Submission to the Indigenous Digital Inclusion Plan
Submission to the Indigenous Digital Inclusion Plan Hearing
- Author(s): Staines, Zoe, Radke, Amelia
- Published: 2021
- Publisher: National Indigenous Australians Agency
Abstract: Thank you for the opportunity to make a submission in response to the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) Indigenous Digital Inclusion Plan Discussion Paper (from herein, ‘NIAA Discussion Paper’). We first wish to position ourselves as non-Indigenous scholars; in making this submission, we draw on our respective research areas, including research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (from herein, ‘Indigenous’) partners, but certainly do not seek to speak on behalf of or displace the voices of Indigenous peoples and communities. This submission aims to draw further attention to interlinkages between the NIAA’s policy work around digital inclusion and the rollout of social policies (including by the NIAA and Department of Education, Skills and Employment [DESE]) that affect as well as demand digital inclusion, and which disproportionately impact Indigenous peoples and communities. We also seek to draw greater attention to the importance of Indigenous data sovereignty regarding the NIAA’s call for further data on Indigenous digital inclusion — something that the NIAA Discussion Paper does not address. As the scope of the NIAA’s Digital Inclusion Plan is regional and remote Australia, our predominant focus here is on the impacts of social policies in these areas. However, we also acknowledge that some of the policies we refer to operate Australia wide and thus also affect those living in urban areas. This submission was written by researchers in the School of Social Science and the Centre for Policy Futures at the University of Queensland