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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2008-05-06 Daily Xml
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Ministerial Statement

APY LANDS INQUIRY

The Hon. M.D. RANN (Ramsay—Premier, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Social Inclusion, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change) (12:23): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. M.D. RANN: In 2004, three years before the Howard government's much-publicised move into the Northern Territory, this government intervened in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands. The decision to intervene was extremely controversial and personally difficult for me, as a former minister for Aboriginal affairs and reconciliation who had championed and passed the land rights legislation. Intervention drew condemnation for being a step backward towards paternalism, and for removing the Anangu's rights of self-determination. Of course, none of that was true. I was condemned as being a racist, for being 'like Robert Mugabe', and for turning my back on the vision of my mentor Don Dunstan—and that, of course, was not true.

Intervention was simply about one thing—saving the lives of young Anangu. We were concerned about a spate of suicides and an epidemic of violence and petrol sniffing, robbing young people of any hope for a better and brighter future. The plight of Aboriginal citizens, facing the needless loss of young lives and terrible disabilities due to petrol sniffing, family breakdown and violence, compelled us to act and I found it unbelievable that, in 21st-century Australia, our intervention was condemned because we wanted to help the children, and condemned by vested interests that clearly wanted the cover-up to continue.

In 2004, our conscience compelled us to act decisively and forcefully to begin to end the great waste of life and hope on the APY lands, and we committed ourselves then to improving conditions on the lands. Once we had a presence on the lands, we became concerned that there was even more we needed to know. This report reveals the breadth of the abuse everyone feared may exist.

The findings are deeply disturbing. Commissioner Mullighan describes an environment of widespread child sex abuse, an environment where many children have been repeatedly abused, and where victims are often ostracised or further ill treated for speaking out. The commissioner speaks of children living in communities marked by violence and fear and a sense of hopelessness.

The individual anecdotal cases in the report of sexual abuse of very young children are sickening. As I read through the report I felt an immense sadness for the lost lives of the children concerned and a continuing determination to act. Unlike in other places, this report does not mark the beginning of government action. This inquiry represents a further step in the work the government commenced in 2004 when we committed to improving the lives of those on the APY lands. We renew that commitment today.

We knew then that it would be difficult work, that improvements would not necessarily be visible overnight, that there would be stumbles, and that parts of our work would be unpopular. We also knew that by opening up the APY lands to scrutiny—as we did by reinvigorating the Aboriginal Lands Parliamentary Standing Committee and encouraging it for the first time in years to travel to the APY lands—we would be opening up ourselves to criticism.

But the state of disadvantage that we saw on the lands back then and the absence of government action to remedy it was not something we could allow to continue. Shamefully, when this government came to power in 2002 there was not one sworn police officer based on the lands. Sadly, when this government came to power there was not one child protection officer based on the lands. The basic building blocks necessary for a better life had also been dismantled with the closure of TAFE programs on the lands.

The inability of our predecessors to address the basic needs of these communities is a matter of historical record. In 2004, this government committed an extra $25 million over four years to the APY lands. We placed responsibility for coordinating responses on the lands with the Department of the Premier and Cabinet to raise the importance of the task to the highest level within the public sector. This allowed a comprehensive government strategy to be developed and implemented.

We have increased police presence on the lands, including the addition of permanent specialist child protection and family violence positions, and we have created new community liaison positions to better link the police with the communities. We have increased health and welfare services, including additional staff to provide care and protection services, as well as visiting mental health services for victims and young perpetrators.

Additional school counsellors have been brought in to provide services to students and to support the teachers who teach them. We built a new school, funded Aboriginal art centres, a family care centre, bush tucker and youth programs. We have expanded the range of services to support families and to help prevent family violence. We have established a substance misuse rehabilitation facility in Amata and outreach services that provide counselling in communities across the lands.

Through these and a range of other measures, we have achieved real, tangible improvements in the lives of Anangu, such as a reduction in petrol sniffing—a staggering 83 per cent fall between 2004 and 2007, according to Nganampa Health Services' surveys. There is still a hell of a lot more to do. These changes, however, represent a huge difference to the communities that I first visited in the 1980s.

Much of this progress can be attributed to the collaboration of the state and commonwealth governments with local people and their representatives. The tireless efforts of public servants—perhaps none more so than Joslene Mazel, the Executive Director of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation—have been instrumental in making the hard roads and achieving results.

The willingness of the present opposition to take a bipartisan approach, putting the welfare of Anangu well above party politics, has to be acknowledged. I particularly want to acknowledge the work, commitment and cooperation of former federal minister Amanda Vanstone on the community swimming pools and other projects. But quite obviously more needs to be done.

When the previous federal Liberal government sought to address family violence and sex abuse in communities as a priority, we were the first state to sign up to the June 2006 summit. At that summit and its aftermath, it was South Australia that pressed for this inquiry to take place. We initiated this inquiry and commissioned Commissioner Mullighan. We were clear that there was no possible excuse for family violence and sexual abuse. Having heard and read the shocking reports of family violence and child sexual abuse in remote communities elsewhere in Australia, we were worried that our largest and most remote community would not be immune.

One of the additional hopes for this inquiry was that it would find a way to break the silence that has surrounded family violence and child sexual abuse in remote communities. Until we can break that silence, identifying the perpetrators, bringing them to justice and so removing the threat is extremely difficult. We hope that by using the successful model developed by Commissioner Mullighan and his team in its inquiry into child sexual abuse in state care, we might find a way to get people to come forward. That the inquiry has not been able to do that only underscores how great are the barriers that we face in giving sufficient confidence to victims to come forward.

As I did a few weeks ago, I express this government's enormous gratitude for the work that the commission has performed. Ted Mullighan is an outstanding Australian, and I congratulate him and his team once again for doing a very difficult job exceptionally. The commission visited the APY lands on five occasions. During those visits, the commission went to every community on the lands and met with community members and groups as well as representatives of government and non-government agencies. In addition to taking evidence on the lands, the commission took evidence in Adelaide and other centres such as Alice Springs and Coober Pedy. In all, the inquiry held 147 meetings that involved 246 people. The inquiry took evidence from 70 people.

The commission found the prevalence of child sexual abuse on the lands to be widespread. Its investigations revealed that serious suspicion of sexual abuse exists in respect of over 140 children in a community of 1,000 children. The stories of those children's ordeals set out in part 2 make harrowing reading.

The report also examines the work that government is doing on the lands to improve the lives of Anangu. Importantly, the report endorses our previous actions. The establishment of the TKP (a peak body of commonwealth, state and community organisations) and its strategic plan, and the coordination of action by the Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation Division, are all supported by the report. Indeed, the report encourages us to accelerate this activity.

The report also confirms this government's approach that we should continue to work in partnership with the APY community wherever possible. One of the lessons we learned through our intervention was that we had to act in partnership with local people. We believe that dealing immediately and decisively with these issues need not and must not preclude the involvement of Aboriginal people. In fact, working with the APY community is an imperative if we are to succeed. That has been, and will be, the fundamental difference between our approach and that of the Howard government in the Northern Territory.

The inquiry also highlights how much more is required and where we must take remedial action. The sheer volume of cases where serious suspicion of sexual abuse exists compels the conclusion that more needs to be done and done better. We accept our responsibility for taking this action. We shone the light on the APY lands in 2004. We introduced the police officers and child protection workers. We embraced the national summit and we asked Commissioner Mullighan to investigate what more needed to be done. Today we take responsibility for doing more.

The laws of this state apply to everyone; no-one is immune from being brought to justice for serious crimes such as sexual abuse. Our first responsibility in responding to this report must be the safety and protection of the community. Critical to stopping the abuse is making people feel safe to report it. So, today I can announce measures targeted at those matters.

Commissioner Mullighan makes it clear that while the community feels unsafe and fearful of retribution, violence will continue and reports will not be made. He recommends that we build another police station in addition to the two we are already building. We accept this recommendation.

Today I can inform the parliament that we have secured funding from the commonwealth through minister Jenny Macklin to build a new police station, taking the total to three police stations on the lands. The report also recommends significant extra police resources should be provided (recommendation 40). Today I can also inform the parliament that we will post eight extra police on the APY lands, taking the total to 19 on the lands, with an additional police officer dedicated to the APY lands but based in Adelaide. I remind the house that there were no police based on the lands when we came to power: from zero to 19.

The injection of extra police recognises the need to make the community safe, both for Anangu and for the workers. It will also ensure that we crack down on trafficking in drugs and alcohol. One of the most significant costs in placing staff on the APY lands is providing housing for them. Commissioner Mullighan recommends that we investigate ways to recruit and retain the very best police suitable for the lands. Providing adequate housing is a critical part of this. It costs almost $500,000 for each police house. Additionally, they must be made secure. Today I can inform parliament that, with the Rudd government's assistance, we will build extra houses for police based on the lands.

The inquiry has discovered numerous issues with the operation of the child protection system on the APY lands. As Commissioner Mullighan acknowledges, the issues surrounding receiving and investigating allegations of sexual abuse are complex. We will be examining the recommendations closely and responding to them in detail when we return to parliament.

Getting government policies right is important, but the report also makes recommendations about where we should allocate more resources in the child protection system. The report recommends that we increase the number of social workers on the lands to six and place them in schools. We accept this recommendation. The commissioner recommends that two child protection workers be placed on the lands to specifically respond to allegations of suspected sexual abuse. We accept this recommendation and will take immediate steps to place two child protection workers on the lands to investigate allegations of sexual abuse.

As with police, one of the significant costs in placing an extra five child protection workers on the lands is the cost of housing. In order to respond to the commissioner's concerns that high-quality staff be recruited and retained, we will, with commonwealth assistance, build the additional houses required for these workers.

I wish to acknowledge the commonwealth's contribution. I wish to acknowledge the commitment of the Prime Minister and Jenny Macklin. They have committed $15 million to the building of the additional police station and workers housing. This comes on top of their $25 million commitment for the construction of housing for Anangu, which Commissioner Mullighan recommends begin as a matter of urgency. More police, and more child protection and social workers are concrete steps that we can take to improve safety.

One further recommendation stands out for immediate support. There is evidence that the prevalence of pornography in remote communities may be a significant contributor to child sexual abuse. We will investigate ways to restrict pornography. This will be one of the first tasks of the task force established to respond to the recommendations of this report.

The stories of child sexual abuse and the destroyed lives they signify, should sadden and sicken us all. Perhaps the most chilling aspect of these stories is the extent to which sexual abuse appears to have become normalised in some of these communities. This so-called normalisation has been many years in the making, yet sexual abuse is not part of Anangu culture. While the government must do its part to stop the terrible abuses occurring on the lands, the Anangu themselves must put a stop to the widespread violence against their women and children.

Responsibility must be taken by the people themselves to restore their culture and give the young Anangu hope for a better future. While the government must and will do its part to stop the terrible abuses occurring on the lands, the Anangu themselves must show leadership and take action to stop the widespread violence against their women and children.

Local people have a responsibility to report child sexual abuse to the police. In 2004, in relation to adults selling drugs, alcohol and petrol to children, I was told that it was against Aboriginal culture to dob in offenders. My response to the people on the lands was to say that it was not part of Aboriginal culture to watch their children die.

In all, Commissioner Mulligan makes 46 recommendations. These recommendations cover governance, welfare, health, education and justice. We acknowledge that attention to all these areas is vital, not just to protect children but also to give hope for a better life on the APY lands. Commissioner Mulligan acknowledges that the issues are complex and will take some time to deal with. The parliament also acknowledged this when it provided the government three months to examine the report and outline its preliminary response on all the recommendations. We will provide a full outline of our response well within this time. Many of the recommendations are too urgent to wait three months.

We have established a task force with commonwealth and state government representatives, headed by Jos Mazel, to drive our further responses. The task force will closely examine all the recommendations but it will not wait for three months to determine all the responses. Of course, I have already announced some of our responses, funding and action today. So, while we have announced a series of immediate responses and will provide a full response as required by parliament, we will make further announcements in the coming weeks.

I again commend Commissioner Mullighan, a brilliant judge and a good man. I table the Children on Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands Commission of Inquiry Report.

Report received and ordered to be published.

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