NAIDOC WEEK

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (14:55): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Government Enterprises a question about NAIDOC.

Leave granted.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: NAIDOC's origins can be traced to the emergence of the Aboriginal groups active in the 1920s, who sought to increase awareness in the wider community of the status and treatment of Indigenous Australians. Will the minister advise the council about recognition of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Public Sector Management, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister for Gambling) (14:56): I thank the honourable member for his important question. I have spoken in this chamber before about the really important work of Service SA in providing services to the APY lands. As members would be aware, Service SA currently delivers a range of high-demand state government services to the communities of Amata and Mimili.

Through extensive consultation with the community, Service SA has recognised the importance of engaging the Aboriginal organisation, PY Media, to deliver services to this largely Aboriginal population. Through its rural transaction centres, Service SA has been able to provide extensive training and coaching to staff so that a wide number of Service SA services can be delivered to this community. Service SA contributes to support the staff and the community through regular site visits, over the phone transaction support and also the provision of Indigenous-specific resources for the community.

Since the service commenced in November 2010, it has proved to be extremely popular, with increasing numbers of transactions received through the rural transaction centres at Mimili and Amata. In addition, approximately 2,000 calls have been received through the free-call number, which provides transaction support and the ability for the communities to receive free access to government information and services.

This week marks NAIDOC Week, which recognises the achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people throughout Australia. NAIDOC Week is an opportunity for all Australians to celebrate Indigenous history and culture. Each year, awards are presented to recognise those outstanding Indigenous Australians who promote and improve the lives of Indigenous people in their communities. Each year, NAIDOC celebrations are based around a cultural theme. This year's theme was 'Change—the next step is ours'. I am advised that this signifies a need for planning and action in order for there to be change in the future—an important message for all Australians. As we have seen, as a nation we obviously grapple with important issues like taking action on climate change, for instance.

Service SA has engaged a number of Aboriginal employees to assist in providing its services in the community, including an Anangu woman of PY Media who is employed in the Service SA virtual call centre, working on behalf of the state government to provide advice in the Fregon community.

Naomi Parrott, a young Anangu woman, lives and works in the Mimili community. Naomi is the supervisor of the Mimili PY Ku Transaction Centre, which delivers a range of critical community services, including Centrelink and Service SA transactions, as well as processing mail for the community. Naomi has worked consistently to deliver a range of advice and services on behalf of Service SA and was recently nominated by Service SA for a NAIDOC award due to her significant contribution and effort in delivering these really important services in such an isolated part of South Australia, as well as helping to bridge the gap between the community and service providers.

I am really pleased to advise that Ms Naomi Parrott has been announced as the 2011 Young Female of the Year Award winner at the NAIDOC Awards ceremony. The award recognises Naomi's consistent and diligent efforts to deliver the Service SA services to her community. She is a role model to other young people in Mimili and the surrounding communities, and she very much deserves this award.