Aboriginal Affairs

The Hon. J.S. LEE (Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (14:38): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before directing my question to the Attorney-General about Aboriginal affairs.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.S. LEE: One of the state government commitments listed in the Aboriginal Affairs Action Plan document was to establish an Aboriginal reference group to advise State Records and other archive institutions on the implementation of a response to the Tandanya-Adelaide Declaration. Briefly, the declaration recognises colonial states have created, in academia and government, a tremendous volume of records concerning Indigenous peoples. These records have been disseminated and stored without the input of the affiliated Indigenous communities.

There is a need for affiliated Indigenous peoples to gain a degree of control over the access to information created by state-directed governance and cultural authorities. The lead agency to establish a State Records Aboriginal reference group falls under the responsibility of the Attorney-General's Department and the lead minister is the Attorney-General. My questions to the Attorney-General are:

1. Has the Aboriginal reference group been established to look into the volume of records concerning First Nations people?

2. Who are the members of the South Australian working group? Can the minister name them?

3. What work has been done so far?

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Ms Franks!

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The Hon. Ms Franks, stop it!

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! I would like to hear the question. Please continue, the honourable deputy leader.

The Hon. J.S. LEE: I will continue:

4. Has the Attorney-General and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs been recently briefed on this matter?

5. Will the Malinauskas Labor government commit to work with State Records of SA and stakeholders on the implementation of the response to the Tandanya-Adelaide Declaration?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (14:40): I thank the honourable member for her question. Obviously, it was like most of the former government's Aboriginal Action Plan and it was some empty words that they clearly had no intention of implementing. If the honourable member had no idea if this has actually happened, I think about two-thirds of that action plan were things departments were doing anyway. It was money spent on a glossy document for an Aboriginal affairs action plan.

In relation to the question, there is a State Records and State Library reference group. Not only am I aware of what they are doing but I have met with them. It is chaired by Tim Agius and I think other members of this chamber have met with them. I am gathering the honourable member who asked the question hasn't met with them because she didn't know there was anything of the sort. Thank you.