, the study found that there was a net cost impact of ~$4 million from not managing the impact of these animals. The study also found significant cultural impacts of large feral herbivores, such as the fouling of natural springs and other culturally sensitive sites, and further analysis would be required to determine the economic cost of these impacts. Investment models that consider a broad range of costs and benefits are considered necessary for Australian rangelands, particularly Indigenous-owned land.This paper presents a case study of the development of a ranger program that employs local community members to manage the impacts of large feral herbivores that will provide a net benefit to society of ~$3 million every year, aside from the additional benefits of employment and economic participation. The $3-million net benefit accrues from saving human lives and costs associated with vehicle accidents, and reduced management costs and increased income for pastoral areas of the APY Lands. APY community members, and the APY Pastoral business are core beneficiaries; however, there are several external beneficiaries that this SROI approach recognises including the Motor Accident Commission, Health Departments and South Australian Police. The strongly positive SROI in this case presents an excellent co-investment opportunity for agencies whose core focus is on road safety and health. Importantly, the SROI approach to creation of social value can be implemented in a way that is consistent with stated community aspirations for development.

Background A community of practice (cop) is formally defined as a group of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and who learn how to do it better as they interact regularly. Communities of practice represent a promising approach for improving cancer care outcomes. However, little research is available to guide the development of oncology cops. In 2015, our urban community hospital launched an oncology cop, with the goals of decreasing barriers to access, fostering collaboration, and improving practitioner knowledge of guidelines and services in cancer care. Here, we share insights from a qualitative analysis of feedback from participants in our cop. The objective of the project was to identify participant perspectives about preferred cop features, with a view to improving the quality of our community hospital’s oncology cop. Methods After 5 in-person meetings of our oncology cop, participants were surveyed about what the cop should start, stop, and continue doing. Qualitative methods were used to analyze the feedback. Results The survey collected 250 comments from 117 unique cop participants, including family physicians, specialist physicians, nurses, and allied health care practitioners. Analysis identified participant perspectives about the key features of the cop and avenues for improvement across four themes: supporting knowledge exchange, identifying and addressing practice gaps, enhancing interprofessional collaboration, and fostering a culture of partnership. Conclusions Based on the results, we identified several considerations that could be helpful in improving our cop. Our findings might help guide the development of oncology cops at other institutions.

Based on research in Karratha, a remote resource town in Western Australia, this paper explores the ways in which blue-collar affluence disturbs the meritocratic mythology of formal education. In the opening decade of the twenty-first century Karratha was one of Australia's most affluent towns, yet its adult population was characterised by a level of formal qualifications that was well below the national average. These demographic realities test fundamental beliefs about the functions of education in industrial modernity in ways that help illuminate the importance of Corbett's challenge for educational sociologists to strengthen their commitment to posthumanist studies focused on building sustainable human spaces, particularly in rural areas. Further to this we need to stretch the possibilities of humanist education beyond the successes linked to financial security. Comprehending alternatives to the structurating influence of the myth of an education-based meritocracy offers an important strategy for doing so.

Decolonisation aims to deconstruct the hegemonic traditional Western academic practices and values that oppress Indigenous peoples. Decolonising research methodologies is a relatively new practice in disability research in colonised nations. This paper details the Indigenous community-controlled research methodology that underpinned a disability research project with the Anangu and Yarnangu of Central Australia, 'Walykumunu Nyinaratjaku: To Live a Good Life'. The project aimed to identify and explore how to support Indigenous people with a disability in the Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (NPY) Lands to live a good life. The research was structured on a decolonising methodology to situate the control and governance of the research with the Indigenous peoples. Our experience could assist other disability researchers working with Indigenous peoples in remote communities.

Objective: To describe the design and implementation of a Diploma of Community Services in Katherine (NT) by RMIT University in collaboration with Sunrise Health Service Aboriginal Corporation (SHS).Method: This is a descriptive case study of how, in response to a need, a city-based Diploma of Community Services (Alcohol and other Drugs and Mental Health) was modified and delivered in the remote region of Katherine in the Northern Territory. The key aspects included organisational agreements, understanding local needs and realities, collaborative development of course design, overcoming funding shortfalls, incorporating two-way learning, managing with sparse resources, and building a conducive learning environment.Results: Of the 24 students who completed the course in the first two iterations of the program, 91% received their Diploma. Workshops conducted as part of the course enabled students to develop cross-agency and cross-sector connections as well as professional collaborations. After graduation, a number of students successfully applied for higher paying positions within their own or alternative services whilst others decided to go onto further study. The program has since been delivered across the NT in Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Katherine and the remote community of Ngukurr.Discussion: The lessons learnt from this endeavour could be utilised by other remote area health services and city based training organisations to design and deliver courses in remote areas of Australia.

Improving the suboptimal vegetable consumption among the majority of Australian children is imperative in reducing chronic disease risk. The objective of this research was to determine whether there was a relationship between food security determinants (FSD) (i.e., food availability, access, and utilisation dimensions) and adequate vegetable consumption among children living in regional and remote Western Australia (WA). Caregiver-child dyads (n = 256) living in non-metropolitan/rural WA completed cross-sectional surveys that included questions on FSD, demographics and usual vegetable intake. A total of 187 dyads were included in analyses, which included descriptive and logistic regression analyses via IBM SPSS (version 23). A total of 13.4% of children in this sample had adequate vegetable intake. FSD that met inclusion criteria (p ≤ 0.20) for multivariable regression analyses included price; promotion; quality; location of food outlets; variety of vegetable types; financial resources; and transport to outlets. After adjustment for potential demographic confounders, the FSD that predicted adequate vegetable consumption were, variety of vegetable types consumed (p = 0.007), promotion (p = 0.017), location of food outlets (p = 0.027), and price (p = 0.043). Food retail outlets should ensure that adequate varieties of vegetable types (i.e., fresh, frozen, tinned) are available, vegetable messages should be promoted through food retail outlets and in community settings, towns should include a range of vegetable purchasing options, increase their reliance on a local food supply and increase transport options to enable affordable vegetable purchasing.

Background: Treatments for kidney disease have been available in Australia for more than 50 years. Despite this, and the Northern Territory (NT) having Australia's highest rates of kidney disease, the range of models of dialysis care in the NT has been limited until quite recently. Objective: The paper provides a brief history of the development of dialysis services in the NT and examines the contexts in which unique models of dialysis care have emerged. Data reviewed included published and unpublished documents and reports, relevant Departmental and ANZDATA information and interviews with past and present staff. Discussion: The early development of renal services in the NT was characterised by a desire to limit expenditure, despite repeated disease projections that indicated rapidly escalating demand. An integrated policy response was not forthcoming to address the magnitude, persistence and growth in the burden of kidney disease. Repeated periods of capacity crisis requiring Ministerial intervention have dominated the historical landscape. In the meantime, Aboriginal patients, communities and clinicians have advocated, with some success, for services that are closer to home and more responsive to patients' health, social and cultural needs. Conclusion: There has been considerable expansion of dialysis services across the NT, with several unique models of dialysis care developing over the last 15 years. While there are now some community-led services, the NT Government continues to provide the bulk of staffed services. It is yet to be seen if the new MBS item for remote dialysis services will be another game-changer.

This paper examines the potential for multiple co-benefits to arise through re-establishing the connection between Aboriginal people and their lands. The research project was participatory in its design and implementation, and centred on three short but intensive visits to the Kendall River over a period of 4 years. Interviews with and observations of Kendall River people on country provided qualitative information concerning their wish to reconnect with country, not only to transmit key cultural knowledge through the generations, re-socialise their lands and manage them appropriately but also to help them manage the negative consequences of Wik aggregation in the troubled community of Aurukun. Participants reported that returning to and carrying out activities on country, and the family and country planning resulting from those trips, provided a way to counter feelings of disempowerment and despondency arising from living solely in Aurukun. This paper concludes by arguing that activities that re-engage Aboriginal people with country (if not actually returning to live on country) can serve to build cultural resilience in the face of multiple economic, environmental and social challenges, including those arising from life lived largely in communities such as Aurukun, thereby also likely benefiting their physical and psychosocial health and well-being.

Tourism can be an important source of livelihoods at a destination level. Yet, while there are economic benefits associated with more tourists, there can also be costs to destinations in the form of negative environmental and social impacts. This paper illustrates tourism-related dilemmas for two remote regions within Australia’s tropical savannas where increasing visitor numbers are straining not only the very environmental assets that attract tourist, but also the host communities. The paper draws on research conducted under the auspices of the Tropical Savannas Management Cooperative Research Centre. Tourism impacts on the regions are described and, where possible, quantified and distributional effects discussed. Evidence is provided that host populations in the remote of Australia’s tropical savannas are willing to trade off environmental and social costs for economic benefits, but that this situation may not be ecologically sustainable. The regions are parts of much larger destinations and consequently peripheral to their concerns. The onus for sustainable tourism and regional development strategies therefore falls on local decision makers. The research presented here provides a framework for local decision makers and stakeholders to ask questions, collect relevant data, and proceed with informed debates and choices.