FATSIL Policy Development | Language, Indigenous, Fatsil, Bull, Policy, Program, Create, Regional | FATSILC, Fed. Aboriginal Torres Strait Island Languages and Culture

FATSIL Policy Development

FATSIL Policy Development

FATSIL continues to lobby policy makers at a regional,state and national level. We have identified a number of priority actions that we consider vital to ongoing Indigenous language development.
• To acknowledge and recognise in the Australian Constitution that the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages are the first languages of this land and to list them as official languages alongside English.
• To create a legislative framework for our languages.This has been done in other countries such as the United Kingdom with the Welsh Language, New Zealand for Maori, and the native American Indian languages of the United States.

Garth Agius FATSIL South Australia Delegate

• To create an Indigenous Language Policy in all states and territories, and thereafter a National Indigenous Languages Policy. All policies
should be developed in partnership with local language organisations across Australia.
• To fund the Maintenance of Indigenous Languages and Records Program (MILR) to a level that enables FATSIL, local language centres and regional Aboriginal language management organisations to properly resource staff and activities for realistic program and project outcomes. FATSIL also believes that MILR should be funded on a triennial basis.
• To re-evaluate the program funding agreements for Indigenous programs. The agreements for Indigenous programs often use complex language that people with limited educational backgrounds struggle to understand. In particular the information about Indigenous
Cultural and Intellectual Property Rights should be better presented.

Sahardi Garling FATSIL Northen Territory Delegate

• To attain Gift Recipient Status (GRS) from the Australian Taxation Office. We would also like language to be recognised as an essential component of culture and for a change of legislation that reflects this. We believe that the current criteria is preventing us, and many other local language organisations, from securing additional funding from non-government sources.
• To assist the Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA) to create a better arrangement for funding Torres Strait Islander language projects
on the mainland.

Ronald Edward

Details of Canberra Language Sculpture

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