Prior to the address at the NPC, Commissioner Calma and the Steering Committee he has led, will have presented Indigenous Affairs Minister the Hon Jenny Macklin, with the final report of the Steering Committee for establishing a national representative body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The Report will outline the model designed and developed from 12 months of intensive consultations with Indigenous peoples.

By way of background to this historic journey, Mr Calma  presented the federal government with an Issues Paper on considerations for a national Indigenous representative body in June 2008. A consultation process was commenced by Government soon after.

He was subsequently asked by Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin in December 2008 to convene an independent Indigenous Steering Committee to undertake phase two of consultations and develop a model for a new national Indigenous representative body.

Mr Calma has been leading this challenging process ever since and will formally hand the final report to Minister Macklin on the day of the address.

Arriving at this stage has required an unprecedented level of consultation and negotiation in the highly contentious and politically-charged area of Indigenous affairs.  Firstly, Tom facilitated a process which recruited 10 influential and innovative interlocutors from among the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community to comprise a Steering Committee.

The Steering Committee then oversaw a rigorous, open and transparent selection process to select 100 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to attend a three-day workshop to maximise participation and contribution.  The Steering committee used the workshop outcomes, online submission and survey processes, as well as focus groups, to guide the process and ultimately develop a preferred model for a new national representative body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Tom's address will announce the model for the new body, and more importantly, outline how establishing such a body is the most significant step in reconciliation and resetting the relationship between government and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples since the National Apology.

The handover of this model to government is an historic moment for the nation's Indigenous people.