ACCAN’s Indigenous Steering Committee recently submitted to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Indigenous Affairs’ Inquiry into how the corporate sector establishes models of best practice to foster better engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander consumers. The Chair of ACCAN’s Indigenous Steering Committee, Dr Heron Loban, and ACCAN’s Director of Policy, Una Lawrence, subsequently appeared at one of the Inquiry’s public hearings to expand on comments made in the submission.

In the initial submission, ACCAN’s Indigenous Steering Committee stated that significant consumer harm can result from corporations not engaging appropriately with First Nations consumers. The submission referenced resources relating to the experiences of First Nations communications consumers, including:

• the recent ACCAN Indigenous Steering Committee submission to the Indigenous Digital Inclusion Plan consultation;
• MoneyMob Talkabout’s report on Telecommunications Debt in Rural and Remote Indigenous Central Australian Communities; and
• Dr Daniel Featherstone’s Remote Indigenous Communications Review.

Download: ACCAN submission to House of Reps Indigenous Affairs committee86.9 KB
Download: ACCAN submission to House of Reps Indigenous Affairs committee179.39 KB

During the public hearing the Committee expressed a particular interest in the MoneyMob report and requested further information about progress against its recommendations. In response to these questions on notice ACCAN provided an overview of the activities related to First Nations communications consumers that have been undertaken by Telstra, the TIO and the ACMA since the MoneyMob report was released.

Download: ACCAN supplementary submission to House of Reps Indigenous Affairs committee90.22 KB
Download: ACCAN supplementary submission to House of Reps Indigenous Affairs committee196.89 KB