Indigenous Community Governance Project Understanding, Building and Sustaining Effective Governance in Rural, Remote and Urban Indigenous Communities Torres Strait regional governance and autonomy   Will Sanders and Bill Arthur This case study is focussing on the emerging regional governance arrangements in the vast region of the Torres Strait, which extends from the tip of Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland to the coast of Papua New Guinea. According to the 2001 Census, it has a population of some 8,300 people, three-quarters of whom identify as Torres Strait Islander or Aboriginal. A further 35,000 Torres Strait Islanders live elsewhere in Australia, many of whom still regard Torres Strait as their homeland. Within Torres Strait, the population is spread through about 20 localities, though approximately one third of the people live on Thursday Island. The smaller localities also vary in population size between 60 and 600 people. Land tenure is mixed. Smaller outlying localities had Deeds of Grant in Trust (DOGITs) in the past, but now increasingly have had native title recognised. Thursday Island has far more freehold land. Among the key governing bodies in the region that form part of the research is the Island Coordinating Council (ICC), its members drawn from the 17 Island Councils that were established under the Queensland Community Services (Torres Strait) Act 1984. In turn, ICC members, plus two other representatives of Indigenous people, constitute the Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA), which was established in 1994 under the Commonwealth Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission Act 1989. Importantly, the Commonwealth ATSIC Amendment Bill 2004, which abolished ATSIC, maintained the existence of the TSRA. Also important is the Torres Shire Council which administers areas not covered by Island Councils, including Thursday Island, Horn Island, and Prince of Wales Island.   The Queensland government is currently committed to a green and white paper review of the legislation governing Island Councils, which could lead to discussion of possible legislative change in the next year or so. The TSRA has now emerged from the Commonwealth ATSIC system as a relatively free-standing body. This too could lead to significant change. Fieldwork was first undertaken in early 2004 to observe elections in the region; the results of this are presented in CAEPR Discussion Paper No. 268 (see the link below). Work in 2005 involved reporting back on the election study, monitoring developments in the autonomy movement, and exploring possible topics for future work, and is continuing in 2006. Papers arising from this research include: 'Torres Strait elections, 2000 and 2004: Changes in political leadership and style?', CAEPR Discussion Paper No. 268, by Will Sanders. [3.2 MB PDF document] Click here to download document.