Monash Memo - articles - 10 October 2001

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Addressing IT issues for Indigenous Australians

Information technology was a revolution with the potential to create as many problems as it solved for Indigenous Australians, a forum organised by Monash Asia Institute, the Centre for Australian Indigenous Studies and the Alumni Relations Office was told recently.

In his talk 'IT, IP and what about me?', keynote speaker at the IT Solutions for Indigenous Australian Communities forum Mr Ken Colbung said many people thought IT could deliver solutions for Indigenous communities living in the outback. But he reminded the audience that urban Indigenous communities also needed access to the internet and IT.

Mr Colbung, from the Bibbulam community of Western Australia, also cautioned that IT could not solve every problem - in fact it possibly created a new set of problems, particularly in the area of intellectual property rights.

While the experience of Indigenous Australian communities had shown that IT could record, codify, store and disseminate a wide variety of information, including information on Indigenous culture, art, design, exports, language, and land rights, he warned that making such knowledge widely available through the internet could actually disadvantage them.

"It is important to consider ways to protect the intellectual property of Indigenous people," Mr Colbung said.

"There has been a long history of theft of intellectual property, including Aboriginal designs and artwork. Not only are Indigenous communities poorer as a result, but also some commercial manifestations of Indigenous culture are deeply insulting and hurtful to Indigenous peoples."

Ensuring that all members of Indigenous communities share in the benefits of IT and that they did not just accrue to small groups of people was also of paramount importance, he said.

Others at the forum noted that internet access and personal computer and printer acess among Indigenous Australians was extremely low. This was a major barrier to Indigenous Australians benefiting from the IT revolution, they said.

Forum attendees included representatives from various Indigenous organisations, NGOs, Australian companies and foundations.

The Monash Asia Institute has identified IT as a major area of research at Monash, especially in the area of internet use in India, China, Malaysia, Indonesia and among Indigenous Australian communities.

From left to right: Professor Marika Vicziany, interim director of the
Monash Asia Institute Associate; Mr Ken Colbung, from the Elder Bibbulan Community
in Western Australia; Mr Barry Judd, from Monash's Centre for Australian Indigenous Studies.