Remote Australia Online

The international criminology and social policy literature have long explored possible connections between social welfare and crime. However, existing studies tend towards high-level comparisons of crime versus total aggregate welfare spend, overlooking sub-national contextual differences between and within countries. There are also few studies that deeply explore this link in the Antipodes, including in Australia: a settler colony and (neo)liberal welfare state with a recent strong coupling of punitive social and penal policies that disproportionately impact Indigenous populations. This paper attends to these gaps by examining the welfare-crime link in remote Indigenous Queensland (Australia). We use crime-report data and an interrupted time series design to explore the effects of dynamic social welfare policies during 2020-2021: a period that saw a temporary shift away from a strict neoliberal welfare model (i.e., heavy conditionality, low benefit rates) to more supportive and decommodifying social welfare in response to the COVID-19 induced economic recession. Our findings align with previous studies that suggest more supportive and decommodifying policies are associated with lower crime. We also bring greater nuance to how the crime-welfare link is understood within the 'structural complexity of [Australian] settler colonialism' (Wolfe. Journal of Genocide Research. 2006;8:392), by illuminating how a politics of race animates social policies that can either produce or reduce criminogenic strains and, thus, socially construct crime in the image of the Indigenous 'Other'.

Nurses constitute most of the rural and remote Australian health workforce, however staff shortages in these regions are common. Rural exposure, association, and undertaking rural clinical placements can influence health students’ decision to work rurally after graduation, however attending university in rural and remote regions has been shown to be a great contributor. An improved understanding of these nursing students’ experiences may inform changes to teaching and support strategies for these students, which in turn could improve their retention and completion rates, contributing to a more sustainable rural and remote Australian nursing workforce. This study aimed to explore and describe students’ experiences of studying nursing in the context of a satellite university campus located in a remote town, with a focus on education delivery methods, staff, support, student services, and barriers and enablers to successful study.

The Northern Territory (NT) of Australia has one of the highest rates of solar insolation in Australia which can be a catalyst for future energy development. In addition, it has a unique set of circumstances which present both challenges and opportunities for the development of its energy policies and require customised energy planning solutions and policies. This study explores the potential for long-range renewable energy (RE) planning and climate policies for the NT to transition to a low-carbon economy by 2050, while achieving sustainable economic growth. A literature review was conducted to explore the range of challenges and opportunities faced by the NT; the energy policy landscape for low-emissions technologies; key factors influencing the effectiveness of energy policies; energy policy analysis tools; and energy models used to inform energy policy. A mixed methods approach was used for this study. Qualitative data was collected through an expert stakeholder survey and interviews, analysed using the NViVO software, then used for the development of three hypothetical policy scenarios: business-as-usual (BAU), High Industry Growth (HIG) and Renewable Energy Export (REE)), as well as for input data for the Low Emissions Analysis Platform (LEAP) energy modelling tool. The results of the LEAP simulations were analysed and used to recommend potentially effective low emissions/renewable policy areas for the NT. Findings from a PESTLE analysis conducted on the survey and interview responses indicate that many of the key barriers and potential opportunities for renewable energy development fall primarily within political, economic and legislative factors, demonstrating a policy gap in the NT. Findings from the LEAP simulations indicate that under the HIG scenario, energy demand from a digital/data centre industry would be around 334.1 PJ by 2050 (compared to 208.5 PJ in the BAU) and could be met largely with 41GW of installed solar capacity and 25.5 PJ of biofuels, yield net benefits of $13.6 million, and result in emissions of around 700 kt CO2-e by 2050 (compared to 15.1 Mt CO2-e in the BAU). Policies directed primarily at the industry and transport sectors such as carbon taxes, financial incentives for electric vehicle (EV) purchases and standards that facilitate and accelerate large-scale renewable energy generation could potentially meet the high energy demand with renewable sourced energy and reduce sector emissions. Under the REE scenario, energy demand from a renewable energy export industry would be around 651.6 PJ by 2050, of which 304.3 PJ would be for the export market. This could be met by around 97 GW of installed solar capacity, yield net benefits of $30.8 million and see emissions reduced to around 159 kt CO2-e by 2050. A range of potential policy mechanisms can be applied across all sectors in the NT, however technology-specific policies applied primarily to the industry and transport sectors are likely to have a more significant impact on a lower emissions economy. These include hydrogen bus trials, lower taxes for fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), collaborations between governments, fleet operators and consumers, support for training/education programs, collaborative technology research and pilot programs. Sensitivity analyses were also conducted to explore variations in the carbon price, fuel supply mix optimization, and lower or higher industry demand growth. These results showed that slight variations in inputs and assumptions can affect the need and timing of appropriate policies to support a desired outcome or goal. In conclusion, a low-emissions economy based on an industry powered by renewable energy is possible with the support of a range of effectively timed energy and climate policies, and effective energy transition policies for the NT need to be developed with careful consideration of the unique circumstances and existing barriers in the NT. In reality, the future is likely to be a combination of elements in both HIG scenario and a REE scenario. If implemented and sequenced appropriately, energy policies can be effective in laying the groundwork for a smoother transition to low-carbon economy in the NT. Study limitations include a lack of available NT data, rapidly changing energy environment (advancements and cost reductions in technology), and limitations of the LEAP modelling tool such as its inability to model energy storage options and carbon price escalation. Recommendations for future research include developing additional scenarios with different assumptions, adopting a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) approach to stakeholder responses, evaluating the effectiveness of recently implemented renewable energy, EV, and climate policies by the NT Government, and developing an NT-specific LEAP modelling tool as NT data becomes more available.

OBJECTIVE: Reduce long waiting lists for ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist review and improve primary ear health care. DESIGN: A retrospective evaluation of ear health care after the implementation of an ear health program (EHP). SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: School children in Aboriginal communities in the Fitzroy Valley of Western Australia. KEY MEASURES FOR IMPROVEMENT: Access number of children screened for ear disease, effectiveness-referral letter completeness (history, otoscopy, tympanometry, audiometry), patient management and waiting time until first ENT contact. INTERVENTIONS: EHP--an electronic referral template, ear health nurse, ear health educator and telehealth ENT specialist review. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Screening rates, timely ENT review and improved primary care management. RESULTS: Number of children screened increased from 148 per 18 months to 710. Nearly twofold increase in numbers of patients referred to ENT (32, 66). A reduction in median waiting time from 141 days to 22 days for ENT review using telehealth. Content of referral letters showed an increase in essential information--otoscopy, audiometry and tympanometry. Primary care management in accordance with guidelines improved. CONCLUSIONS: The addition of an ear health team increased access to appropriate primary care management and the time to contact with ENT was reduced by using an electronic template and telehealth sessions.

OBJECTIVE: Supporting Early Childhood Development (ECD) is an Australian national priority. Aboriginal children in Western Australia's Kimberley region have much higher rates of developmental concerns at school entry than non-Aboriginal children. We aimed to describe ECD practices in the participating service; document follow-up of identified developmental concerns; and identify barriers and enablers to incorporating ECD practices into clinic activity. DESIGN: Mixed-method design incorporating clinical audit and staff interviews. SETTING: An Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service (ACCHS) in the Kimberley region. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 176 children receiving primary health care through the participating ACCHS; interviews with five ACCHS staff members. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Frequency of developmental enquiry by age and domain; follow-up of identified developmental concerns; and barriers and enablers to ECD practices. RESULTS: Developmental enquiry was documented for 114 of 176 eligible children (65%), including in 80% of ACCHS child health assessments. Standardised ECD assessments were less common. Staff were aware of the importance of developmental enquiry, however, barriers to increasing ECD practices included a lack of resources and structured staff education, time pressures and a lack of role clarity between the ACCHS and government community health clinic. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides insight into ECD practices in an ACCHS setting, highlighting the potential of primary health care to have an enhanced role in ECD if appropriate systems, training and tools are provided. A lack of role clarity across services, combined with poor communication between services, creates a potential risk for missed opportunities to support ECD.

RATIONALE, AIMS, AND OBJECTIVES: This costing evaluation compares three service delivery models for ear, nose, and throat (ENT) surgery for remote living Indigenous children to improve their hearing outcomes, with the aim to identify the least costly model. METHODS: The main outcome measure presented was the incremental cost difference between the base case (Model 1) and two alternative models (Model 2, 3). The costs in 2017 Australian dollars are assessed from two viewpoints: (1) health system perspective, and (2) patients and their families including travel out-of-pocket expenses, presented separately according to the funding source. RESULTS: Findings indicate that the least costly model offered low-risk ENT surgery from a state funded hospital in a remote setting, with high use of videoconference technology: TeleHealth (Model 3) could save $3626 to $5067 per patient, compared with patients travelling to a regional centre public hospital (Model 1). A federally funded scheme which allowed groups of patients to access a direct flight charter transfer to the private hospital in regional centre (Model 2) reduced the cost by $2178 to $2711 per patient when compared with standard care (Model 1). From a societal perspective, Model 1 required out-of-pocket patient expenses, with greater time away from home, and hence appears the least preferred option. CONCLUSIONS: The sensitivity analyses also demonstrate that Model 3 would be the more economical model for providing ENT surgery for remote living children. By proving an accurate assessment of the true costs of delivering these important ear and hearing health services, strategic health service planners may be better informed and sufficient budgets can be allocated to provide improved service delivery. The benefits of Model 3, over Models 1 or 2, would also incorporate improvements to patient safety as a result of reducing patient travel, which should in-turn, reduce failure-to-attend rates.

Accessibility of health services outside metropolitan centres in Australia is sub-optimal. Recognising the barriers and enablers of healthcare access in rural, remote and regional settings is necessary to improving health service access in these disadvantaged populations. Accordingly, this study aimed to examine the determinants of healthcare use in rural, remote and regional South Australia. Cross-sectional survey data were collected from adults living outside metropolitan Adelaide in South Australia between April 2017 and March 2018. Using a multi-modal recruitment campaign, eligible adults were invited to complete the 44-item consumer utilisation, expectations and experiences of healthcare instrument. Independent predictors of health service utilisation (dependent variable) were determined using negative binomial regression. The questionnaire was completed by 3926 predominantly female (52.5%) adults aged ≥50?years (56.7%), residing in regional South Australia (84.5%). Fifteen independent variables were significantly associated with health service utilisation using univariate analyses. Using negative binomial regression analysis, two predisposing factors (sex, remoteness), three enabling factors (income, health literacy, employment), two need factors (health rating, multimorbidity) and two personal health practices (alcohol, diet) were independently and significantly associated with healthcare use. Female sex (OR = 1.436, p < 0.001), good/excellent health rating (OR = 0.589, p < 0.001) and high multimorbidity (OR = 1.408, p < 0.001) were the strongest predictors of health service use. These findings will help inform the development of targeted health promotion and service engagement strategies for regional populations, which in addition to addressing workforce shortages, may help address inequity in health outcomes, particularly for groups engaging with regional healthcare services infrequently.

Objective: To develop a definition of the discipline of Remote Health. Design: A broad literature search using key words and an Internet search of industry-recognised web sites were carried out. Results: Fifty-five relevant citations and nine web sites were reviewed, covering Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and United States. The papers offered a variety of definitions of geographical and practice-based approaches to remoteness, and definitions of remote and rural health. Conclusions: None of the single current definitions in the literature adequately reflect all of the characteristics of Remote Health in Australia. A definition is offered: Remote Health is an emerging discipline with distinct sociological, historical and practice characteristics. Its practice in Australia is characterised by geographical, professional and, often, social isolation of practitioners; a strong multidisciplinary approach; overlapping and changing roles of team members; a relatively high degree of GP substitution; and practitioners requiring public health, emergency and extended clinical skills. These skills and remote health systems, need to be suited to working in a cross-cultural context; serving small, dispersed and often highly mobile populations; serving populations with relatively high health needs; and a physical environment of climatic extremes. What this paper adds: In Australia and internationally there are a variety of measures of rurality and remoteness, which have focused on geographical or medical practice-based sociodemographic factors, often related to remuneration scales. With an increasing recognition of and interest in the distinction between Rural Health and Remote Health, there needs to be a better understanding of the characteristics of the emerging discipline of Remote Health which distinguish it from Rural Health practice. This paper searched the international literature for a meaningful definition of Remote Health in the Australian context. There was not one single, appropriate definition, but the information uncovered has contributed to the development of a definition that can inform the work of educators, researchers and policy-makers, and give appropriate recognition to Remote Health practitioners.

For many remote Aboriginal Australian students, periods of time during their secondary education are spent living away from home at a boarding school. While financial, political and community support is burgeoning for boarding models that provide scholarships, sports programs or accommodation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, very little academic research or evidence exists that examines the experiences of students post-boarding. This paper forms part of a broader doctoral research study, but specifically focuses on how past students, families and communities from remote South Australia view the outcomes of boarding. Using a Grounded theory design, thematic analysis of 32 semi-structured interviews with past students, families and community members led to the identification of three main themes: connections (early exits), community (re-engaging in education), and context (employment in remote communities). Findings indicated that outcomes are not linear nor easily defined. Developing a theory of change was recommended as a future approach to help families, students and remote schools to clearly define goals and measures of success for each student, recognising a range of interpretations and conceptions of ‘success’, and adapting these goals as necessary.

The Rudd Labor Government elected in November 2007 endorsed, to some extent at least, the previous Government’s Indigenous policy settings and programs. Examples include the Emergency Response to Protect Aboriginal Children in the Northern Territory (’NTER’) and the Welfare Reform Project in selected Cape York communities. The expressed desire by Labor for a bi-partisan approach to Indigenous policy through a joint policy commission may also indicate that previous policy settings will not necessarily be repudiated. The question is whether the assimilationist and paternalistic assumptions and premises underlying the Howard Government’s approach still have resonance. To the extent that assimilationist assumptions may continue to have valency there is the potential for policies and programs to fail despite the best of intentions. Such failures are likely to present as failures of governance. This article canvasses in section II the general policy context in respect of responding to Indigenous disadvantage. The particular situation of remote Indigenous communities, so much at the centre of public concern and discussion, is described in section III. Section III notes the strong theme of hostility to remote communities (including a particular animus against small decentralised communities - often referred to as “outstations”) evident in the policy pronouncements and program settings of the previous government. Reminiscent of the 1950s and 1960s view of the role of remote Indigenous communities as staging posts to urban “civilised” living, the vulnerability of such communities to government policy whim and administrative competence leads directly to considerations of governance in section IV. Whilst noting the importance of Indigenous governance (section V), this article focuses in particular on “government governance” (section VI) and the “whole of government” mantra that has become the central motif of government policy and service delivery in respect of remote Indigenous communities in Australia in recent years (section VII). The efficacy of “whole of government” is considered in section VIII, whilst an account of aspects of one practical manifestation of this approach, viz the NTER, is provided in section IX. Sections X and XI put the Australian experience into an international context, noting the need to reference “government governance” to international standards and practice. It is concluded that only by observing the basic human rights obligations set out in international law, and by reflecting basic canons of respect, will Indigenous policy outcomes be successful, equitable and sustainable. The tendency towards coercion, benign or not, can only work to maintain inequality.

Drawing on recent participant observation-based data from the Northern Territory's Victoria River region, I propose that the coercive and custodial arms of the settler state are predominant features of, and constant and permanent forces of rupture in, remote Aboriginal life. I use the term 'carceral spectres' to describe the ways hyperincarceration and hyperpolicing shape, disturb and, in particular, 'haunt' Aboriginal life, people, places and things. This framework has implications for the ways we might think about the multi-faceted impacts of the radical incarceration rates of Indigenous people in Australia, and the experience of life in the context of ongoing colonial occupation and pervasive carcerality.

Occupational stress among remote area nurses is an emerging and important issue. Nurses working in very remote areas are the mainstay of health services in these regions. They work in complex and isolated settings that are often cross cultural, and for which they are usually inadequately prepared. The ‘Back from the edge: reducing occupational stress among remote area nurses in the Northern Territory’ study utilised an adapted ‘participatory action research/organisational development’ model to develop and implement occupational stress interventions. From the considerable data gathered throughout the study, information was obtained that contributes to new knowledge in three main areas. Firstly, the development and attempted implementation of interventions provides a blueprint for action to reduce occupational stress among remote area nurses. The major job demands identified included emotional, the high responsibilities and expectations expected by the community and employers, social issues and the high workload. The main interventions developed involved ensuring adequate staff, particularly additional Aboriginal staff, improving continuity of staff, and improving orientation and education of remote area nurses. To improve education, the employment of additional educators was seen as necessary by study participants as well as the development of a career structure for remote area nurses with an educational pathway. To improve infrastructure an increase in accommodation and appropriate vehicles were seen as important interventions. Secondly, there were significant improvements in occupational stress among hospital nurses that did not occur for remote area nurses. The key differences between the two projects were the level of resources, with the hospitals allocated an additional budget of A$9 million due to the commitment by management and the level of political and public pressure. These triggers for change were not present in remote Northern Territory. Thirdly, the process of developing the intervention and the implementation was evaluated with regard to the factors influencing the success or failure of the participatory action research/organisational development process. While employees were concerned about the issue of occupational stress and demonstrated a commitment to change, there was limited capacity for change within the Northern Territory Department of Health and Families. The study lacked resources and trust between staff and management. This was further complicated by the Northern Territory National Emergency Response. The study generated important evidence that will be of use to State, Territory and Commonwealth governments, employers and professionals groups, and will help to reduce occupational stress among remote area nurses and, by doing so, improve the health outcomes for residents of remote Australia.

Objective: The objective of this review was to examine the association between alcohol supply restriction policies and rates of alcohol-related harms in remote Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Introduction: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples living in remote communities experience a higher rate of alcohol-related harms than other Australians. High rates of alcohol consumption are associated with a range of physical and social harms. Restricting the supply of alcoholic beverages in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities is often used by governments as a strategy to reduce these harms, but the current evidence is conflicting. Inclusion criteria: This review considered all quantitative studies with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants living in remote communities in Australia, where the participants were exposed to restrictions on the supply of alcoholic beverages. Harms of interest were physical injuries (whether secondary to assaults or accidents), measured as hospital admissions, Royal Flying Doctor Service attendance and transfers, and reported assaults, including intimate partner or family violence; alcohol-related illnesses, measured as hospital admissions for conditions primarily attributed to alcohol consumption; and rates of alcohol consumption, measured as alcohol sales per person or as self-reported consumption. Methods: We searched a wide range of databases and gray literature resources for published and unpublished English-language studies from 1998 to 2020. Two reviewers independently screened search results and selected citations for full-text retrieval. Two reviewers independently assessed each article for congruence to the inclusion criteria. Critical appraisal and data extraction were conducted by two reviewers working independently. Data were narratively synthesized because statistical pooling was not possible. Results: We included 13 observational studies with more than 15,800 participants. Most included studies reported some harm reductions in association with a variety of alcohol supply restrictions; however, these reductions were sometimes short-lived. Studies reported on a variety of supply reduction strategies ranging from small limitations on when alcohol could be sold, to total prohibition of alcohol within the community. None of the interventions examined in the included studies reported consistent results. Total prohibition of alcohol was initially associated with large reductions in consumption but also led to unintended consequences, such as illicit substance use, alcohol consumption outside of the community, and illegal importation of alcohol into the community. We were unable to make any strong recommendations based on the included studies due to inherent bias in the study designs employed. Conclusions: Problematic use of alcohol by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is unlikely to be solved by a single strategy. Total alcohol prohibition does not stop people from seeking and accessing alcohol, and may in fact lead to a range of negative unintended consequences. Future studies should be more rigorously designed and reported to increase the strength of the evidence and certainty in the results.

Issue addressed: There is a need for culturally appropriate methods in the implementation and evaluation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health programs. A group of Indigenous and non-Indigenous practitioners culturally adapted and applied the Tri-Ethnic Research Centre's Community Readiness Tool (CRT) to evaluate change in community readiness and reflect on its appropriateness. Methods: Aboriginal community-controlled health service staff informed the cultural adaptation of the standard CRT. The adapted CRT was then used at baseline and 12-month follow-up in three remote communities in the Cape York region, Queensland, Australia. Program implementation occurred within a pilot project aiming to influence availability of drinking water and sugary drinks. Results: The adapted CRT was found to be feasible and useful. Overall mean readiness scores increased in two communities, with no change in the third community. CRT interview data were used to develop community action plans with key stakeholders that were tailored to communities' stage of readiness. Considerations for future application of the CRT were the importance of having a pre-defined issue, time and resource-intensiveness of the process, and need to review appropriateness prior to implementation in other regions. Conclusion: The adapted CRT was valuable for evaluating the project and co-designing strategies with stakeholders, and holds potential for further applications in health promotion in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. So what? This project identified benefits of CRT application not reported elsewhere. The adapted CRT adds a practical method to the toolkits of health promotors and evaluators for working in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to address priority concerns.

Recent public debate on Indigenous issues has been provoked, inter alia, by a 2005 Centre for Independent Studies paper by Helen Hughes and Jenness Warin, who focused on the extent to which policies have been effective in improving the living conditions of Indigenous Australians since the era of self-determination commenced. Unfortunately, the quality of historical data is questionable, and hence we need an appreciation of the reliability of estimates. The 2002 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey allows a detailed interrogation of the reliability of estimates. This paper critically analyses socioeconomic changes between 1994 and 2002 for remote and other areas by comparing the recent data with analogous data collected in 1994. Changes in health status and a range of socio-economic indicators are documented to provide a more balanced assessment of the level of economic and social development in the respective areas.

Our past shapes our present. However, do Australian universities understand the ways historical discourses continue to shape them? Provoked by the findings of our empirical study implemented in Western Australia’s Kimberley region in 2018-2019, we conducted a critical text analysis of recent and past policies to seek historical explanation. As a research team, we noted a demand on behalf of Aboriginal activists to shift from the discourse of ‘problem’ to ‘nationhood’, during the first launch of the Aboriginal flag at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in 1972. However, in our study we observed the ‘problem’ vocabulary lives on, impacting remote Aboriginal tertiary education through its deficit discourse and ‘gap language’. In this paper, we show how the future for remote Aboriginal tertiary education sits within our everyday narratives and explanations. It is to recognise Aboriginal knowledges, strengths, contribution and experience, or remain trapped by the deficit discourses of a colonial era. A strengths-based discourse acknowledges that Aboriginal people living in remote communities have the capacity, knowledge and ‘know-how’ to engage with tertiary education in culturally secure ways. Remote Aboriginal tertiary education could show the way to genuine socio-political transformation in Australia; and the Kimberley could lead this process.

Indigenous Australians continue to experience significant socio-economic disadvantage across the life course (PMC 2018a; Productivity Commission 2016). This includes comparatively low labour-force participation and employment rates, especially in remote communities. Un- and under-employment can serve to further compound disadvantage by reducing household income, which has negative flow-on effects for access to basic needs like food, education and healthcare. Successive Australian governments have responded by delivering community development and employment programmes, the most recent of which is now in its third year of operation.

Food security is influenced by various factors and policy settings. The related concept of food sovereignty, which emphasizes the rights of communities to 'define their own food systems', is also informed by political power. For Indigenous Australians, food security and food sovereignty are intimately linked with connections and access to land and water, which have been systematically disrupted under settler colonialism. Social policies continue to disrupt these connections and undermine access to food. In this paper, we explore relationships between food security, food sovereignty, and Australia's remote 'workfare' policy, the Community Development Programme (CDP), which disproportionately affects Indigenous Australians. We find that CDP undermines food security and food sovereignty by influencing the conditions for access to land, income, time and power. A lack of coordination across food and social policies creates complex, negative impacts, but sovereignty is central to improving Indigenous Australians' wellbeing and outcomes across food and work.

Recent years have seen a trend towards “professionalising” volunteering in Australia to enhance the effectiveness and accountability of volunteer organisations. These changes are part of the emergence of neoliberal-inspired managerialist logics that support the introduction of businesslike practices that emphasise efficiency, strategy and competitiveness and a strong focus on volunteer management. This paper examines experiences of volunteers operating in remote regions of Western Australia and problematises the seeming disconnect between their needs and aspirations and what can be seen as the managerialisation of volunteering. The intention is to stimulate discussion about the future direction of volunteering in Australia and the unintended consequences of the managerialist agenda.

The North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance Ltd (NAILSMA) is working with the Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods (RIEL) and the Aboriginal Research Practitioners Network (ARPNet) at Charles Darwin University (CDU), together with community members from Ngukurr and Gunbalanya communities in Arnhem Land, on a research project titled ‘Building Community Resilience in Northern Australia’. The project is funded by the Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre. The aim of the project is to use action research to understand, identify and trial opportunities for promoting resilience in remote north Australian Indigenous communities. There are two key component projects: 1. Scoping remote north Australian community resilience; and 2. Developing opportunities for building more resilient remote communities in northern Australia including effective governance models. The aim of this literature review is to provide background information for the scoping study and governance modelling project, and to identify gaps in the literature which these projects may seek to address.

Risks and challenges associated with recurring natural hazards (especially wet season cyclonic and flooding events; dry season extensive savanna fires) facing remote north Australian Indigenous communities are well recognised. Less well appreciated are longer-term challenges required for building community resilience in the face of responding to natural hazards. We report on detailed surveys of community perceptions of resilience undertaken in two communities, Ngukurr and Gunbalanya, in northern Australia. This assessment highlights the critical challenge for government authorities to effectively engage with remote communities. We then address the equally challenging issue of enhancing resilience through building enterprise opportunities. Currently, only few employment opportunities exist in either community. Based on experience with market-based savanna burning greenhouse gas emissions abatement projects in north Australia, we illustrate the potential for ecosystem service-based enterprises to deliver culturally appropriate employment, which offers evident benefits for local communities in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from major natural disaster events.

Through extensive consultations undertaken with regional EM agency and Indigenous community partners across northern Australia under the banner of the BNHCRC, it has been established that an ongoing priority is to support the building of more effective EM agency-community partnership arrangements in remote communities, based on empowerment of and better engagement with community governance structures. One identified key EM issue for remote communities is the need to be able to empower customary governance structures as a basis for developing and articulating community priorities and needs. To complement this, an identified key issue for EM agencies is to better understand how to effectively engage with community governance arrangements. This project explored community governance issues and aspirations among Bininj and Yolngu in two major communities of central and east Arnhem Land NT. In recognising persistent and systemic marginalisation issues, such as poor communication and engagement, both Ramingining and Galiwin’ku project leaders sought to provide a stronger foundation for partnerships at community level and a clear direction to EM and other agencies to adopt for more effective and mutually beneficial partnership arrangements in service delivery. The project in Ramingining, central Arnhem, was facilitated by and undertaken through the engagement of community based Indigenous researchers from the Aboriginal Research Practitioners Network (ARPNet) at Research Institute for Environment and Livelihoods (RIEL) at Charles Darwin University. In Galiwin’ku, east Arnhem, Yalu (a community developed research organisation) partnered with the North Australian Land and Sea Management Alliance Ltd. (NAILSMA) to start the project, later joined and directed by senior Yolngu leaders. All work was conducted on Country, whether in the town areas or at regional homelands.

Northern Australia is prone to recurring severe natural hazards, especially frequent cyclones, flooding, and extensive wildfires. The region is sparsely populated (≪ 0.5 persons km−2), with Indigenous (Aboriginal) residents comprising 14% of the population, and typically the majority in remote regions. Despite national policy committed to addressing emergency management (EM) in vulnerable Indigenous communities, implementation remains unfunded. We synthesise participatory intercultural research conducted over seven years exploring core challenges, opportunities and potential solutions towards developing effective EM partnerships. Similar EM engagement and empowerment issues face First Nations and local communities in many international settings. In search of solutions, we explore developing effective partnership arrangements between EM agencies and culturally diverse Indigenous communities. Observing that government already provides substantial investment in cultural and natural resource management programmes conducted by over 150 Indigenous Ranger Groups (IRGs) nationally, we demonstrate that expansion of IRG roles to incorporate EM community engagement and service delivery can provide multiple cost-effective community and business development benefits for many remote communities.

Ehrlichia canis (Rickettsiales; Anaplasmataceae) is one of the most prevalent tick-borne pathogens of dogs globally. The bacterium infects monocytes and is the aetiological agent of canine monocytic ehrlichiosis. For many decades Australia was thought to be free of the pathogen, but this abruptly changed in May 2020 when E. canis was detected in several dogs from Kununurra, Western Australia. Subsequent surveillance activities found unexpectedly large scale spread of E. canis throughout much of northern Australia. To gain insight into the genetic relationships of the Australian strain and its potential origin, we undertook a genomic analysis of E. canis positive domestic dog and tick (Rhipicephalus linnaei) samples from the north of Western Australia, the far north of South Australia and the Northern Territory, covering thousands of square kilometres. We obtained complete E. canis genomes from each of the three states, plus an additional 16 partial genomes, substantially increasing publicly available E. canis genetic resources. The Australian E. canis genomes were highly conserved across large geographic distances. Outside of Australia, the genomes were most similar to E. canis YZ-1 from China, although few reference sequences were available. We analysed the variable trp36 gene to obtain greater phylogenetic signal, which demonstrated that the Australian E. canis belonged to the Taiwan genotype, comprised of samples from Taiwan, China, Thailand and Turkey. Taken together, our findings suggest that E. canis in Australia may have originated from Asia or the Middle East and spread throughout northern and central Australia following its introduction.

Researchers and communities are seeking strategies to manage complex challenges regarding positive health for Torres Strait Islanders – a ‘wicked problem’ for which there is no straightforward solution.1 Proposed models for Torres Strait Islander-driven research and policy analysis are not new.2 Yet a coordinated model for achieving synergy of multidisciplinary teams and stakeholders for environment, health and wellbeing has remained elusive. Partnerships between researchers and communities are typically limited by project scope and funding duration. Research capacity-building efforts have focused on individual researchers. This has successfully produced a new generation of Torres Strait Islander researchers across disciplines, including Meriba buay-ngalpan wakaythoemamy (also known as the Torres Strait Islander Researchers’ Community of Practice or CoP). However, support for local community organisations to drive their own long-term research agenda is found wanting. Given Torres Strait Islanders’ previous and current calls for autonomy, the community itself is best positioned to determine key priorities and to understand the context for decision making.3-5 How can Torres Strait Islander communities leverage research that properly informs decision-making and action towards positive health and wellbeing?