Municipal and Essential Services Program

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS (15:08): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before addressing a question to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation on the topic of funding for Indigenous communities.

Leave granted.

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS: As the minister and no doubt many in the chamber are aware, in July 2015 an agreement was reached between the federal government and the state government to ensure a funding package to support Indigenous communities in South Australia to take up the responsibility for delivering municipal and essential services, including power, water, sewerage and rubbish collection in communities.

I understand that this affects at least 1,500 Aboriginal people in remote communities, according to minister Scullion's press release at the time, but I note that the minister, in his answer to a question about it being under threat, noted that it is possibly as many as 4,000 Aboriginal residents in approximately 60 locations. I ask the minister for an update on the use of that particular funding package, which I understand was a one-off. How will that funding and those services be sustained into the future, and what involvement have Indigenous communities had with the expenditure of those funds?

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) (15:09): I thank the honourable member for her question. It was a difficult issue last year, right around Australia, when the federal government outlined an intention to move essential services funding out of many remote Indigenous communities. It gave rise at the time to the comment from the Premier of Western Australia that he would be closing communities down, which led to a very significant national debate that included the then prime minister talking about Aboriginal people living in remote communities as a lifestyle choice.

It certainly was something that caused a lot of angst in Aboriginal communities around South Australia and, in the lead up to the middle of last year, was the number one topic that was raised with me when I visited remote communities. As the honourable member has outlined, after a lot of discussions and negotiations, the provision of MUNS (municipal services) in some remote Aboriginal communities was transferred from the commonwealth to the state government. These were areas outside the APY lands. The federal government still takes responsibility for all those services within the APY lands, and in some of the other communities the state government has taken over the responsibility for those services.

The exact services vary from community to community. Some examples are: road maintenance, particularly natural water supply in catchment areas, environmental or dust control and dog control measures, but it varies from community to community. A lot of the communities in South Australia are Aboriginal Lands Trust communities. A lot of discussion and negotiation occurred last year. There was—I can't remember the exact amount—a substantial sum of money that was paid to the state government from the commonwealth for the taking over of the services in those non-APY communities. It might be that they accounted for one-third and APY accounted for two-thirds, or the other way round. I can't remember now the total municipal services expenditure in South Australia.

After that occurred in the middle of last year, DPTI took on responsibility for the provision of those services, and by and large most of the areas that were funded have continued with DPTI providing substantially similar funding for programs that have been carried out. I am happy to go away and talk to DPTI to see if there have been any changes in the particulars of the programs. Certainly, over the course of the last 12 months, when I have travelled to Aboriginal communities, from Koonibba on the West Coast to Raukkan down near Meningie, Point Pearce and many other areas that receive municipal services funding, it is not something that has been raised with me.

If there's one thing I am sure of it is that if there were problems it would be raised with me, as it was in the lead-up to the federal government wanting to withdraw money from there. I will take on notice the portion of the question relating to any change in services that have been provided now that DPTI is administering those funds. The provision of those services is not something that I can recall being raised with me on a visit to a community over the last 12 months.