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Agreement for the Provision of Essential Services to Indigenous Communities in Western Australia | | Date: | 18 October 2000 | | | Place: | | | State/Country: | Western Australia, Australia | | | | Alternative Names: | Essential Services Bilateral Agreement
| | Subject Matter: | Health and Community Services | | Water | | URL: | https://web.archive.org/web/20030718103149/http://www.dia.wa.gov.au/Policies/EnvironmentalHealth/Files/Essential%20Services%20Bilateral%20Agreement.pdf | | | Summary Information: | | | The Agreement for the Provision of Essential Services to Indigenous Communities in Western Australia ('the Agreement') was signed by the Premier of Western Australia and the Western Australian Minister for Housing, Aboriginal Affairs and Water Resources, on behalf of the State of Western Australia; by the Commonwealth Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, on behalf of the Commonwealth Government; and by the Chairperson of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) and the Chairpersons of the Wunan, Ngarda Ngarli Yarndu, Kullarri, Malarabah, Wongatha, Western Desert, Yamatji, Perth Noongar and Noongar County Regional Councils, on behalf of ATSIC, on 18 October 2000.
The Agreement has since been replaced by the Agreement for the Provision of Housing, Infrastructure and Essential Services for Indigenous People in Western Australia, to which ATSIC is not a party. | | Detailed Information: | | | Essential Services
'Essential services' are defined in cl 4.0 as 'the provision and maintenance of power, water and waste water infrastructure to discrete Indigenous communities in Western Australia.'
Agreed Outcomes
The Agreement sought to achieve:
- more efficient and integrated service delivery;
- a partnership between government agencies, service providers and Indigenous communities;
- upgrading and normalisation of services;
- training, employment and economic development opportunities;
- more reliable and efficient services; and
- an agreed framework for negotiating bilateral service agreements.
The parties identified a need for cooperation in the delivery of essential services because they recognised that there had been ineffective and inefficient service delivery to Indigenous communities since 1985 (cl 7.0).
Definitions of Communities
The Agreement categorises Indigenous communities into either:
a) 'Town Based Communities', which are usually located on Aboriginal reserves with access to mainstream essential services; or
b) 'Large, Permanently Established Remote Communities', which have at least 50 people (at least 75% of whom live in the community for 75% of the year), at least five domestic dwellings connected to power, water and waste water systems and which have secure land tenure; or, if not fitting these criteria, are otherwise able to demonstrate good reason for receiving maintenance funding.
The policies for essential service delivery differed according to the community type. | |
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