The Government Roundtable and the Rainforest Aboriginal People's Summit held earlier this year sought to increase and sustain investment in meeting Traditional Owner aspirations for looking after Country through on-ground work, along with improved organisation and governance which will benefit both Government and Aboriginal people in the following ways:

• Improved leadership and operational capacity,
• Better consultation processes,
• More employment and businesses for Traditional Owners,
• Better agreements that improve decision making for and access to Country,
• Improved health and well being, and
• Better management of the environment.

The Summit and Government roundtable were hosted by a working-together alliance of sub-regional Traditional Owner organisations including the Girringun Aboriginal Corporation (GAC), Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation and the Central Wet Tropics Institute for Country and Culture (CWTICC). The Summit was supported by partners both government and non-government including Department of Community Services, Wet Tropics Management Authority and Terrain.

The seven themes discussed were:

1. Traditional Owner participation
2. Coordinated investment partnerships
3. Cultural Heritage
4. Water
5. Economic development
6. Land and Protected Area management and
7. Planning

The Summit looked to progress these 7 themes as set out in the Aboriginal Plan and the Regional Agreement (http://www.wettropics.gov.au/rah/rah_regional.html) which provided the opportunity to:

• Re-focus on the Aboriginal Plan and the Regional Agreement,
• See what progress has been made towards implementation and
• Identify a more coordinated investment approach.

For more information, contact Terrain's Land and Sea Management Coordinator, Lyle Johnson on (07) 4030 2703 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .