CRC TiME is committed to First Nations Inclusion and in late 2021 the Board endorsed 10 key principles as part of the 2025-2027 Strategic Plan:
We recognise and acknowledge:
- First Nations People are the first custodians of land and sea country and Traditional Owners have inherent rights and responsibilities
- First Nations People have their own research priorities and interests and are looking to engage with partners that can facilitate social, cultural and economic benefit to their people and communities
- First Nations communities and groups have their own protocols and these must be observed, understood, respected and engaged with as an essential, ongoing part of the research process. Engagement should happen via appropriate Indigenous governance structures (and protocols)
- Opportunities for First Nations led and directed research are created and research enables, facilitates and supports First Nations inclusion
- ‘Truth-telling’ about the (colonial) past including misappropriation and exploitation of Indigenous knowledge and intellectual property
- Recognition of Indigenous Ecological Knowledge and Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property and First Nations rights to benefit sharing as a result of that knowledge
- Research is underpinned by free, prior and informed consent processes and respects the rights of First Nations Peoples to be fully engaged in research
- Respects the rights of First Nations peoples to control and maintain their culture and heritage
- Traditional Owner interests endure in data/samples collected on First Nations Country by researchers
- Centrality of equitable partnerships and appreciation for First Nations Peoples concept of time.
As part of our First Nations Prioritisation Plan, we will work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, organisations and communities to support change in six key areas:
- support inclusion of First Nations people in post-mine transition decisions
- increase Indigenous involvement in environmental, mine closure and post-mine transition activities
- building First Nations capacity to identify and assess post-mine options
- support First Nations inclusion in policy and regulation development and considerations
- support First Nations involvement in regional planning
- support First Nations skills, careers and business pathways.