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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-07-07 Daily Xml
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PORT AUGUSTA SERVICE DELIVERY

Mrs VLAHOS (Taylor) (14:19): My question is to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation. Can the minister advise what work is occurring in the Port Augusta area as part of the government's response to the Lew Owens report?

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI (Hartley—Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers, Minister Assisting the Premier in Social Inclusion) (14:20): I would like to thank the member for Taylor for her question on this very important matter. I am very pleased to announce this afternoon that the state government has, in conjunction with the commonwealth and the Port Augusta City Council, agreed on a new governance model for service delivery in Port Augusta. This new governance model addresses one of the key recommendations in Lew Owens' report, entitled 'Report on observations of service delivery issues at Port Augusta', and forms an integral part of our work—the state government's work—under the National Urban and Regional Strategy.

What this means is that for the first time the three tiers of government will be sitting around the table with the community to negotiate and discuss ongoing service delivery issues. Up until this point, the Port Augusta community has been—and I accept this—frustrated by what has essentially been a merry-go-round of service delivery. We know that this is certainly not assisting all of us in closing the gap of Aboriginal disadvantage.

Lew Owens told us in his report that a lack of money was not necessarily the problem. In fact, he said that there are a great deal of good programs and services being delivered in Port Augusta, but what he did find was that we were all wanting when it came to coordination. He said that we essentially needed to get our act together, and that is what we are doing with this new service delivery model.

I would like to thank Mr Owens on behalf of all of us in this place for the work that he did in a voluntary capacity. One of the other recommendations that he made was that the Aboriginal community must have a voice in determining priorities. Of course, the services need to be accessible and they need to be tailored to that particular community.

I am very pleased to announce the appointment of two community advocates for this initiative: Mr Paul Case, who is very well known to all of us in this place, and Ms Kerry Colbung, who is very highly regarded. They, like Mr Owens, will work in a voluntary capacity to independently drive the work that needs to be done and hold all of us—the state government, the federal government, the Port Augusta City Council—to account.

I was very pleased last week to visit Port Augusta, and I met with mayor Joy Baluch to discuss this initiative, and she confirmed to me her support for this approach. She was apparently quoted on ABC saying—

Ms Chapman: A great lady.

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: Yes, a great lady. They quoted her—it was reported, and I am not sure if it was a direct quote—that she saw this initiative was an important step in the right direction. Last week, I was also very pleased to open a community forum, where the community had the opportunity to sit down and decide how it wanted interface with this initiative. They have taken up the opportunity, drawn a line in the sand in relation to their frustrations with the past—and I accept that.

I am very pleased to hear that the commonwealth will give these community members (I think might be 21) an opportunity to participate in the leadership program to assist them in developing their skills as well as contribute to the wider community in Port Augusta. There is no question that our most important partner in this work is the Port Augusta community. I am committed to working very hard, working with members opposite, working with the member for Stuart, on getting some serious progress in Port Augusta. I commend the initiative.

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