The Briggs review includes a portfolio list of boards considered within scope of its appointment reforms, including under “Prime Minister & Cabinet” (National Indigenous Australians Agency – NIAA).
That annexure names boards linked to the Indigenous portfolio, including Aboriginal Hostels Limited, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), Indigenous Business Australia , Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation , Northern Territory Aboriginal Investment Corporation and Outback Stores Pty Ltd.
“These boards influence housing, jobs, business capital and basic services for our mob… and if the process looks like a closed shop, First Nations people are right to ask whose interests are really being served.”
The report’s broader concern is that closed appointment pipelines can create perceptions of favouritism. It recommends a stronger, more competitive process – including independent assessment panels that advertise positions “on a central government site” and pursue wider search mechanisms to find “the widest choice” of qualified candidates.
“You can’t fix structural disadvantage with ‘jobs for mates’… genuine Independent panels and open advertising are basic steps if the government is serious about merit and representation, not just recycling the same insiders.
NIAA already manages an expression-of-interest pathway through its OnBoard Candidate Register, which it says is used to source candidates for Indigenous portfolio boards and a broader range of Australian Government board and committee appointments.
Registration, however, “does not guarantee appointment”.
No one is asking for guaranteed seats… what we’re asking for is a fair go – transparent criteria, clear reasons for decisions and an appointments system that stops looking like nepotism and starts looking like self-determination.
Discover more from I-News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
