The former head of the Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation (DJAARA) has been tasked with leading the Mabo Centre in an interim capacity.
Enterprise Professor Rodney Carter, a Dja Dja Wurrung and Yorta Yorta man, has been a long-standing advocate for Indigenous rights across Victoria.
Serving for almost a decade as Group Chief Executive Officer of DJAARA, before standing down last year, and Dja Dja Wurrung Enterprises Pty Ltd, Professor Carter will lead the Centre whilst Director Dr Eddie Cubillo is on secondment.
The Indigenous-led research partnership between the National Native Title Council and the University of Melbourne — named in honour of Indigenous land rights activist Eddie Koiki Mabo — supports Indigenous leaders and Traditional Owner representative groups to strengthen the economic, social and cultural outcomes of land and sea rights through research translation, targeted training and knowledge exchange.
The Centre's Co-Chair, Professor Marcia Langton, said Professor Carter's appointment is a "major step forward," which will strengthen the Centre's focus on economic development for Traditional Owners and Native Title groups.
"It promises to enable us to achieve critical goals for Traditional Owners and Native Title groups seeking economic development opportunities," said Professor Langton.
"Getting the policy framework right for Aboriginal wealth creation is a must, and Professor Carter's leadership will make this possible."
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Professor Carter, a Member for the North West region in the First Peoples' Assembly, played a key role in the management and protection of Dja Dja Wurrung cultural heritage and was involved in negotiating the group's native title settlement, which delivered increased recognition of cultural rights and greater decision-making authority over land use and access.
During his tenure at DJAARA, the Dja Dja Wurrung also became the first Traditional Owner group to formally register their intent to negotiate an individual Traditional Owner Treaty with the state government, in what is expected to be the first of many across Victoria.
"This is a critical time when Traditional Owners are seeking to negotiate local treaty['s] with the state government," he said.
"Indigenous peoples have cared for Country for millennia, and we should be able to share in the benefits. The advancement of land and sea rights for economic gain provides opportunity for us to get back on equal footing and create better futures for our children."
He said it is a "privilege" to continue the work of Eddie Mabo, whose name is synonymous with land rights across the country.
"Through the Mabo Centre, we continue his legacy and that of countless community leaders and Elders who have fought for land and sea justice and Indigenous rights through the decades," Professor Carter said.
