Published: 10 May 2022

Country Needs People has consistently campaigned around Australia for governments to get behind traditional owners and back in Aboriginal rangers with increased, longer term, well-tailored funding. Funding that provides for wages, equipment, support staff and training. 

In the lead-up to the 2022 federal election we called on all political parties and candidates to:

• Double the number of Indigenous rangers over 10 years
• Double the funding for the Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) program over four years
• Create a fund for ranger training, capacity building, networking, and infrastructure costs
• Ensure equal employment opportunities for women rangers by 2030.

Where do the parties and candidates stand so far?

Australian Democrats

The Australian Democrats have committed to expanding the successful Indigenous Ranger Program to 5,000 ranger positions to meet the needs of a growing number of Indigenous Protected Areas.

Australian Greens

In their policy statement, the Greens reiterated their ongoing support for the way First Nations people have cared for Country for thousands of years and committed to:

• contributing $767 million over 4 years to triple the existing Indigenous ranger program
• expanding First Nations-led cultural burning programs, and
• expanding ‘Indigenous Protected Areas to allow more First Nations people and communities to conserve and protect animals, plants, and sites of cultural significance’.

Australian Labor Party

In August last year, the Labor Party made a number of commitments in Anthony Albanese’s Closing the Gap speech to Parliament.  Those commitments have now been included in Labor’s public policy commitments below:

• doubling the number of Indigenous rangers to 3,800 by the end of the decade
• increasing funding for Indigenous protected areas by $10 million per year, and
• providing certainty for ranger groups and Indigenous protected areas by committing to longer contracts.

Liberal and National parties

The Liberal and National parties (the Coalition) have committed to if re-elected ‘provide $636.4 million to expand the Indigenous Rangers Program, which will fund more than 1,000 additional ranger jobs in regional and remote Australia’. 

The above commitment was included in the recent Federal Budget to be funded over 6 years out to 2028 in line with existing Indigenous ranger contracts.

Jacqui Lambie Network (Tasmania)

Received from the JLN campaign:

“The Jacqui Lambie Network supports the call from Country Needs People to expand Indigenous Protected Areas and increase the number of Indigenous Rangers and will work in parliament to achieve that.”

The Local Party (Tasmania)

Senate candidate, Leanne Minshull, supports all of our four asks - she has declared this on her Facebook page.

Independents

Zoe Daniel, Independent for Goldstein (Victoria)

Zoe Daniel is supporting all our asks – see her frequently asked questions page on her policies.

Helen Haines, Independent for Indi (Victoria)

Helen Haines’ Team has confirmed that “Helen supports all four of your policy positions and can be cited as doing so”.

Kylea Tink, Independent for North Sydney (NSW)

Kylea Tink has indicated her support on Facebook.

Andrew Wilkie, Independent for Clark (Tasmania)

Andrew Wilkie is supporting our calls for increased funding for Indigenous land and sea management

David Pocock, Independent - Senate (Australian Capital Territory)

David Pocock supports all our asks - see under the ‘Safeguarding Nature’ section of his ‘Acting on Climate’ policy.

Monique Ryan, Independent for Kooyong (Victoria)

Monique Ryan is supporting our key policy asks with the following statement to Country Needs People:

1. Double the number of Indigenous rangers over 10 years
2. Increase funding for the IPA program
3. Provide equal opportunities for women in the Indigenous Ranger Program

Allegra Spender, Independent for Wentworth (NSW)

Allegra Spender’s campaign has indicated to Country Needs people that she supports the following:

1. Double the number of Indigenous rangers over 10 years.
2. Ranger training, capacity building and networking. 
3. Boost funding for the Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) program. 
4. Ensure equal employment opportunities for women rangers by 2030.

Zali Steggall, Independent for Warringah (NSW)

Zali Steggall supports all of our asks and she has written to the government asking that they be implemented.

Sarah Russell, Independent for Flinders (Victoria)

Sarah Russell supports all our asks - see her First Nations Policies.

Summary

That’s the info we have to date.

Your support has helped us get major commitments like the ones we are seeing above. There is still more work to do on Indigenous Protected Areas in particular, but we are certainly making real progress. Stay tuned before and after the election to help us keep the pressure on!

It’s not too late to make your voice heard here if you haven’t yet, and it’s definitely worth it.
Please share this with a friend and urge them to lend their voice too. It all counts.

Remember, we never back one party or candidate over another. We will never tell you how to vote, but we do communicate the policy positions of various parties and pollies to allow you to make up your own mind.