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First Nations Engagement Strategy

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Overview

The SBCC First Nations Engagement Strategy provides a foundation by which the SBCC will include and engage First Nations communities of South Australia, in order to reflect First Nations values, knowledges and cultures in the efforts and practices of the SBCC.

The Strategy was developed in collaboration with the First Nations South Australia Aboriginal Corporation, and developed with the assistance of South Australian Native Title Services (SANTS).

First Nations Engagement Strategy

SBCC’s six guiding principles for engagement with First Nations communities of SA

These principles are designed to underpin the SBCC’s legislative and regulatory frameworks, policies, guidance, standards, programs and projects. They draw from international frameworks and treaties that Australia is a signatory to, including the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. They are also informed by the Racial Discrimination Act (1975) and the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.

  1. Aboriginal and Zenadth Kes, being the First Nations peoples of Australia, must be enabled to self-determine how they lead, participate in, and benefit from the bushfire management framework in South Australia.
  2. First Nations peoples maintain their right to live on their land, with access to Country and the ability to practice culture in relation to fire management.
  3. First Nations peoples are stewards and custodians of Country, including the land, waters, skies and seas. This connection is ongoing and enduring.
  4. First Nations peoples’ access to fire management planning resources ensures safer and healthier Country for all human and non-human life.
  5. First Nations cultural heritage and knowledge must be recognised, protected and celebrated throughout.
  6. Building genuine partnerships and collaboration is a shared responsibility. Government has a special duty of care to lead these efforts and ensure they are underpinned by robust and transparent data collection, monitoring and reporting, whilst respecting and protecting First Nations intellectual property.

The Artwork

The artwork by Ngarrindjeri artist Jordan Lovegrove represents the SBCC and its role in protecting South Australian communities from bushfire. At the centre is the SBCC, the government body responsible for coordinating bushfire risk management across South Australia. Surrounding it are nine coloured meeting places symbolising the BMCs that operate at the local level and report to the SBCC.

First Nations Engagement Strategy artwork by Jordan Lovegrove

Extending outward are pathways of knowledge-sharing between SBCC and First Nations communities, shown through large white meeting places with two-way arrows. These represent the respectful exchange of cultural and land management knowledge. The surrounding smaller meeting places represents the diverse communities, families, and landscapes across the state.

Each coloured section reflects a specific region and its relationship to fire and land:

  • Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges: Agriculture and property
  • Fleurieu: Plantation estate
  • Flinders and Outback: Species of significance including Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby
  • Kangaroo Island: Community connections
  • Limestone Coast: Waterways and underground springs
  • Lower Eyre Peninsula: Powerlines and significant infrastructure
  • Mid North and Yorke: Cropping lines and tilled earth
  • Murray Mallee: Native flora as habitat for species such as the Mallee Emu-wren
  • Upper Eyre Peninsula: Grasslands

Additional segments show broader fire management themes such as caring for Country through cultural burning; prescribed burning; rejuvenation of flora and fauna; and fire access tracks used in bushfire response.

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