Parliamentary Committees

Aboriginal Lands Parliamentary Standing Committee: Report 2013-14

Adjourned debate on motion of Mr Hughes:

That the annual report 2013-14 of the committee be noted.

(Continued from 17 September 2014.)

Dr McFETRIDGE (Morphett) (16:10): I am, thank you, Deputy Speaker. I know what a passionate supporter you are of Aboriginal affairs in South Australia. It gives me great pleasure to speak on the annual report of the Aboriginal Lands Parliamentary Standing Committee 2013-14. Just looking at the smiling faces in the early part of that report showing the membership of the committee, it is interesting to see how things have changed. There we have the minister as the presiding member, which we know now is no longer the case, with the Hon. Tung Ngo as the presiding member. After eight years of pressure in this place and with the cooperation of the government my bill was passed which removed the minister as the presiding member of the committee. I think this committee is now able to work in a much more efficient manner. The minister was actually writing to him or herself as the presiding member and the minister was writing back. It was a ridiculous situation that went on for far too long.

Then we have the Hon. Russell Wortley, who is the President in the other place now, and the former member for Giles, Ms Lyn Breuer. Now, Lyn and I are good mates. You do not have too many friends in this place but I can say that Lyn and I are good friends. We did disagree on some things but we were honest with each other. She is a very passionate supporter of Aboriginal affairs and I know that the new member for Giles will be just as passionate about Aboriginal affairs as his predecessor was. I am enjoying working with the current member for Giles and also with the current member for Napier, who is a new member on the committee.

The former member for Reynell, Ms Gay Thompson, was there, as were the Hon. Terry Stephens, the Hon. Tammy Franks and I. So, members can see that this committee is a broad cross-section of the parliamentary spectrum of backgrounds and upper and lower house. It is a very good committee that works diligently to try to advance Aboriginal affairs, not just on the APY lands but right across this state.

As we heard today in question time, the APY lands has ongoing issues. The committee has visited the APY lands several times and we are continuing to try to assist the people on the APY lands, the Anangu, to have some level of self-determination so that they can live the lives we all want them to live, which is not, as in some cases there, in desperate poverty and, in some cases, I would say squalor, which is a shameful thing in 2014. The committee is determined to change these sorts of things.

The way this committee works though is we do it in a multipartisan way. We go and visit organisations. We have witnesses come in. We take the evidence. Most of that evidence is public evidence. We did have some evidence just recently from a former general manager of APY that was taken in camera because of some ongoing issues there. He felt that he needed to give this evidence in camera. That is not the way this committee has worked in the past. If people take the time to have a look at the report, and it is not a long report, it is only some 18 pages, you will see that the committee covers a very broad range of issues. It goes from Port Lincoln to Pipalyatjara to Gerard on the river, Point Pearce, Raukkan, we go all over the place.

I would very strongly encourage members in this place to get together, spend some of their travel, pool it on a charter flight and go to the APY lands. Have a look at it if you have never been up there; it is a place you should experience. It is in the state, yet it is like going into another world, where in many places English is a second language and Pitjantjatjara or Yankunytjatjara are the first languages.

It is the most beautiful country in this state, in many people's opinion. Mount Woodroffe, the highest part of the state, is there. Watarru, or Mount Lindsay (its English name), is about halfway between the coast and the Northern Territory border, just in from the Western Australian border, and it is really beautiful country with big rock monoliths—a cross between Kata Tjuta and Uluru. Unfortunately, it is one of those communities that, on the last trip the committee went on, we could not get into. Although there is $20 million worth of infrastructure, including schools, clinics, transaction centres, mechanic workshops, the community has been, for all intents and purposes, abandoned and, I understand, quite badly trashed, which is a shame because the traditional owners love that country.

I spoke to some of the traditional owners when we were last in Nappameriie and Amata. They want to go back to Watarru, but, unfortunately, it is just not feasible. These are the sorts of issues, the heart-wrenching issues in many cases, that members of this committee have to face to try to get good outcomes for Aboriginal people in South Australia. I know that the committee works exceptionally well. All the members on the committee are very cohesive in the way they work. They have full and frank discussions. We will continue to do that good work.

I am looking forward to seeing how the committee speeds up its output with the new structure. Certainly, with new members on the committee, who are full of enthusiasm and passion, it should be able to perform to the very best standards and to the expectations of Aboriginal people and this parliament. With that, I support the annual report of the Aboriginal Lands Parliamentary Standing Committee 2013-14.

Motion carried.