APY Lands, Child Safety

The Hon. S.G. WADE (14:30): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking questions of the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation in relation to the safety of children on the APY lands.

Leave granted.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: In November 2013, the former minister for education and child development tabled the fifth and final annual report on the implementation of the recommendations of the 2008 Commission of Inquiry into child abuse on the APY lands. In that report, the minister acknowledged that the 'complex issues surrounding the prevalence and prevention of child abuse on the APY lands' required a 'long-term commitment from the government', and highlighted the role that the APY Lands Steering Committee would henceforth play in relation to 'the safety of children on the APY lands'.

A year after that final report was released, Uniting Communities (an agency of the Uniting Church in Australia) asked, by way of letter, that the Minister for Education and Child Development give them an update on the work of the APY Lands Steering Committee in relation to the safety of APY children. In a reply dated 12 March 2015, the Chief Executive of the Department for Education and Child Development (Mr Tony Harrison), having noted that the steering committee is co-chaired by the Department of State Development and the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, advised Uniting Communities that the steering committee had 'met twice in 2014' but that 'child safety did not form part of the agenda' of either of those meetings.

I am advised that an officer of the Department of State Development co-chairs the APY Lands Steering Committee, in partnership with a representative from the Department of the Premier and Cabinet. My questions to the minister are:

1. Which department of State Development officer co-chairs the APY Lands Steering Committee?

2. Given that the steering committee apparently has only met twice since the final annual progress report was released, and child safety was not on its agenda at those meetings, what has the government done to monitor the ongoing implementation of the Commission of Inquiry's recommendations over the last year and a half?

3. What steps will the minister take to ensure that the steering committee plays a more active role in addressing the implementation of child protection matters on the APY lands?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation, Minister for Automotive Transformation, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation) (14:32): I thank the honourable member for his question and his ongoing interest in matters concerning the APY lands. I do not have a list with me of which individuals sit on which committees, but I will certainly take that on notice and bring back an answer. In relation to matters to do with child safety, I will refer those questions to the Minister for Education and Child Development and bring back a reply.