One particularly significant Indigenous rights issue drawing attention at the United Nations concerns critical minerals, renewable energy, and the importance of a just energy transition that respects the rights of Indigenous peoples.

By way of contrast, recent First Nations clean energy discussions here in Australia suggest we're doing well. This positive news defies international trends where there is real concern that Indigenous peoples have been left behind and are missing out on significant economic benefits with traditional lands being further misappropriated.

We need to remember that mining forms a big part of the green transition. All renewable energy technologies are mineral-intensive. The renewable energy sector is based on the use of some minerals that have been identified as critical to build energy transition infrastructure, energy transmission and energy storage capacity.

This includes renewable energy technologies (like solar panels and wind turbines), energy transmission networks, energy storage systems, and the electrification of transportation, mobility, and various industrial processes.

In Australia, Professor Deanne Kemp has conducted research showing that most critical minerals lie on Indigenous people's recognised lands, and yet despite this, and despite all the funding towards the mining industry in the last budget, virtually nothing was allocated to help local communities engage with new mining projects.

Kemp argues that Australia already struggles with inequality, and we don't want to make this any worse. Governments have promised to partner with Aboriginal people and share the benefits of critical minerals mining, but these commitments lack necessary support and strategy to avoid negative impacts of new mining. She says that "Mining is the backbone of the Australian economy. We can't overlook social impacts and inequalities in the race to mine more critical minerals.".

A forthcoming UN report prepared for the UN Permanent Forum for Indigenous Issues also speaks to the negative impacts of the so-called green transition and the mining of critical energy transition minerals (CETMs) and their value chains on the lives and livelihoods of Indigenous Peoples. The study says those impacts are building up in an exponential violation of Indigenous Peoples' rights, including free, prior and informed consent, self-governance over their lands and resources.

The caution issued by the UN based on the experiences of Indigenous peoples globally, and including Australia, is absent from enthusiastic First Nations clean energy news at home. Unfortunately, without the Voice to Parliament, we're missing an independent assessment to weigh up and advise on this significant policy area.

Certainly, there are businesses who stand to benefit from the opportunities that will be afforded to those who reside on country rich with critical minerals, the reality is that this will benefit some, not all.

Western Australia is a rich mining state, but the reality is mining has not solved the serious issues confronting our people. In fact, we have the highest levels of incarceration and child removals in the country. Suicides are rising, especially for youth and young women. At the same time, some mining projects have destroyed traditional lands and contributed to decline of culture.

Australian voters rejected the Voice and the constitutional right of Indigenous people to be consulted in a referendum.

The clean energy First Nations policy is promising Aboriginal people will be at the table, but we know that promises have consistently been broken when it comes to our rights.

Take for example, the promise made after Rio Tinto's shocking desecration of Juukan Gorge in 2020 for new federal legislation that included mandatory minimum standards for state heritage laws consistent with the UN Declaration on the Rights of indigenous Peoples. That never happened.

While the First Nations Clean Energy Strategy promises partnerships with Aboriginal people, no legislative steps are proposed to address the power imbalance in Australia between developers and Aboriginal people.

Some think we can replicate what Canada and the US First Nations are negotiating but they have strong constitutional recognition of sovereignty and treaty rights which includes land recognised as Aboriginal title. In Australia we have native title, but this doesn't equate to lands held under treaty or Aboriginal title in Canada or in US.

There will be no level playing field for negotiation because the supports, including significant financial supports that governments are providing to big companies, haven't been extended to Aboriginal communities.

Transitioning away from a fossil fuel-based economy will create opportunities for Aboriginal people who have these critical minerals on their lands. But the real risk is that Aboriginal people will miss out on these opportunities because we still don't have the equity and legal framework to protect our lands, and our rights.

Policies are not laws, and can be readily disregarded. We need to be realistic about this and work to establish legal frameworks that recognise and respect Indigenous people's rights, especially our right to a Voice that can hold government and industry accountable.

Dr Hannah McGlade is a Kurin Minang human rights expert, law academic and member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.