Crough, Greg; Pritchard, Bill; Howitt, Richie --- "A Significant Contribution - Aboriginal Contribution to the Central Australian Economy" [1989] AboriginalLawB 34; (1989) 1(39) Aboriginal Law Bulletin 4

• A Significant Contribution-Aboriginal Contribution To The Central Australian Economy
• The Aboriginal Population
• The Political Environment
• The Local Economy

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A Significant Contribution -
Aboriginal Contribution to the Central Australian Economy

Greg Crough, Bill Pritchard and Richie Howitt

In 1988 the Combined Aboriginal Organisations of Alice Springs, which includes the Central Land Council, the Aboriginal Legal Service, the Institute for Aboriginal Development and Tangentyere Council, among others, commissioned a report into the Aboriginal contribution to the Central Australian economy and strategies to enhance Aboriginal economic well-being.

The report, Aboriginal Economic Development in Central Australia, prepared by Greg Crough, Bill Pritchard and Richie Howitt from Sydney University's Department of Geography, destroys the myth that Aborigines have only marginal significance to the economy of Central Australia. Aborigines contributed a total of at least $184 million, or about one third, to the value of the Central Australian economy which was estimated to be $550 million in 1987-88.

A summary of the report says that a look at the source of monies which Aborigines contributed to the economy destroys many other myths about Aborigines. Five different types of monies were identified in the course of the research:

• Aboriginal organisations based in Alice Springs (not government departments) contributed almost one-fifth of the total ($32 million). Considered together, the Aboriginal organisations are the largest single employer in Central Australia, employing more than 650 people. One-third of the organisations' income was derived from commercial undertakings ($11 million).
• Citizen entitlements to Aborigines contributed 56 per cent of the total Aboriginal economy. These are monies distributed by government to Aboriginal people because they are Australian citizens, not because they are Aboriginal. The major part of this category is made from Aboriginal peoples' use of public services such as hospitals, schools, the legal system and public works.
• Grants to Aborigines by the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, the Aboriginal Development Commission, the Department of Employment, Education and Training, and some parts of the ABTA, totalled $46 million, or 25 per cent of the total Aboriginal economy. The report says that these monies are therefore much less significant than is popularly expressed.
• Aboriginal earned income is frequently overlooked in generalisations about the Aboriginal economy, it says. In 1987-88 some $31 million was earned by Aboriginal organisations or individual Aborigines in central Australia (17 per cent of the total).
• The Aboriginal bureaucracy is a necessary part of the process of distributing Aboriginal grants. The administrative costs of this bureaucracy in Central Australia amounted to $2.2 million in 1987-88, $400,000 of which was used to employ Aborigines.

The report says that these results show that the Aboriginal sector cannot be regarded merely as a welfare transfer from the government.

"The Aboriginal economy is a complex web of earnings, grants, and citizen entitlements, which are increasingly held together by an Aboriginal professional organisation sector," it says. "Together, these monies keep one-third of the Central Australia economy afloat. The indirect effects of these expenditures, and the extent to which Aborigines comprise an intangible asset for the region (as in their cultural importance for the tourist industry) enlarge this role further."

In addition to quantifying the Aboriginal contribution to the economy, the report also identifies 3 major constraints that Aboriginal economic development must overcome:

• the characteristics of the Aboriginal population;
• the political environment; and
• the size and state of the local economy.

The Aboriginal Population

Addressing poor health, education, housing and poverty is the obvious aim of Aboriginal economic development. Yet these factors themselves are constraints to that process.

Of the 13,000 jobs in Central Australia, 11,000 are located in Alice Springs. Aborigines have few of the jobs in Alice Springs. Although Aborigines comprise 16 per cent of the Alice Springs population, they occupy only 8 per cent of the jobs. In remote areas of Central Australia, where two-thirds of Aborigines live, the prospects for employment are bleaker still. In the Tanami only one out of every ten Aboriginal adults has a job of any sort. Reflecting their access to employment. Aborigines have incomes less than half those of non-Aborigines in Central Australia.

For many Aboriginal children, education is a luxury. Almost half of the Aboriginal children in the central reserves area of Western Australia, for example, are recorded as not being at school.

The implications for economic development of these constraints are twofold. First, because stores of wealth amongst Aborigines are poor, Aborigines require goods for immediate consumption first and foremost. In fact, while the problem of poverty is not addressed directly, it should be no surprise that Aborigines' primary demands are consumption goods. Second, the problems of poverty mean that strategies for economic development must be structured so that `profits' are repatriated to Aborigines in such a way as to maximise community standards of living.

The Political Environment

The political environment is a constraint in four ways.

• First, the stance of the Northern Territory Government is in many respects antagonistic towards Aboriginal interests. Northern Territory Government opposition to land claims has cost Aboriginal organisations thousands of dollars in legal expenses.
• Second, paternalism in the delivery of Aboriginal services, has led to the misinterpretation of the wishes of Aboriginal people, resulting in inappropriate resource usage and denigrating Aboriginal control over their own environment.
• Third, the administration of (Federal) Aboriginal Affairs is undergoing a period of great uncertainty. This uncertainty can be used opportunistically by those wishing to discredit the Aboriginal cause. The fallout could result in the Commonwealth Government further retreating from its national responsibilities towards Aboriginal people.
• Fourth, there is a clear trend towards further funding cuts and the mainstreaming of Aboriginal programs. This of course produces a major and direct constraint to Aborigines.

For Aborigines, these constraints mean that horizons will have to be raised above looking to government for economic salvation. Central Australian Aborigines already self-generate about 20 per cent of their funds. It is not unreasonable to suggest that this element of the Aboriginal economy will need to take on increasing importance in future years.

The Local Economy

The local economy is a constraint for Aborigines because its narrow base limits the options for Aboriginal enterprises.

Furthermore, the relatively low rate of regional growth at present and the tendency for many industrial sectors in Central Australia to be controlled by well established firms, makes market entry difficult. The report, in identifying the range of economic constraints and opportunities available to Central Australian Aborigines, not only undermines many of the myths used to deride the Aboriginal contribution to the welfare of the Central Australian economy, but also provides information to assist in the future planning and utilisation of Aboriginal economic power.

The report advises that economic strategies must be tied together. It is easy to take an investment manager's advice and purchase an investment because it pays a high return. Yet Aboriginal funds are better spent if they are invested so that Aborigines receive a positive spin-off at the same time as making a profit. For instance, buying shares in a mining venture on Aboriginal land, and thus gaining some say in the corporate actions of that company, is better than buying shares in a company with no direct dealings with Aboriginal people.

There is an ongoing need for Aborigines to monitor developments in the local economy so that they can respond more effectively. Information is power, and it may be worthwhile for the Combined Aboriginal Organisations to establish a structure to ensure Aboriginal organisations are kept up to date with specific opportunities in the local economy.