Community Services (Torres Strait) Act 1984
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In 1982 legislation had been passed! allowing Aboriginal communities living on former government reserves to be granted a small measure of control over specific areas of freehold land through deeds of grant in trust (DOGITs). However, the statutory framework was altered so that there was no security of tenure, ministerial approval was required before local council decisions could be made, the government retained control of essential services, and DOGIS could be rescinded by Cabinet without notice. Subsequently, however, legislation was introduced in 1984, ostensibly giving Indigenous communities' local councils greater self-regulatory powers. The relevant Acts were the Community Services (Aborigines) Act and the Community Services (Torres Strait) Act. Aboriginal reserves were given autonomy to operate as separate local councils, which enabled them to make executive decisions, hold elections, levy rates, borrow or invest funds and collect rent.
However, local councils still fell under ministerial jurisdiction and community services were still very much government-controlled. The councils had to obtain ministerial approval for their budgets. In many ways, the Community Services legislation was a hollow victory for Indigenous people, as the autonomy they received was largely ineffective. The Health Department, for example, continued to collect revenue from community hospitals, which boosted the state's coffers, instead of funnelling it back into the communities. Moreover, the Bjelke-Petersen government still offered virtually unlimited opportunities for 'development' to take place in Indigenous communities. (Ross Fitzgerald, Lyndon Megarrity and David Symons, Made in Queensland: A New History, p. 176)
Sources:
- Ross Fitzgerald, Lyndon Megarrity and David Symons, Made in Queensland: A New History.
- Queensland Legislation: PDF
