ANDAMOOKA

The Hon. S.G. WADE (14:37): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for State/Local Government Relations a question about the Andamooka community.

Leave granted.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: On 14 May, the minister answered a question from the Hon. Ian Hunter about the assistance the government might be providing to the Andamooka community. The minister indicated that, coincidentally, she had recently visited Andamooka. In her answer she said:

Prior to my visit, the Office of State/Local Government Relations spent time with these groups to discuss region needs, and it has become apparent that a community manager based in Andamooka could play an important part in contributing to APOMA's local direction and advice, aiding in the good governance of the region. I have listened to the needs of the community and also recognise the potential the right appointment can offer by way of secure long-term sustainability for Andamooka.

Further in her answer she said:

For this reason I urged the trust to make the important resource of community manager available within the Andamooka community. Having seen fit to do so, I commend the Outback Areas Community Development Trust for this initiative that plants a seed for this renewed partnership that it is fostering with APOMA.

I am advised that the community manager position should be filled around mid year, utilising state and commonwealth funds.

In 2007, the then minister for state/local government relations (Hon. Jennifer Rankine) also visited Andamooka. On 4 July 2007, she issued a press release which, in part, reads:

Minister for State/Local Government Relations, Jennifer Rankine, has announced that a development officer will be provided to the Andamooka community.

This is a direct result of the Minister's recent tour through the Outback with members of the Outback Areas Community Development Trust and the Local Government Grants Commission.

Is the community manager position she has announced a new position, in addition to the development officer announced by minister Rankine, or is this another case of the government re-announcing funding as a cover for the lack of ongoing funding for outback communities?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for State/Local Government Relations, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister Assisting the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Energy) (14:39): Indeed, a development officer was put in place a number of years ago by the former minister. I do not have the details of that position, but it was established to assist the community in managing some of the pressures around its development. My understanding (if I can remember correctly) is that the position was structured to work with the Andamooka Progress and Opal Miners Association (APOMA), which they did for a number of years. That position, if you like, was then absorbed; so the position was not removed but absorbed back to Port Augusta where these services are centrally managed. The position was relocated to the Port Augusta office—I am happy to check the details and amend them if I need to—while still providing support services to the Andamooka community.

I became minister and listened to the concerns of representatives from APOMA. Obviously, I was aware of the ever increasing pressures on that particular community in relation to its being able to manage its infrastructure to support a burgeoning community. I felt in light of that, and having spoken with the Outback Areas Trust and APOMA, that we needed to restructure that position and relocate the position substantially back into the Andamooka community. I think they do some work from the Port Augusta office, but the substantial component of the work is done from Andamooka itself—which APOMA is very pleased about.

We have restructured the position to provide greater clarity in terms of its role, responsibility and accountability for that position, which I think needed to be improved significantly in relation to the previous development officer position. They are different positions, but they are closely related and some of their functions do overlap.