OPERATION FLINDERS FOUNDATION

The Hon. R.B. SUCH (Fisher) (11:29): I move:

That this house commends the work Operation Flinders is doing to help young people gain a positive future.

I note that the member for Schubert also has a motion on this on the Notice Paper, and I think that reflects the fact that within the parliament I believe all of us support the work of Operation Flinders.

Recently, on a trip to the Flinders Ranges, I came across the Operation Flinders team, who had just conducted one of their exercises. Following the exercise, the staff were based at Angorichina village, and they invited my wife and I to join them for the evening meal and discussion. I was interested to note that one of the senior people involved was Ian Langley, who trained with me as a teacher many years ago. He is now retired and is the son of Gil Langley, the former member for Unley—in fact, Ian's nickname is Gil.

He and many others who are involved as volunteers have seen the worth of this organisation in transforming young people and giving them a positive outlook on life. In fact, some of the volunteers we met had actually been on the program in earlier times as young people. Their participation in Operation Flinders had given them a new focus on life and a new direction, and they were now participating by helping other young people focus on the future in a positive and constructive way.

Many years ago, when I was minister for youth, Operation Flinders was under real threat for financial reasons. Many of my colleagues at the time did not understand the great work that Operation Flinders was doing then and that it continues to do today. Some of them said that we did not need it because we had the Duke of Edinburgh scheme. Operation Flinders is a totally different program from the Duke of Edinburgh scheme, which is, essentially, an individual-based achievement program—a worthy one, but very different from the group approach of Operation Flinders, which takes 14 to 18 year olds on an eight-day exercise in the far northern part of the Flinders Ranges.

It takes these young people away from their present and, in some cases, past life and gives them a new direction. At the gathering at Angorichina (back in June, I think), some of the stories about these young people were pretty heart-wrenching. There were people they had been working with, prior to the gathering at that spot, who were 15 or 16 years of age and who had never had a birthday party in their life. That might seem a minor thing, but I think it is indicative of the challenging backgrounds that some of these young people come from.

The idea is to get them away their current or past situation and get them sitting around campfires, abseiling, challenging themselves, looking at themselves and asking 'What life is about? 'Where am I headed?'—all those sorts of things. The program is designed to promote self-esteem, leadership, motivation, team work and responsibility. They learn basic bush survival skills and, as I said, they are taught to abseil, discover Indigenous culture, and learn about the rich history of the Flinders Ranges.

One of the key elements is that there is no opportunity to opt out. You cannot opt out if you believe the going is getting tough. I know some of the young people found it a bit challenging to be toileting out in the middle of nowhere, under the stars and under the sun, because they had never experienced that sort of activity, that lifestyle before—camping out, sleeping under the stars, and so on.

The program was originally set up by Pamela Murray-White in 1991. She was a teacher and a former army officer. She served four years in the Australian Army, attaining the rank of captain. She returned to teaching and became even more aware of some of the problems faced by students that she came across in her teaching life.

In 1991, she conducted one exercise with 35 participants; by 1993, she was conducting three exercises with a total of 99 participants. She pioneered the program over the next two years, mostly with young people sourced from the education department, and supported by staff from DECS, as well as Defence Force personnel. She was encouraged by police, who saw the program as a positive crime prevention strategy, and serving police officers also joined her as part of her team.

Her analysis was that many of the children with real behavioural problems seemed to lack direction, self-esteem, a decent challenge and good role modelling. The program has come on from what Pam initiated in 1991. Sadly, she died in 1995 as a result of cancer, but her legacy to young South Australians continues on.

I want to congratulate all of those who have been involved over the 20 years in Operation Flinders; the volunteers, in particular, who give their time now, for no other reason than to help young people have a better life and to help them focus on positive aspects and believe in themselves. As I said earlier, some of the young participants of years ago are now involved in helping to run the program, which is a fantastic thing and is testament to the fact that the program does work.

As I said, the program nearly went under 15 or so years ago, but fortunately and thankfully it has survived. The amount of logistics involved in running the program is significant, and the cost is also significant, but the program is a testament to what can be achieved when you have people who are prepared to put themselves out and commit to helping young people in the community.

On this anniversary, I pay tribute to Operation Flinders and the many people who have contributed to its success over time; in particular, the contribution of Pam in setting it up in 1991. I conclude on that note and ask members to join in supporting this motion.

Debate adjourned on motion of Mrs Geraghty.