Port Augusta Community Outreach

187 The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK ().29 November 2022). Can the Minster for Human Services advise—

How do the services to be delivered as part of the $1. 2 million Port Augusta safe outreach program compare to the services that were delivered in the final years of the Port Augusta City Safe program?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries): The Minister for Human Services has advised:

The former Port Augusta City Safe program was contracted and funded by the Port Augusta City Council until its funding ceased in September 2020. The program, focusing on antisocial behaviour and vandalism, included a team of security officers who patrolled the area and were sometimes accompanied by dogs.

The Port Augusta Community Outreach response is funded by the South Australian government and overseen by the multi-agency Safety and Wellbeing Taskforce, led by the Department of Human Services. The program seeks to ensure the safety and wellbeing of remote Aboriginal visitors, youth, and residents impacted by antisocial behaviour.

The new response was co-designed with Aboriginal leaders and local community organisations to deliver culturally safe assertive outreach and, where appropriate, return people to Country. Its work assists people to access support and also helps young people in Port Augusta via increasing recreational and diversionary activities.

The assertive outreach service includes daily and nightly outreach seven days a week in known hotspots including the foreshore, sandhills, Gladstone Square, and in identified tenancies with remote Aboriginal visitors and community members.