National Aboriginal Conference facts for kids

The National Aboriginal Conference (NAC) was an important group set up by the Australian Government. Its job was to speak for Indigenous Australians, which includes both Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The NAC started in 1973 as the National Aboriginal Consultative Committee. It was created by the Whitlam Government. Its main role was to give advice to the government's Department of Aboriginal Affairs and the Minister. The people on the Committee were chosen by Indigenous Australians themselves. When it changed its name to the National Aboriginal Conference, its main features stayed the same. Its members were still chosen by Indigenous peoples, and it continued to be an advisory group.

Indigenous leaders hoped the Conference would have a bigger role in making decisions. However, it always remained an advisory group. Even so, these leaders found ways to use the Conference to gain influence. They used its platform to speak out internationally and in the media. This helped them pressure the government to pay more attention to Aboriginal issues.

The Conference is well-known for suggesting a special agreement, like a treaty, between Aboriginal peoples and the Australian Government. They used the Yolngu word makarrata to describe this idea.

Over time, the relationship between the Conference and the Australian Government became difficult. The Conference was eventually closed down by the Hawke Government in 1985.

History of the NAC

How the NAC Started

The National Aboriginal Consultative Committee (NACC) was created by the Whitlam Government in 1973. Later, it became the National Aboriginal Conference. The Committee's first goal was to give advice to the government about Aboriginal people's concerns. But Aboriginal leaders wanted more. They wanted to make their own decisions and have a group that truly represented them. This idea is called self-determination.

The Committee had its first meeting in December 1973. One of their first jobs was to write their own rules. They suggested powers for the Committee that would make it more independent, just as Aboriginal leaders wanted. But the Whitlam Government said no to this idea. They also suggested changing the name to the 'National Aboriginal Congress', but this was also rejected. Despite this, the Committee often called itself the 'National Aboriginal Congress' anyway.

Changes to the NAC

By 1976, many Aboriginal communities were frustrated. They felt there wasn't a strong group truly representing them. They also felt the National Aboriginal Consultative Committee wasn't doing enough. The Federal Executive Council understood these concerns. The new Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Ian Viner, even told the Committee that he understood their "frustrations".

Later in 1976, Minister Viner and his department started an investigation. They looked into why the NACC wasn't working well and how it related to the government. Because of this investigation, the Committee was reorganized and became the National Aboriginal Conference. However, this change didn't give Aboriginal leaders the power to make their own decisions. Like before, the Conference could only give advice; it couldn't make laws or policies.

At first, the new Conference still had a limited advisory role. But the Conference started taking actions on the international stage. For example, in 1976, they sent a group to the United Nations. These international actions made the Australian Government feel embarrassed. This led the government to meet with NAC members.

The Idea of a Treaty and Makarrata

In April 1979, the NAC said it supported the idea of a Treaty between non-Aboriginal and Aboriginal peoples. They chose the word makarrata, which is a Yolngu word. It means "the end of a dispute between communities and the resumption of normal relations." The NAC thought the Australian public and government might not like the idea of a 'treaty' in the usual sense. So, makarrata was a way to describe a similar agreement. In November 1979, the NAC created a special group to work on the makarrata idea. This group traveled around Australia and talked to Indigenous peoples. They wrote a report the next year.

The Fraser government didn't want a treaty. They thought it might suggest that Indigenous people were a separate nation. However, the government was open to the makarrata idea. So, in late 1981, a Senate committee started looking into whether a treaty or makarrata was possible. Even though some Indigenous leaders had concerns about this investigation, the committee released its report in 1983.

Why the NAC Declined

By the end of the Fraser government in 1983, people working for the NAC felt its future was uncertain. The NAC didn't have enough money or staff. There were also other problems within the organization.

When the Hawke government came into power in 1983, things changed for a bit. The new Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Clyde Holding, encouraged the NAC to make improvements. He gave them the money and chances to do so. Holding made the NAC the main advisory group for his department. He also gave the NAC a direct role in creating policies, including laws about national land rights.

However, the leaders of the NAC were divided on how to improve. One group, led by Rob Riley, wanted the NAC to become a strong lobbying group. They wanted to work closely with local Indigenous groups and create policy ideas with them. The other group, led by Ray Robinson, believed the NAC just needed more resources, not big changes. They were happy with their advisory role and focused on talking to the government, not to Aboriginal communities themselves.

This disagreement meant that changes didn't happen quickly. Minister Holding became impatient with the NAC because it couldn't fix its own problems. So, in September 1983, he stopped the NAC's own reform process. He appointed an independent person to study the NAC and suggest how it could be reorganized.

The next year, several important people, including Rob Riley and the NAC chairman, left the organization. Also, some financial problems were found. These money troubles were due to staff who didn't have much experience. This made the relationship between the NAC and Minister Holding worse. He then put the NAC under the control of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs. Finally, in 1985, the report that Holding had asked for recommended closing down the NAC completely. There were big protests against Holding's land rights policies in early 1985. In June, the NAC was officially closed.

What the NAC Achieved

Even though the NAC couldn't make policies directly, it was still important politically. For example, when the NAC called for a makarrata in 1979, it really helped to shape Indigenous protests over the next ten years.

The idea of makarrata as an agreement between Indigenous peoples and the Australian state helped start a period of Indigenous separatism. Independent Indigenous activists took the idea of makarrata further. They explored what Indigenous sovereignty, or self-rule, really meant.

Notable People

Jim Hagan

Jim Hagan was elected to the NAC in 1977. He is most known for being the chairman of the NAC, a position he was elected to in 1980. As chairman, he oversaw the NAC and its groups when they released the report on the makarrata.

Hagan was also the first Aboriginal Australian to speak at the United Nations. As chairman of the NAC, he led a group of NAC members to talk to the UN's human rights committee. They spoke about the Noonkanbah dispute, which was about giving mining rights to land that Aboriginal people considered sacred. This appearance at the UN brought international attention to the issue of Indigenous land rights in Australia.

After the NAC was closed, Hagan worked for the Aboriginal Development Commission until he retired in 1997.

Rob Riley

Rob Riley was elected to the Conference in 1981. He became the Conference's national chair in May 1984.

Before he became national chair, he was very important in helping Indigenous groups decide how to respond to land rights issues.

In late 1983, Riley strongly supported creating a network of Indigenous activist groups with the NAC. This was to make the Conference's voice stronger. A big success of these efforts was an agreement signed in October 1983. It was between the NAC leaders and the National Federation of Land Councils to work together for Aboriginal land rights.

As National Chair, Riley put political pressure on the government. He kept a good relationship with the media and used it to share his and the Conference's plans. He also wasn't afraid to challenge the government directly. He spoke out strongly and didn't care much for formal rules. For example, soon after becoming National Chair in October 1984, Riley was invited to speak at the National Press Club. He used this chance to directly criticize the Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, for how he was handling land rights.

One of Riley's first big actions as National Chair was helping to develop the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Bill. He helped shape the bill and its political goals. Riley wanted the NAC to be decisive. Instead of just giving advice to the government, he chose to lobby the Opposition leader to get their support for the bill.

Riley's leadership as National Chair ended partly because his style was very different from Minister Clyde Holding's. Riley led with his strong beliefs. Holding, on the other hand, was a political realist. He always put his Party's interests and their chances of winning elections first. Riley's outspoken style became too much for Holding in late 1984. This happened when Riley strongly criticized a deal the government made with the Western Australian Premier Brian Burke. This deal would greatly reduce the government's promise to deliver Indigenous land rights.

See also

• Aboriginal Development Commission