Aboriginal perceptions of a government consultation process: a case study of the Queensland Regional Forest Agreement process

This paper examines the qualitative responses of indigenous informants, identified by the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency, as having been consulted as part of the South East Queensland Regional Forest Agreement Process, to their consultation experience, their aspirations and reflections on outcomes. Using the informants' own words the researchers suggest that informants felt they did not have sufficient capacity to participate effectively in western-based planning systems. We conclude that, despite best intentions, there is an important lack of provision for influence or power, including any legal or administrative institutional framework. We also conclude that there are important institutional and social processes of engagement still to be developed, including ways of engaging the community more widely that has conventionally been done. Suggestions as to more effective processes for community engagement are offered to assist government agencies in achieving a meaningful consultation process with Indigenous communities.