8 8.18 Interviewee story summaries Anna Strzelecki, SA Anna is a Kokatha woman and a member of two PBCs, the Kokatha Aboriginal Corporation and the Gawler Ranges Aboriginal Corporation, whose boundaries adjoin each other. Anna also works at a large university and is active at board level in other Aboriginal organisations. Anna described how her two PBCs don’t seem to have a shared definition of a Common Law Holder. One corporation has very tight requirements for membership while the other has a much broader interpretation. Anna described the challenges posed by the terms of determination in their case. Difficulty arose not only through trying to determine who is a Kokatha Common Law Holder, but by determining who gets to decide or recognise a Common Law Holder.83 Under the Rule Book, you just have to have lived or worked in the area, or your parents or grandparents have lived or worked in the area … it allows for a lot of argument. Anna said she was unimpressed with the legal advice in the early stages of setting up the PBC. She felt that the professional role was important in how the Rule Book came to interpret the determination in the way that it did. She felt it did not need to be interpreted like that. Anna told us that she has personally witnessed what she considers exploitation of the broad definition of Common Law Holder in the Kokatha PBC. She spoke about how this interpretation has allowed benefits to be distributed to people who have no connection to Kokatha country. Anna also believes that a lack of transparency regarding payments by the PBC means that people speculate wildly, ultimately causing disputes. Anna spoke of her concerns regarding some of the individual men in positions of power. She felt that legislation and regulations were being used by some on the board of the PBC to confuse members and prevent fairer distribution of the funds to a more limited – and in her view, more legitimate – pool of beneficiaries. Anna described a long struggle to get ORIC to take any action in relation to alleged misconduct of those in charge of the PBC – after years of asking ORIC to intervene, they went to the Commonwealth Ombudsman and finally ORIC put the PBC into administration. Anna noted how, while in administration, the PBC’s Rule Book could be – and was – changed by the special administrator without needing to adhere to the normal requirements of voting. Anna lamented that this opportunity wasn’t taken to create the best and most transparent structure for the group, addressing defects she identified in the existing Rule Book that have caused disputes. After the PBC came out of administration, its newly appointed board was all women except for one man. Despite the board doing well so far, Anna said there were still outstanding issues which result in ongoing arguments in the community. Anna noted the particular issue of who should be a member and/or Common Law Holder and who should receive benefits. Since Anna’s interview, she has advised my team that these issues have made progress. Australian Human Rights Commission 101