Action Plan to Advance Reconciliation

The Commonwealth chairs the taskforce addressing this issue. A draft Action Plan was developed by a working group of government officials from most States/Territories and the Commonwealth, including the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC), and submitted to Ministers for consideration at the first meeting of the Environment Protection and Heritage Council.

The Action Plan's objectives were to:

Recognise the significance, interests and contribution of Indigenous peoples to environment protection and heritage issues;
and

Promote the effective involvement of Indigenous peoples in management and protection of the environment and heritage, and in particular their principal involvement in managing their own cultural heritage.

Several principles that will underpin the strategies, and outlines of priority action areas, were included in the draft. The draft Action Plan was endorsed by Council at its first meeting.

The next step, development of an Implementation Plan, is now underway.

Implementation Plan

The Implementation Plan will be based on information from State/Territory and Commonwealth agencies, including case studies, and will be developed taking into account other efforts such as the development of the Integrated National Heritage Strategy and initiatives under other Ministerial Councils.

A draft Implementation Plan will be submitted to Council for consideration at its first meeting in 2003.