Outback Communities Authority

Mr HUGHES (Giles) (15:17): My question is to the Minister for Local Government. What skills and experience will be brought by recent appointments to the Outback Communities Authority?

The Hon. G.G. BROCK (Frome—Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Local Government) (15:18): I thank the member for Giles for his question and also acknowledge his electorate includes large parts of the outback. The role of the Outback Communities Authority is to manage the provision and the improvement of public services and facilities in areas of our state that do not fall within a council area. In doing so, the OCA seeks to give voice to the interests and aspirations of South Australia's outback communities. The outback areas cover about 65 per cent of the state, with approximately 4,000 residents dispersed across various service locations, pastoral and farming properties and small communities.

The board of the OCA has seven members, appointed for terms of either 18 months or three years to allow for business continuity and stability of governance as the composition of the board changes. As well as providing strong representation from outback communities, the government sought people with skills and experience in relation to water, financial and waste management, mining, transport and energy provision. The terms of the four members have expired and I am today pleased to inform the house that a new member has recently been appointed along with the reappointment of three other members.

Mark Fennell lives at Lambina Station, about 70 kilometres north-east of Marla, and has begun his first term as an OCA board member. Mark owns a pastoral contracting business and is respected for his practical understanding of remote service operations, including water management, the provision of power and road maintenance. Cecilia Woolford is an experienced board member who has been reappointed as a member and chair of the OCA. Cecilia is a farmer and pastoralist just out of Kimba and has a significant capacity in audit and finance, fundraising, community engagement, and strategic policy development and implementation.

Joyleen Booth is an Indigenous South Australian and a pastoral manager at Murnpeowie Station. Joyleen has been reappointed and is a strong advocate for community development, health, education and the wellbeing of women and children. Jan Ferguson has been reappointed as a member of the OCA board. Jan is from Beltana and a former managing director of Ninti One Limited, a not-for-profit organisation focused on promoting and delivering economic opportunities in remote communities.

Membership of the OCA provides an opportunity to help shape the future for outback South Australia. Some of the key issues currently being considered by the OCA include consultation with communities on the provision of community support for the year ahead, mechanisms for raising revenue for the maintenance of public services and facilities, the development of a long-term strategy for the provision of water and the development of strategies for waste management.

I am very pleased with the range and depth of the knowledge and skills among the OCA members. The members I have mentioned today join Mary Marsland, Chris Michelmore and Jo Fort on the OCA board. I take this opportunity to express my thanks to George Beltchev, who is not continuing as a member, for the valuable contributions he has made to the work of the OCA board since its inception.

There are many exciting prospects ahead for our outback communities and the OCA will continue to work with and on behalf of outback people to deliver new opportunities and also address the challenges that lie ahead. In closing, I also indicate that I am looking forward to getting up to the outback area as soon as I can, as the minister. I must admit I have seen some photographs of the outback and it is looking magnificent at the moment. It is looking good for the pastoralists up there.