APY LANDS

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (15:28): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation questions about governance on the APY lands.

Leave granted.

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS: Following the Mullighan inquiry, the first recommendation handed down was to review the governance on the APY lands. The Anangu Lands Paper Tracker has taken it upon itself to track these recommendations and the government's response to them. In mid-July the minister stated on the Paper Tracker radio show that any proposed review would take between eight and 12 weeks. In light of the minister's announcement today that the review has been conducted, my questions are:

1. Why did it take the minister three months to implement the review?

2. Why are the terms of reference so narrow insofar as they are to investigate the viability of a government structure proposed by the minister?

3. Does the minister consider asking residents what they think of his proposals to be true consultation?

The PRESIDENT: Minister, time has expired.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation) (15:29): I will be brief then. Time having expired for question time, I can advise that the terms of reference were negotiated with the APY Executive and they agreed to an inquiry based on a narrow terms of reference which go to, in effect, governance issues. The lengthier time in terms of consultation came about because I went back not once, but twice, to consult with the APY Executive on the terms of reference and on the inquiry overall. Indeed, it took a little while to put together the panel, which is now heading up to conduct this review.