论“土著及托雷斯海峡岛民委员会”的建立

On the Establishment of the “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission”

无论是政府出于解决土著问题的考量还是从土著争取自身权益的角度来看,建立土著代表机构都是一个不可或缺的步骤。1989年成立的"土著及托雷斯海峡岛民委员会"就是上述因素共同作用的结果。与以往类似机构相比,"土著及托雷斯海峡岛民委员会"不仅是一个选举意义上的土著代表机构,还是一个参与土著政策拟定以及服务于土著社会的联邦法定机构。它的成立对于有效实施联邦政府的土著政策以及促进土著民族自我管理或自决甚至自治均有着积极意义或影响。正因为如此,它被认为是澳大利亚历史上最有影响的土著代表机构。

Whether it is out of the government’s consideration in dealing with aboriginal problems or it is from the angle of the aboriginal struggle for their own right and interests,the establishment of a representative aboriginal body is an indispensable step. The establishment of ATSIC in 1989 was the result of the combination of those above factors. Compared it with some previous similar bodies,the ATSIC was not only the representative aboriginal body in the sense of election,but also a Commonwealth statutory body which participated in the process of decision-making and served for the aboriginal society. Its establishment would have played an active effect on implementing the commonwealth government’s policy to aboriginal self-management,or self-determination or self-government. Based on this,it had been regarded as the most influential representative aboriginal body in Australian history.