Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation Agency

The Hon. S.G. WADE (15:01): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation a question on agency publications.

Leave granted.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Yesterday, the minister informed the chamber that, as part of the new funding arrangement, APY has agreed to 'meet higher standards of accountability and transparency' including publishing the minutes of the monthly APY Executive Board meetings on the organisation's website. Ten years ago, Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation released its first Progress on the APY Lands report. Over the next decade, another 14 of these reports were published online. Two of these reports appeared in 2012 and another two in 2013. More than a year has now passed since the last APY progress report appeared.

Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation is also the lead agency for driving government efforts to meet the Aboriginal wellbeing target established 11 years ago when the government first launched South Australia's Strategic Plan. According to the State's Strategic Plan website, data on 21 specific indicators is gathered as a way of monitoring progress made against this particular target. The data currently available on the State's Strategic Plan website for the Aboriginal wellbeing target has not been updated for some time. The most recent data cited comes from mid-2012, more than 2½ years ago. My questions are:

1. Will the minister be making sure his agency, Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, meets the same high standards of accountability and transparency as he is now requiring of the APY Executive Board? In particular, will Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation be producing any more progress on the APY lands reports and if so when will the next one be released?

2. Is Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation still the lead agency for the Aboriginal wellbeing target established under the State's Strategic Plan, and if so, when will updated information on the 21 indicators linked to that target be released?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation, Minister for Automotive Transformation, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation) (15:03): I thank the honourable member for his important questions. In relation to the substance of what he asked, I will take that on notice and bring back a reply about the reports and seek advice from my departments about how they may be published and what we will do with them.