OPERATION FLINDERS FOUNDATION

Mr PICCOLO (Light) (15:58): The Operation Flinders Foundation has been operating in South Australia for the past 16 years. As members of the house would know, the program works with young offenders and other young people at risk between the ages of 14 and 18 years. The foundation runs an eight-day program in the Northern Flinders Ranges of South Australia which includes field exercises that achieve the primary objective of placing participants in a remote outdoor environment where self-discipline, teamwork, cooperation, leadership and trust are intrinsic to survival.

For eight days, participants are placed in an environment that provides only for their basic needs of life. They face challenges as individuals and as part of a team, and a significant majority pass with flying colours. The project offers demanding outdoor challenges and ongoing support to help participants to develop their personal attitudes and values of self-esteem, motivation, teamwork, goal-setting and community responsibility so that they can grow as valued people.

The program relies upon the support of 350 volunteers who provide assistance to the foundation in a range of ways, from packing food rations and driving vehicles to serving on committees or the board of management. The overall cost of crime in Australia is nearly $32 billion per year (nearly $1,600 per person), which is roughly about 5 per cent of GDP.

A paper by the Business Council of Australia published in The Adelaide Review noted that, of 270,000 young South Australians who left school in 2002, one-third had not completed year 12. Estimates by the Princeton Institute of Labour found that for every year a person remained at school after year 10 there was an increment in their earnings of 7 per cent. This research also found that of the people who completed year 12, only 7 per cent were unemployed after seven years of leaving school, whereas of those who completed only year 9 some 21 per cent of males and 59 per cent of females were unemployed at the seven year mark.

The Business Council paper estimates that if 90 per cent of those who left school each year had completed year 12 it would add $1.8 billion to GDP but, more importantly, it would contribute to a one-off reduction in welfare costs of $10.8 billion and more meaningful lives for the young people and their families.

The success of Operation Flinders in South Australia has been recognised by a number of different methods. Over 3,500 young people have participated in the program since its inception in 1991. An independent evaluation of the Operation Flinders program indicated that the young people who participated in the program recorded a significant improvement in attitude towards school and felt encouraged to remain at school or return to school. Both the evaluation and anecdotal evidence found that the young people who completed the program were less likely to commit crime. The Operation Flinders program has been found to be an effective crime prevention initiative, as well as a very positive influence in encouraging young program participants to remain at school.

In 2008 Operation Flinders won an award for excellence in the 2008 National Crime and Violence Prevention Awards, presented by the Australian Ministerial Council for Police and Emergency Services. The foundation's work is financially supported by this state government, with annual grants from the Attorney-General's Department as part of its crime prevention program.

In recent years, Operation Flinders has set up a number of community chapters in both metropolitan and country regions of South Australia. These chapters, which are in response to a community request, are usually set up through service clubs, local government and businesses. I was a member of one of those committees in its early days.

The committee raises funds to send a team of young people to participate in the Operation Flinders program, identifying the young people and suitable support staff for them. Some 10 days ago the Gawler chapter of Operation Flinders held its annual fundraiser to enable teams of young people to attend the program. The event raised over $17,000, thus enabling the chapter to support the inclusion of 15 young people in the program.

I acknowledge the commitment and hard work of members of the current and previous committees of the Gawler chapter. The current committee, comprising Mr Ashley Mau (Chapter Chair), Michelle Cockshell (Secretary), Jenne Ellis-Kells (Treasurer) and members Nancy Mitchell and Anwen Ackland, have worked tirelessly to raise funds to support young people in the community.

Over the past six years the Gawler chapter has raised over $140,000, allowing 140 young people to complete the program. The committee of the chapter—all volunteers—contact most businesses in the Gawler region who generously provide goods and services to be auctioned on the night to raise the necessary funds.

I believe this community support reflects the fact that the people of Gawler care about their young people and, more importantly, accept responsibility for them. They are prepared to assist them to participate in the Operation Flinders program in order to get them back on track. I commend the work of the foundation to the house.

Time expired.