A/HRC/15/37/Add.4 58. Another example of this trend of undermining indigenous decision-making and governance structures is found in the Government leasing scheme, as well as the 2006 amendments to the Aboriginal Land Rights Act, discussed in paragraphs 22 and 44, which also remove management and oversight authority from indigenous leadership structures. The Government has stated that, in the past, traditional owners of indigenous land were rarely consulted in investment and administrative decisions, and that the Government leasing system is intended to address this failure by defining responsibilities and standards for housing maintenance, in consultation with traditional landowners and others. The Special Rapporteur acknowledges that this is a worthy objective, but believes that this objective is achievable without restricting the rights of the indigenous communities to decision-making about land tenure through a scheme by which they are pressed to lease their land to the Government for a minimum 40-year period. 59. The Special Rapporteur notes that replacing or undermining indigenous decisionmaking structures feeds into a mistaken conception of indigenous peoples as responsible for their present disadvantaged state and unable to change. At the same time, the Special Rapporteur echoes the statements he heard from indigenous leaders about the need for indigenous peoples themselves to continue to strengthen their own organizational and local governance capacity, in order to meet the challenges faced by their communities and, in this connection, notes the importance of restoring or building strong and healthy relationships within families and communities. 2. Participation in the design, delivery and oversight of programmes 60. Also required is that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples participate effectively in the design, delivery, and oversight of development programmes on an ongoing basis. As affirmed by the Declaration, “indigenous peoples have the right to determine and develop priorities and strategies for exercising their right to development. In particular, indigenous peoples have the right to be actively involved in developing and determining health, housing and other economic and social programmes affecting them and, as far as possible, to administer such programmes through their own institutions” (art. 23). 61. Clearly, an important overarching aspect of the Closing the Gap campaign is the Government’s expressed commitment to redefine its relationship with indigenous peoples through close collaboration and partnership within a context of mutual respect and understanding. However, despite this, it is hard to ignore the fact that indigenous peoples have not been included as a party to any of the national inter-governmental partnership agreements developed under the Closing the Gap initiative and no national consultations took place in relation to the development of these agreements. However, the Government notes that certain partnership provisions, specifically under the Remote Service Delivery National Partnership Agreement, discussed in paragraph 67, are designed to boost indigenous engagement and participation in programme activities. 3. The need to support and build on indigenous-controlled initiatives 62. Developing programmes that are effective and culturally-appropriate requires innovation and flexibility, and is not free from challenges of all kinds. As a preliminary matter, it requires consultation with the affected indigenous groups about community needs and programme design, as well as openness to varied models. In particular, it is essential to provide continued support to programmes, especially those designed by indigenous people themselves that have already demonstrated achievements. The Special Rapporteur observed numerous successful indigenous-controlled programmes already in place to address issues of alcoholism, domestic violence, health, education and other areas of concern, in ways that are culturally appropriate and adapted to local needs. 16 GE.10-13887