ABORIGINAL COMMUNITIES, FUNDING

372 Dr McFETRIDGE (Morphett) (17 November 2008).

1. How much funding did the State Government allocate in 2008-09 to provide

governance training:

(a) on the APY Lands;

(b) on the Maralinga Tjarutja Lands;

(c) in Aboriginal Lands Trust communities; and

(d) to the Aboriginal Lands Trust Board?

2. How does this level of funding compare with the previous year?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Minister for Environment and Conservation, Minister for Early Childhood Development, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Minister Assisting the Premier in Cabinet Business and Public Sector Management): Since October 2007, the Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation Division in the Department of the Premier and Cabinet (AARD), the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations (ORIC) and the Office of Consumer and Business Affairs (OCBA) have partnered to deliver the Regional Corporate Governance Training program. The program consists of Introductory Governance Workshops and enrolments in the nationally accredited Certificate IV in Business (Governance).

Financial support of $76,000 for the training in 2007-08 was provided by the Commonwealth Government and $80,000 by the South Australian Government. ORIC funded the training and accommodation costs for the Certificate IV in Business (Governance).

For 2008-09, AARD negotiated for the Commonwealth to provide $110,000 to fund three Introduction to Corporate Governance workshops. ORIC continues to support participation in the Certificate IV course.

To date, 172 participants have completed the workshops in South Australia and Alice Springs. This training has been extremely well received with demand far exceeding availability. Additionally, in October 2008, 14 students graduated from the ORIC funded Certificate IV that commenced in Adelaide in June 2008, the first in South Australia.

Members of all Aboriginal Lands Trust communities have attended the training, as have representatives from the Aboriginal Lands Trust, Maralinga Tjarutja and Oak Valley. Attendees are generally board members, administration staff or employees of local Aboriginal service provision organisations.

In addition to the Regional Corporate Governance Training program, the Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation Division has developed a capacity building program specifically for the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands which includes structured training using ORIC materials as well as mentoring and support provided direct to community councils. The corporate governance training aspect is being delivered by AARD in conjunction with ORIC and is tailored specifically for participants with English as their second or third language. The training program is called Building Strong Corporations.

The budget for the APY Lands Capacity Building initiative was approximately $180,000 in 2007-08 and was $200,000 in 2008-09.