First Nations

Clean State recognises the value that comes from learning from and working alongside First Nations people. We also recognise that we must do more to support and stand with Western Australia’s First People as they determine their future.

Clean State also acknowledges the need for meaningful action in Closing the Gap, addressing systemic discrimination and preventing deaths in custody, and the urgency of the Black Lives Matter movement.

This section of our plan reflects consultation with First Nations leaders to provide ideas for stimulus measures that would benefit and empower WA’s First Nation communities and enterprises.

Importantly, this focuses on closing the urgent gaps in infrastructure and services that exist for First Nations communities, prioritising clean water, clean energy and housing, recognising that any successful project in remote communities must be based on the approval and ownership of those communities, to integrate local context and livelihoods.

Investing in community-run First Nations media services is another important step forward, which would provide culturally and linguistically appropriate access to educational programs, traditional practices, and emergency information.

Aboriginal Ranger Programs should be expanded, to provide greater support for Traditional Owners to care for their land and country. Now is also the time for us to be investing in a transformative, state-wide place naming project, allowing for First Nations language to be reincorporated into everyday life.

There is a growing number of First Nations-led businesses and enterprises that should be supported. These businesses provide both employment opportunities and an economic benefit for local communities.

These initiatives must be linked to social reinvestment programs, diverting funding from ineffective systems and processes to community-led initiatives that provide support, training and employment opportunities.