• Those consulted need to be provided with
comprehensive, balanced and accurate
information;
• All interested parties should have access to
the consultation process; and
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• Effective consultation requires openness
about why people are being consulted, how
they will be consulted and how much
influence they will have over decisions made;
• All participants should be treated with
dignity and respect.” 1
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Naturally, it important to keep all these factors
in mind when consulting with Aboriginal
people. It is also important, however, to
remember that Aboriginal people have often felt
consultation left them powerless to affect
government decision making and for this reason
prefer the term “negotiation” to “consultation”.
“Negotiation” suggests a more equal
relationship where parties work through any
conflict, finding areas of agreement and agreeing
to disagree if areas of conflict cannot be
resolved.
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Office of the Cabinet, Queensland, Consultation: A
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1
Resource Document For The Queensland Public Sector ,(p. 30), 1993,
(P.1) GOPRINT, Brisbane.
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• Each consultation needs to be designed to
meet the unique demands of the situation
and to identify and define clearly the issues
considered and allow for adequate time to
conduct the consultation process;
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• Effective consultation should occur early and
throughout the decision making process;
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• “Consultation is an essential component of
the policy making process;
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Consultation:
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It is crucial to the success of government
programs if consultation and negotiation occurs.
Too often in the past Aboriginal people have felt
that only token consultation has been carried
out by governments and that this “consultation”
has occurred merely to “back up” a foregone
Government decision. However, when
consultation and negotiation occur a more equal
relationship develops.
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Obviously, taking the initiative to involve
Aboriginal people (as with any client) at the
beginning of a project, program or the
development of a policy will allow direct
identification of their needs and increase the
effectiveness, relevance and acceptance of
policies or services. Creative solutions can be
developed when the government and community
work in partnership. Evaluation of policies and
services requires consultation with affected and
interested groups to receive feedback and this is
dealt with in the Providing Feedback (5) and
Evaluation (6) Sections.
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introduction continued
8
D e p a r t m e n t o f A b o r i g i n a l and T o r r e s S t r a i t I s l a n d e r P o l i c y a n d D e v e l o p m e n t