APY LANDS, GOVERNANCE

In reply to Dr McFETRIDGE (Morphett) (12 October 2010) (Estimates Committee A).

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI (Hartley—Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers, Minister Assisting the Premier in Social Inclusion): Dr McFetridge asked for reports that had been provided to the Chief Executives Group on Aboriginal Affairs (CEGAA) following the visit by Senior Management Council (SMC) to the Remote Service Delivery priority communities of Amata and Mimili in the APY Lands on 19 and 20 May 2010.

I can advise that an initial report was tabled at the CEGAA meeting on 16 June 2010 which listed the actions from the SMC trip.

At a subsequent meeting of CEGAA on 14 October 2010, a more comprehensive status report on these actions was tabled.

This report provides comprehensive information about the positive progress on a range of immediate and medium-term actions identified by SMC for Amata and Mimili, and several long-term policy interventions that will be implemented to increase employment opportunities in those communities.

I am happy to attach this report as follows.

AGENDA ITEM 6 (14 October 2010)

TOPICS: ACTIONS FROM VISIT BY SMC TO APY LANDS IN MAY 2010 COMMONWEALTH COORDINATOR GENERAL'S REPORT

Purpose

To provide a report on the action items identified during the visit to the APY Lands on 19-20 May 2010, and a briefing on the second six-monthly report by the Coordinator General for Remote Indigenous Services.

Discussion

Report on actions from visit to the APY Lands

The attached report provides the current status on actions identified by Chief Executives during Senior Management Councils' visit to Amata and Mimili in May 2010.

Good progress has been made on the five immediate actions, with two completed and one almost complete. The remaining two, the audit of government housing is expected to be completed in November 2010 and the investigation of high bank charges in December 2010.

Some of the medium term actions have been commenced while others are still in the planning stage. Discussions on the long-term policy interventions have been taking place.

Second six-monthly report by the Coordinator General for Remote Indigenous Services

Brian Gleeson, Coordinator General for Remote Indigenous Services, recently provided his second six-monthly report (December 2009-August 2010) to the Hon. Jenny Macklin MP, Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. The report provides independent advice to the Minister on the development and delivery of government services and facilities in the 29 priority communities that are the focus of the Remote Service Delivery National Partnership Agreement.

Minister Macklin released the report on Tuesday 5 October 2010 (the report is available at http://www.cgris.gov.au/site/publications.asp).

The report focuses on the Local Implementation Planning process which took place during the first half of 2010. South Australia's two priority communities of Amata and Mimili were the first of the 29 communities to complete the planning process. This was a result of the excellent cooperation between State Government, Commonwealth Government and the two communities.

The report also focuses on the competence of governments to engage with communities, and the ability of communities to participate with governments in a meaningful way. On the former point, the report notes that only South Australia routinely engaged interpreters during the planning process, '…and applied significant effort to ensuring communications products were accessible to community members in different languages if required.' The Adelaide Regional Operations Centre (a partnership between the two governments) was responsible for this initiative.

Three case studies from South Australia (listed below) provide positive examples of engagement with the communities and cooperation during the planning process:

developing the capacity of the Amata community to participate in negotiations (pages 28-29)

gathering information from government agencies in South Australia (page 30)

incorporating the COAG Building Blocks and targets into Local Implementation Planning (page 42-43).

The first six-monthly report said that governance in the APY Lands must be resolved by political leaders. The second report says: 'I am informed that a functional review of governance in the APY Lands will provide recommendations to the South Australian Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation on the roles and responsibilities, structure and management of the APY Executive Board. However, I remain concerned that despite efforts by government, the issue of poor governance in the APY Lands remains unresolved, and I will continue to work with the South Australian Government on this issue.'

The functional review is assessing the issues surrounding the current and future function, governance and organisational structure of APY, including scoping the potential role of APY as the Regional Authority. The review findings will inform consideration of the functions and structure of APY, and the most effective and feasible potential service delivery options. It will also identify issues around the delivery of these services.

The report makes ten recommendations to Minister Macklin (see attachment). These are being assessed by the Department of the Premier and Cabinet to determine implications for South Australia.

In summary, the report provides a favourable assessment of the Remote Service Delivery partnership in South Australia. The leadership provided by the Chief Executives Group on Aboriginal Affairs has been a significant factor in this success.

Recommendations:

That the CEGAA note:

the attached status report on the action items identified during the visit to the APY Lands on 19-20 May 2010

the briefing on the second six-monthly report by the Coordinator General for Remote Indigenous Services.

Approved by: Pauline Peel, Deputy Chief Executive Sustainability, Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Department of the Premier and Cabinet

Prepared by: Remote Communities Team, Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation Division, Department of the Premier and Cabinet

ATTACHMENT

Recommendations from the second six-monthly report by the Coordinator General for Remote Indigenous Services

Recommendation 1—Governance capacity building

1.1 It is recommended that the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, in consultation with the States and the Northern Territory, develop a specific governance, leadership and related capacity building framework, which includes the ability to tailor responses for the specific circumstances of communities in developing their governance capacity; and provides for training staff working with priority communities on the drivers and importance of good community governance.

1.2 Measures agreed to should be captured in Local Implementation Plans with agreed outcomes. Existing governance programs and funding should be identified under the framework referred to in 1.1 to allow for integrated support for governance and leadership in the priority communities.

Recommendation 2—Building the capacity of government officers

It is recommended that the Australian, State and Territory governments consider developing targeted education and training programs with national training providers for government officers engaged in the Remote Service Delivery partnership, to ensure officers have the appropriate skills and cultural competency to work in priority communities. The key competencies to be covered by these training programs could be included in the Governance, Leadership and Capacity Building Framework outlined in Recommendation 1.

Recommendation 3—Baseline Mapping

It is recommended that the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs present summaries of the current baseline mapping reports to Community Reference Groups to directly inform the preparation and future refinement of Local Implementation Plans.

These presentations should be prepared to assist communities to understand the outcomes of the baseline mapping and to raise any concerns with the validity of data collected.

Recommendation 4—Infrastructure

Noting the work underway within the Australian Government to assess infrastructure needs within priority communities, it is recommended that future Local Implementation Plans should identify local infrastructure priorities to inform the development of a cross-government infrastructure investment plan.

Recommendation 5—More effective youth initiatives

It is recommended that the Australian, State and Territory governments identify funding currently committed for youth programs in priority communities and opportunities to improve coordination of these programs.

This work should inform the development of Youth Action Plans to be included in future Local Implementation Plans.

Response: Support. DPC-AARD will take this recommendation into account during the development of the Amata Youth Action Plan.

Recommendation 6—Early Childhood Services

It is recommended that:

6.1 Regional Operation Centres support the development of Client-Centred Service Provider Charters in each priority community to:

(i) ensure the effective coordination of services for children with a particular focus on consistent and proactive referral pathways for children and families at risk; and

(ii) develop an early childhood workforce development strategy with local service providers.

6.2 All governments ensure the delivery of ongoing and refresher training to all community workers on their legal responsibilities to identify and respond to suspected child abuse and neglect.

Recommendation 7—Education

To ensure the delivery of excellence in facilities, curriculum and teachers in the priority communities it is recommended that:

7.1 Boards of Management establish an education subcommittee comprising representatives of education providers, particularly Indigenous education providers; and Australian and State/Territory Governments to lead policy and program development and implementation across priority communities and to support local initiatives such as school boards; and

7.2 teacher training be provided to local Indigenous assistant teachers to support them to attain teaching qualifications.

Recommendation 8—COAG National Partnership Agreements Review

It is recommended that future planned reviews (including those by the COAG Reform Council) of existing COAG National Partnership Agreements assess how Remote Service Delivery communities have been specifically targeted for investment. Where reward funding is paid under existing National Partnerships which include Indigenous-specific performance measures, consideration should be given to a proportion of future reward payments being paid against attainment of the specified Indigenous outcomes.

Negotiation of reward payments under future National Partnerships should, where relevant, identify that a proportion of those payments would be made against the attainment of specified Indigenous outcomes within the broader agreement.

Recommendation 9—Reducing administrative burden and concentrating investment in communities

It is recommended that Australian, State and Territory agencies minimise the requirement that priority communities must negotiate agreed priorities for inclusion in Local Implementation Plans and then separately pursue funding for these priorities through other processes. This should be enabled through:

(i) Wherever possible, governments should work with communities to understand their priorities and assist them in seeking funding through relevant programs. The inclusion of agreed priority in a Local Implementation Plan should entail confirmation that funding is available; and

(ii) Any review of program or funding guidelines relevant to priority communities should identify how priority communities could be prioritised within the program funding model.

Recommendation 10—Regional Operations Centres

It is recommended that:

a national Regional Operations Centre leadership and support group be established; and

agencies commit to assisting Regional Operations Centre efforts to coordinate government activities within communities by providing staff and resources to support the implementation of Local Implementation Plans and ensure that they are notified of any planned visits (including Ministerial visits) to the communities.

ATTACHMENT

VISIT BY SENIOR MANAGEMENT COUNCIL TO THE APY LANDS, 19-20 MAY 2010

SMC ACTIONS AND CORRESPONDING ACTIONS IN LOCAL IMPLEMENTATION PLANS FOR AMATA AND MIMILI