APY Lands General Manager

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (14:49): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs a question about the appointment of a general manager to the APY lands.

Leave granted.

The Hon. F. PANGALLO:The Advertiser yesterday reported a group of former APY lands board members had made serious allegations about the lack of transparency around the recruitment process in the lead-up to the recommended reappointment of controversial general manager, Richard King, and backed my calls for an independent investigation into the selection process. When I first raised my concerns about Mr King's impending reappointment, the minister said:

…I have not approved terms and conditions. I have asked for further information, including how the process previously ran and the decision in relation to the new board, who are, within their power, capable of making a different decision to the old board who have put this forward.

Several respected Aboriginal leaders have now raised with me additional concerns about the recent APY lands board elections, overseen by the Electoral Commission of South Australia, and the alleged bullying and harassment of some of those who voted. My questions to the minister are:

1. Did you get the further information you asked for and what was it?

2. Will you investigate if recent board elections were conducted without any bullying or harassment of voters?

3. Have you now approved Mr King's terms and conditions and, if so, on what grounds, given your decision not to renew his terms and conditions earlier?

4. Was Mr King involved in the employment of his wife's sister-in-law and brother-in-law, who are also employed by the APY lands, which would be a significant conflict of interest and nepotism?

5. Given the concerns raised by the former APY lands board members, will you now refer, in the interests of transparency, an inquiry and investigation into the selection process to the Ombudsman?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (14:51): I thank the honourable member for his questions. As I have said previously a couple of times in response to questions on this topic, the selection of the general manager for the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara executive is a matter for the elected representatives of that executive.

The role of the minister is and has been—both as myself as minister now and previously I think it was the Hon. Steven Marshall who held the responsibilities but not the title of Minister for Aboriginal Affairs I think when Richard King was last appointed—only to approve terms and conditions. They are not the relevant person who makes the decisions on who will be appointed. It is up to that board. If that board wants to come to a decision that is for them to do.

In relation to the appointment of Richard King, as I have previously said and as the honourable member has pointed out in his question, I have sent correspondence back for some further information. As the honourable member has stated and pointed out, I have not received a response to the further information I asked for. I expect to do so at some stage in the not too distant future. So in response to whether I approved the terms and conditions, no, I am still waiting on a response to the correspondence I have sent.

In relation to the conduct of elections, one of the features of elections, particularly run by the Electoral Commissioner, is an ability to have those elections scrutinised and to have action looked at. I think it is the Court of Disputed Returns in relation to elections for the APY lands and the executive board. I think it is a matter of public record that, I think, there was a four-vote difference for one of the candidates for the Pukatja region that has been lodged with the Court of Disputed Returns and that is the appropriate place for these sorts of matters to be adjudicated.

What I can tell the honourable member is that, having spent most of last week on the APY lands meeting with dozens of elders and Anangu and Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara community members, I did not have any of them, not a single person, that I met with across Iwantja, Indulkana, Mimili, Fregon, Kaltjiti, Pukatja, Ernabella, Kenmore Park, Umuwa or Amata raise this issue with me. But I do note the article the honourable member has referred to and I await the response from the questions I have sent back to the APY Executive.