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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-09-14 Daily Xml
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APY LANDS

Mrs REDMOND (Heysen—Leader of the Opposition) (14:33): My question is again to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation. Will the minister confirm that almost $4.8 million of federal funding intended for Indigenous communities on the APY lands has remained unspent since 2008?

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) (14:33): I gather you are referring to the construction of the Umuwa courthouse.

Mrs Redmond: I am referring to the $4.8 million intended for the APY lands.

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: In relation to the Umuwa courthouse, yes, there was an agreement in 2008 with the commonwealth around a specific project, and that was a courthouse facility at Umuwa. After some time, the scope of the project had changed. I understand that the courts had changed their mind about their involvement or their degree of involvement with the project, which meant that it was back to the drawing board. Now, I have to say, and I have said since day one, that I am as frustrated as anybody in relation to the delays—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: —around this matter, but the key thing around this particular issue, because I have a very good relationship with Jenny Macklin, is that the money will stay on the lands and will be put to a very good use. The facts are that the remoteness of these communities and the complexity of culture—a number of factors—mean that service delivery is complex. That is just a fact.

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