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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-09-15 Daily Xml
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OPERATION FLINDERS FOUNDATION

Mr VENNING (Schubert) (11:39): I, too, would just comment, in relation to the comments by the member for Fisher who has just sat down, that these motions are very similar and certainly I do support his motion as well because it is on the same subject, but mine has a little bit different detail. I move:

That this house—

(a) congratulates the Operation Flinders Foundation on its 20th anniversary and success in providing support and opportunities to young men and women who have been identified as being at risk;

(b) acknowledges the terrific work done to develop the personal attitudes, values, self esteem and motivation of Operation Flinders participants through espousing the virtues of teamwork and responsibility, so they may grow as valued members of the community; and

(c) pays tribute to the staff, volunteers, board members and ambassadors of the organisation, past and present, who dedicate time, skills and resources into empowering youth through this worthwhile organisation.

As stated in the motion and, indeed, the member for Fisher's motion, this year marks the 20th anniversary of Operation Flinders. The Operation Flinders project was set up by the late Pamela Murray-White, in 1991, a teacher and former army officer. When she returned to teaching following her military service, she dealt with students with behavioural problems. While working with these students, she realised that some outdoor elements of army life and culture could have some positive effect on them.

I could not agree more because, as an ex-national serviceman, I did two years in the bush. Going into the bush was great therapy for everybody, particularly from across the community, for both country people and city people alike. It certainly was very therapeutic in relation to your health, and particularly your mental health.

This is how this fantastic initiative was started. Operation Flinders is a South Australian-based foundation that runs an early intervention program for 14 to 18 year olds. The program aims to provide a new direction for young people at risk. School teams are also able to participate to help build teamwork skills.

An eight-day program in each exercise begins at Yankaninna Station, which is 65 kilometres east of Leigh Creek in the Flinders Ranges. Participants then walk more than 100 kilometres over the eight days. The terrain is not flat and a number of challenges are provided to the young people involved. Currently, five annual exercises are run at Yankaninna Station, with approximately 500 students each year.

In its 20 years of operation, Operation Flinders has helped approximately 5,000 young people identified as being at risk. The program aims to empower participants so that, after the experience, they will grow and develop into valued members of the community. The experience helps participants develop their personal attitudes and improve their self-esteem, but also helps motivate and value teamwork and responsibility as the group supports each other through this journey.

Earlier in the year, I had the opportunity to accept John Shepherd's invitation and go to the Flinders, see firsthand the operation and, in fact, stay on site. I even went over the edge—some members would say, 'You've done it again'—that is, abseiling. I was rather stunned to learn that my leader, the member for Heysen, had done something very similar on a previous visit. So, I say it is very courageous stuff.

I was very pleased to meet the participants, to actually walk with them a way and, better than that, put on the pack that one of these young people was actually carrying and walk alongside with the weight of this pack. I got a real buzz out of that, and I am sure the young lad behind was pretty pleased too because he had a free load for a while. The spirit of the participants and particularly the staff is just fantastic and I shall be returning to visit again and will be happy to become one of those volunteer support people who give their time so freely. Operation Flinders' objectives are to:

increase access to programs for young people at risk;

effect a positive life change for young people at risk by improving self-esteem and confidence;

improve the rate of return to education and encourage young participants to seek employment;

reduce the recidivism rate of young offender participants;

continually improve the quality of the foundation's program;

engage qualified, motivated, experienced and permanent contract and volunteer staff;

effectively respond to the needs of relevant agencies; and

increase the resource base of the program through support from the public, corporate, benevolent and private sectors.

In recent times, more resources have been able to be put into mentoring participants after they return from the exercise. This is an important part of the program because some people, when they return, are vulnerable to the previous influences that put them at risk in the first place. The program currently receives funding through the Attorney-General's Department of $447,000 annually, but it is also very fortunate to have attracted sponsors Australia-wide.

The 20th anniversary celebration is about recognising the achievements Operation Flinders has made thus far and sharing what the organisation has to offer for future participants. It will be conducted at Yankaninna Station on 5 November 2011, and I hope to be present.

Ongoing support for this program is essential, and raising awareness in the community is needed for its continued success. I pay tribute to Mr John Shepherd, who heads up the operation. His leadership, capacity and enthusiasm are pivotal to the success of Operation Flinders, and I thank him and all his support team for the wonderful work they do. I urge members to support this motion recognising this very important program.

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN (Stuart) (11:45): I too rise to support this motion and congratulate everybody who has anything to do with putting together Operation Flinders on its 20th anniversary. It is also worth noting that a few Liberal members of parliament very recently went to Yankaninna Station and participated, in one way or an other, with an Operation Flinders activity.

I am sad to say that, as much as I have tried, I have not actually been able to get to Yankaninna when one of the operations is running, but I did visit Yankaninna Station on 25 August and had a very good look around at the property. At that same day, I visited Nepabunna community and also Mount Serle Station. Yankaninna is set in a very, very beautiful and also challenging part of South Australia—the tremendous Flinders Ranges—and I am sure every member of this house would have visited the Flinders Ranges at some stage. As the member for Fisher mentioned, the isolation of this program is one of its key features. You cannot just pack up and go home.

In the context of the electorate of Stuart, Yankaninna Station is not a particularly isolated place, but I am sure that for the vast majority of people who participate in the programs it is as far as they have ever been, and I am glad that they have come that far.

I enjoyed the presentation from Operation Flinders earlier this year, as did many members of parliament from all political persuasions, and I was very interested to learn some more details about the program that I was not aware of. It is important to recognise that some representatives of the Adnyamathanha community have expressed concerned about the appropriateness of some of the specific locations used by the program.

All members of this house and the broader public are very aware of my views with regard to the responsibilities of all pastoral lease owners conducting dingo control programs. Whether or not they are actually in the pastoral industry, I consider Operation Flinders to be a very good use of this pastoral lease, but I remind everybody (as I do whenever I can) that, regardless of the use of a pastoral lease, controlling dingoes, if not for your benefit but, importantly, for the benefit of your neighbours, is very important.

One thing that we all agree on wholeheartedly—and certainly I share this view—is the great value of this program to the young people who participate in it. I was very fortunate through probably the first half of my life to be very actively involved in sport. My parents certainly supported that at an early age, and I continued with it for as long as I could. Through that, I have a strong view that one of the greatest things a person can ever do, either for their self-development or also for their team development, is to go through some things that are actually really hard to do. Sport, of course, is a very healthy and voluntary way of gaining that sort of experience. I know that for some of the people who participate in the Operation Flinders program, while they are not shackled and dragged there, it may not be exactly the first thing they choose to do for those 10 days.

However, I believe very strongly that if any person—and particularly a young person—regardless of gender, religion or race, successfully sees their way through to the end of a difficult program that involves physical activity, teamwork, bonding, personal achievement, and they face activities they are scared of or do not particularly want to do but take that leap of faith (as the member for Schubert called it) and participate in things like abseiling, walking extreme distances, doing it when it is very hot or very cold, looking after the people who are going through it with them at the same time and starting to think about the broader team and not just themselves, then that will go a long way for the rest of their life in regard to their personal development and the choices they make and the direction they take from then on.

I congratulate Operation Flinders for having a program that gives young people who need that sort of help the opportunity, and I am confident that it does improve their lives. I congratulate Operation Flinders and support this motion wholeheartedly.

Mr PENGILLY (Finniss) (11:50): I also support the motion of the member for Schubert. As it turns out, I was at a fundraising dinner for a country education fund last Friday night and the development manager for Operation Flinders, Jonathon Robran, was the guest speaker. A former participant, Daniel Mackie, was there as well. I have been a keen observer. Unfortunately, at this stage, I have not been up there.

I note with interest the group of young people in the gallery today. If they were not aware of Operation Flinders before, they may be after this. It is an exceptionally good program. Even old fuddy-duddies like us go up and have a look at it. There was a group of members up there last weekend on one of the last trips for the year. It does provide a vastly different experience for young people, with a lot of them coming from the metropolitan area, and equally from the country. I know one young man from Kangaroo Island, Leigh Brown (who was the best mate of my youngest son), did it. I think it straightened up Leigh no end. It gave him a purpose in life and he has gone back as a mentor now, and has done it time and time again.

Mr John Shepherd and other people from Operation Flinders have been to Parliament House and have had a briefing in the Balcony Room not so many months ago, from memory. The member for Schubert does this place a service by introducing this motion that we promote and talk about Operation Flinders. Anything we can do to instil in our young people a desire to create a good future for themselves or a discipline that they may not have had, or to test themselves, is achieved at Operation Flinders.

It was interesting when Jonathon Robran said the other night—they put a lot of attention into making sure everybody is safe—that on one of the trips in the last couple of years one young lady said she could not go on because she was pregnant; whereupon they called an ambulance, took her to Leigh Creek, ascertained that she definitely was, and came back and she went on with the trek. She learnt a fairly valuable lesson fairly quickly; that is, she was not going to get out of it. They did this overnight so that she did not miss any of the walk the next day either, so it was very interesting. It is good training for them.

These days, when youth are very easily distracted by everything—everything technological and everything that makes them sit on a chair and push buttons—to get them out there walking around in that Flinders Ranges country (which I do not know well, I freely admit) and to test themselves and to develop their futures is good.

Operation Flinders is a great organisation. I have known Mr John Shepherd for many years, from my previous involvement in the CFS board, until I was unceremoniously put to the sword by the former minister for emergency services in the year 2000, along with Mr Allan Holmes. He and I were slotted by Mr Brokenshire of another place on the same day—a dreadful state of affairs. However, this is not about that: this is about Operation Flinders. I have not forgotten about that, incidentally.

So, in moving the motion with the different points there, the member for Schubert provides us with an admirable forum. I acknowledge the fact that the member for Fisher had a motion prior to this, but obviously we are going to speak in favour of Mr Venning's motion. So, it is with great pleasure that I rise and say a few words in support.

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