9.1 Self‑determination and self-governance The right to self‑determination as a foundation is critical to the success of any policy, system, or practice. This is clear in the evidence around ‘what works’ to address disadvantage in its many forms.94 In First Nations communities, we have seen many examples of successful community-designed and run initiatives which respond to the needs of the people they are serving. I set out many examples in Wiyi Yani U Thangani, as have previous Social Justice Commissioners in their reports. We have also seen many examples of unsuccessful interventions which have not reflected a culturally sensitive and responsive approach to the problems they seek to address. These have also been scrutinised by my predecessors. For example, Tom Calma’s Social Justice Report 2007 scrutinised the Northern Territory Intervention.95 In 2012, my predecessor, Mick Gooda, wrote about how self‑determination can have many different meanings in practice.96 Self‑determination can mean different things to different groups of people and there are many elements to self‑determination. Importantly, self‑determination will not look the same in all circumstances because it is defined by the people seeking to exercise it. The exercise of self‑determination can only be achieved if we have good community governance. This means the existence of ‘effective, accountable and legitimate systems and processes’ where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples can ‘articulate their interests, exercise their rights and responsibilities and reconcile their differences’.97 Former Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, James Anaya has described the link between self‑determination and governance: While human beings fundamentally are the beneficiaries of the principles of self‑determination, the principle bears upon the institutions of government under which human beings live. Self‑determination [expresses] international concern for the essential character of government structures …98 In 1993, Lowitja O’Donoghue argued the basis upon which government should support our self‑determination: Self‑determination as a concept is not something which can be tacked onto program design or introduced through piecemeal consultation. It has to be accepted as a policy objective that pervades the relationship of Indigenous peoples to the wider community.99 110 Women in Native Title: Native Title Report 2024