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Dr David Martin, CAEPR Visiting Fellow

BEng (Chem) (Hons), University of Queensland MSc (Social Anthropology) (Hons), London School of Economics PhD (Anthropology), Australian National University E-mail: david.martin@anu.edu.au Phone: (02) 6125 0671 Publications & Research Outputs

David Martin has been with CAEPR as a Research Fellow (part time) from 1995 to 2006, and continues his association as a Visiting Fellow. His research interests have been varied, but have centred on the policy implications of the engagement of Aboriginal social, political and economic systems with those of the dominant society.

Resume

Land rights and native title issues have comprised a large part of David's research. During 1999, he was engaged by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) to provide advice on the re-recognition of Native Title Representative Bodies as a member of multi-disciplinary teams including lawyers, accountants and anthropologists. This involved the assessment of NTRBs against the criteria established in the amended Native Title Act, and required a detailed knowledge of the principles of native title and the requirements of the Act, including those related to the mediation of native title claims.

Along with a barrister, Christos Mantziaris of the Law Program, Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University, David was engaged by the National Native Title Tribunal to produce a book together with a plain English version on legal and anthropological issues of the Prescribed Bodies Corporate regime under the Native Title Act. The plain English version has been published through the NNTT, and the monograph has been published through Federation Press.

David was also involved as part of a multi-disciplinary team working through the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, which examined the issue of developing Regional Agreements springboarding from section 21 of the original Native Title Act. Taking Cape York as a case study, he examined how and in what contexts regionalism could be facilitated despite an indigenous polity in which localism is the dominant form.

David has researched and published in a number of other areas relating to the intercultural zone between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal societies. For example, he co-authored a Discussion Paper which examines conceptual and methodological features of the Australian Bureau of Statistics Remote Area Census Strategy which, given particular features of remote Aboriginal societies, potentially lead to significant under-enumeration of Aboriginal people. He has also published a discussion paper on Aboriginal concepts relating to cash and business and their implications for Aboriginal engagement with the commercial realm.

David Martin undertook a study into the political economy of alcohol in the Cape York Aboriginal communities, and published a CAEPR discussion paper on this subject which makes a number of significant policy recommendations with regard to the supply of alcohol in remote Aboriginal communities. Further work on indigenous alcohol issues in the Alice Springs area has led to a report to the Northern Territory Liquor Commission co-authored with Maggie Brady of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, which recommended strategies directed towards developing a responsible culture of serving alcohol as part of an overall process of reducing harmful consumption practices.

A major area of David's research interests has concerned the question of accountability within Aboriginal organisations, including how it is to be conceptualised, and legal and organisational mechanisms to achieve it. He focussed on this area in his work with a multi-disciplinary team engaged through the Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, which undertook a review of the Federal Aboriginal Councils and Associations Act 1976. As well as proposing a revised scheme for this Act which would take into account the diversity of Aboriginal organisational structures and needs, his work presaged subsequent work on the issue of accountability. In a discussion paper on this matter, co-authored with Dr Julie Finlayson, it was argued that external accountability, including that to funding bodies such as ATSIC, is linked to internal accountability, that is accountability to the organisation's constituency or clients. Specific mechanisms for maximising this are proposed in the light of identified Aboriginal social and political values.

David also works as an independent consultant. In this capacity, he has focussed particularly on assisting indigenous groups to develop and establish effective organisational structures, community development (particularly alcohol related issues), native title, and land rights.

Between 1991 and 1993, David worked as a consultant, and then in senior management, for the then Division of Aboriginal and Islander Affairs in Queensland, in the development and subsequent implementation of Queensland's land rights legislation.

Key Publications & Research

Select the links below for detailed listings of Dr Martin's research outputs.

Books and Major Publications | Book Sections/Chapters | Journal Articles
CAEPR Publications and Working Papers | Workshops | Reports