APY Executive

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (14:45): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation questions about APY governance.

Leave granted.

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS: At the end of 2015 the Supreme Court of South Australia found that the removal of Mr Bruce Deans as general manager of APY was unfair and unlawful, for reasons including failure to give Mr Deans notice that his removal was to be considered by the APY Executive and to give him an opportunity to be heard on the question of his removal. Significant taxpayer dollars were wasted by APY in needlessly fighting this case. My questions therefore of the minister are:

1. What notice was given to Ken Pumani of the consideration of his removal by the APY Executive in March 2016?

2. What opportunity was given to Mr Pumani to have recourse through this process?

3. Was the proposed removal of Mr Pumani listed as an item on the agenda for the March 2016 meeting of the APY Executive?

4. Was notice of the proposed removal stated on notice of meeting?

5. Why was the removal of Mr Pumani at the March 2016 meeting of the Executive discussed given that the representative for Turkey Bore, Mr Lewis, was absent?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Employment, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation, Minister for Automotive Transformation, Minister for Science and Information Economy) (14:46): I thank the honourable member for his questions. These are matters of the internal working of elected members of the APY Executive. I have not had discussions with the APY about who is represented, and I know that there are grounds for attendance, and failure to attend, and other reasons for people then to be removed as representatives on the APY Executive. I am happy to ask APY those questions. These are things for the internal workings of the APY Executive, which is not an instrumentality of government, but I am happy to refer those questions to the general manager of APY, and see if there is something I can bring back for you and for the Aboriginal Lands Parliamentary Standing Committee as a whole as well.