Public choices / October 2026

Another target. Who holds the power?

First Nations-led decisions, community-controlled services and accountable funding belong beside the outcome measures. The numbers should help communities exercise authority.

Open the room All Twinkles Twinkle 27 · video

Twinkle / policy room

Connected Twinkles

Twinkle 27 / Brainstorming scenario

Closing the Gap: transfer decisions with the resources

Place agreed services and resources under community-controlled authority, with long-term funding and locally defined outcomes. An advisory seat without decision rights is not enough.

Community control means authority over decisions and resources, not merely another consultation. Sovereign data tools could help communities retain control while sharing information they choose.

Explore the connected work

Native Nations cinema - Explore Indigenous authority, sovereign data, community capability and agreements through linked ideas and sources. Source repository
Ready S.E.T. Co-op intelligence node - A rack-scale community computing proposal, local learning, cultural permissions and links to the submissions. Source repository
Community wealth and mutuals - How community-held assets and retained returns could support mutual protection and useful long-term investment. Source repository

A Fair Go for the AI Age Fiji-Australia Vuvale Union submission

How it could work

Participating communities define priorities, representation and what information can be shared.
Agreements identify decisions transferred, funding duration, workforce development and responsibilities retained by government.
Review outcomes with the community and correct missed obligations without punishing people by cutting essential services.

Everyday example

A local organisation has the authority and predictable resources to shape a service, rather than rewriting another short grant application.

Who could act and how it could be funded

States, Commonwealth programmes and community-controlled bodies must agree the relevant responsibilities. Budget for stable service delivery, paid community governance and transition support.

Fair-go safeguards

No presumed consent or imported success measure. Restricted knowledge stays protected. Public accountability follows agreed information permissions and does not replace community authority.

What would show progress

Locally chosen outcomes; funding stability; decisions actually transferred; paid capability; obligations met.

Twinkle 27 · video Open the full room Rabbit-hole policies

Full room: ideas, tools and sources

Delivery roles: Australia's three levels of government · Victoria's parliamentary responsibilities.

What we can check

The Productivity Commission’s July 2026 dashboard marks the preschool-enrolment target as met. It also reports 33.9% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children commencing school developmentally on track in 2024, and 81.4% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in appropriately sized housing in 2021. These are different populations, measures and years; progress in one does not settle the others. The Coalition of Peaks places shared decision-making and stronger community control at the centre of reform.

July 2026 dashboard and measure definitions Coalition of Peaks: First Nations-led priorities

Choices and tradeoffs

Transfer authority with sustainable fundingCommunity-controlled organisations can set priorities and build continuity. Governments must relinquish real decision power, fund capacity and agree accountability rather than transfer risk alone.

Reform mainstream servicesHealth, housing, education and justice agencies should change discriminatory practices and report outcomes. Training without authority, budgets and consequences can become another process measure.

Community-governed dataLocal access and agreed interpretation can make evidence useful. Privacy, collective authority and small-population identification need safeguards; a national dashboard does not replace local knowledge.

A practical public voice

Begin with the relevant community-controlled organisation’s published priorities and invitation to participate. Ask government which decision, budget and outcome changed under each Priority Reform. The 2026 review lists a 26 October 2026 submission deadline: check its current status before submitting. Communities choose what information they share.

Put decision rights in the agreement

Nation-authored agreement records can identify who decides, what is funded and how obligations can be reviewed. Country-controlled return proposals and cultural-data permissions address specific control over resources and information. These proposals do not establish consent, endorsement or measured outcomes.

Nation-authored agreement workbench Resource control and returns Cultural-data permissions

Status and sources

Checked 3 October 2026. Source dates and jurisdictions remain attached to the evidence. These are choices for public discussion, not an adopted party platform.

Twinkle 27: Closing the Gap

A question for the workbench

“If the target is shared, the decision-making has to be shared too.”