ABORIGINAL POWER CUP

Ms BREUER (Giles) (15:00): Will the Minister for Multicultural Affairs inform the house about the recent launch of the Aboriginal Power Cup?

The Hon. M.J. ATKINSON (Croydon—Attorney-General, Minister for Justice, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (15:01): The Aboriginal Power Cup is an initiative arising from the To Break the Cycle report, prepared by the Commissioner for Social Inclusion, Monsignor David Cappo. The report was commissioned by the government to address serious and repeated youth offending. Monsignor Cappo made a concerted attempt to engage Aboriginal South Australians to find workable and long-term solutions to youth crime. The government has already endorsed all the recommendations in the report and has taken swift action on many of those recommendations.

The Aboriginal Power Cup is a partnership between the Attorney-General's Department, the Port Adelaide Football Club, the South Australian Aboriginal Sports Training Academy and the South Australian National Football League. I thank the Deputy Premier for kicking off the project last month. The Aboriginal Power Cup is a football carnival for Aboriginal students that takes participants through a series of tasks for wellbeing, resilience and learning. By engaging Aboriginal youth across the state in healthy competition through sport, the aim is not only to promote the importance of their own personal health and wellbeing and boost their self-confidence, but also to connect them with positive role models who will help shape their future. It is expected that the cup will also be an opportunity to showcase the talent of Aboriginal youth.

In its first year, the Aboriginal Power Cup will be open to students at six secondary schools across the state: the Para West Adult Campus, Kaurna Plains Primary School, John Pirie Secondary School, Ceduna Area School, Port Lincoln High School and the Wiltja program, which is based at Woodville High School. The idea is modelled on a successful program in Britain based at Charlton Athletic Football Club. At Charlton in London last month, I saw for myself the benefits of positive engagement with young people at risk of a lifetime of criminal behaviours, to break the cycle of crime and antisocial behaviour. For their part, students will be involved in the preparation and planning of the football carnival, which will include designing their team guernseys and liaising with local media and their communities.

The first site visit by the Port Adelaide Football Club and the South Australian Aboriginal Sports Training Academy occurred yesterday at the Ceduna Area School. The visit introduced pupils to the Aboriginal Power Cup and encouraged their participation. The Aboriginal Power Cup grand final will be held on 15 August 2008. As the Speaker will know, that is a red letter day, the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady. It will be a curtain-raiser on the Port Adelaide-Collingwood clash at AAMI Stadium. The social inclusion approach is very much about forging partnerships across government, non-government and community sectors, and about finding new ways to use the knowledge and experience in these sectors to tackle complicated social programs.

I was willing to sit down and sup with the Port Adelaide Football Club about this matter—something I thought I would never do. The Aboriginal Power Cup project is a great example of how collaboration between private and public sector organisations can benefit all South Australians.