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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

Debate resumed.

Ms SANDERSON (Adelaide) (12:22): I also support the motion brought forward by the member for Schubert and congratulate Operation Flinders on its 20th anniversary. Whilst unfortunately I was not available to go with the last group that went to Operation Flinders, I plan to go early in the new year. I was fortunate enough to have a personal briefing from Meg Lees about the benefits of Operation Flinders and its importance. It would be a wonderful program to expand. A lot of constituents have come to my office with adult children in their 20s who have drug and alcohol issues, and a program like this, where they are taken out of their environment, worked with and supported, would be of great benefit.

At the moment it is for ages 14 to 18, but there would definitely be a lot of benefit in having similar programs for older and younger people. Whilst I have not been to Operation Flinders, for the last 17 years through my business I have worked with teenagers who are at varying levels of need or risk, so it is something close to my heart. I have participated in nine different courses as a trainer for Mission Australia in Whyalla, working with children at risk, and it is very rewarding on the first day when you see that all they really want is a person who will believe in them, someone who will take the time and will listen to their story. It just takes that one person to believe in them, I believe, to really change their life.

Operation Flinders could really be that course and provide those leaders. It is also great with Operation Flinders that they have the opportunity to go back as leaders themselves, so they can not only learn but the skills they learn they can then pass on to others, which is even a better way of reiterating what you have learnt and passing it on.

Whilst the modelling and grooming and self-esteem courses that I have run do not have any of the physical side, I recently went to Camp Eden where we had to participate in flying fox, leap of faith and other activities which, again, I could see certainly makes a big difference to the adults involved by being stretched physically and mentally. There were a lot of adult women on that program who were lacking in confidence and the team support, with people encouraging you and egging you on and being there to support you, really made a big difference. So, I definitely support this type of program and would love to see it expanded at some time in the future. I commend this motion to the house.

Ms CHAPMAN (Bragg) (12:25): It is with pleasure that I support the member for Schubert's motion to congratulate Operation Flinders Foundation on its 20th anniversary, to acknowledge the work done and, of course, to pay tribute to those who have worked in this area over a number of years. As a member of the juvenile justice inquiry in this place—

Members interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Excuse me, member for Bragg, I apologise. There is a lot of discussion on my right—and, indeed, on the left—which is making it a bit hard to hear you.

Ms CHAPMAN: Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I was a member of the juvenile justice inquiry, ably led by the member for Fisher, which some years ago now reported to the parliament that an important, effective area in juvenile justice reform was the program provided by Operation Flinders. Members of this house, many of whom have had an opportunity to participate or to be well briefed on the activities undertaken, will appreciate the significance of it. It is demonstrably effective and has been deserved of extra support—little as there has been by the government, but I acknowledge that there has been some extra support.

The reason that is particularly important is that during the many years I was on the One and All sailing trust board with Alec Mathieson (who, indeed, also was a former board member of Operation Flinders), he was very supportive and frequently advocating to our own board the benefits that were available to young people in learning about teamwork. Similarly, that was transferred into the services provided by the One and All sailing ship.

Also, the reason it was important was it offered an extra program to young people through the education department and, at times, through juvenile justice referral, to enable them to learn about teamwork, in that instance, through sail training. That was an important aspect because it was recognised in the juvenile justice inquiry how effective this was as an early intervention mechanism and also a rehabilitation mechanism, and how significant it was to our young people. So, of course, I commend the Operation Flinders Foundation for its excellent work and hope that it will continue.

What concerns me today is that we have heard a contribution from the member for Croydon, the former attorney-general of this state, to use what was identified yesterday—a practice which is clearly unacceptable—by the Premier in his contribution. I was only listening to the member for Croydon's contribution as I was reading these very words from the Premier when yesterday he said on another matter:

Parliamentary witch-hunts and vilification of individuals, unsupported by investigations—

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: I have a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! There is a point of order. Excuse me, member for Bragg. If you could take your seat, thank you very much. The Minister for Industry and Trade.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: I have two points of order, ma'am. The member for Bragg is imputing improper motive to the member for Croydon; and the other one is relevance. The motion is about congratulating Operation Flinders on its 20-year anniversary.

Members interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! I have to admit, I did not hear the imputing, and I am sure that the member for Bragg will stick very closely to the motion in question now.

Ms CHAPMAN: Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker; I appreciate your direction. So, having heard this and as I was re-reading this quote and the importance of not vilifying people, I was appalled to hear the member for Croydon's contribution on a malicious attack, yet again, on Ms Kate Lennon, in this very—

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: I have a point of order.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: The member is now imputing an improper motive to the member for Croydon.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yes, and that would be standing order 127, I believe. Member for Bragg, if you could not do that. I uphold that point of order.

Ms CHAPMAN: I am very happy to. What I am going to say is this: having listened carefully to the member for Croydon's contribution on the assertion that Ms Lennon was someone who was unhappy with and, indeed, critical of Operation Flinders—something about being masculine and inappropriate, or something of that nature—I want to deal with that issue.

The member for Croydon asserted that, whilst in his employ (remembering that he was the former attorney-general), obviously he had responsibility for—and, indeed, funding—submissions to cabinet on juvenile justice matters and crime prevention programs. It is well known to this house that Ms Lennon was subsequently involved in an inquiry in this parliament about an alleged 'stashed cash' of funds relating to crime prevention programs—the very person today that the former attorney has accused of being critical of this program. I just want to place on the record my concern that the very act that the Premier had referred to yesterday—

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Point of order.

Ms CHAPMAN: —is being utilised—

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Point of order.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!

Ms CHAPMAN: —by the member for Croydon in a disgraceful attack—

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Point of order! Thank you. Minister.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: If the member for Bragg wishes to move a motion concerning the member for Croydon and his contribution, she is free to do so. She is now imputing improper motive to the member for Croydon in his remarks and she is not talking to the motion.

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Not that you would know.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you, minister. I do uphold that point of order. I can see the strands. It is a very long bow to draw, member for Bragg. I think that we had better continue just talking about Operation Flinders.

Ms CHAPMAN: It is very important that the government not only contributes to this program but also gives it more money and makes sure that, as a demonstrably successful program, it does not suffer the fate of the other programs which the former attorney-general axed in his regime.

What is also important to remember is that, with respect to the One And All trust that I referred to, only months ago did I receive a note from them to say that the crew had been sacked. This was taken over by the government, by the former treasurer—

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Point of order.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Point of order. The Minister for Industry and Trade.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Relevance, ma'am. This is a motion congratulating Operation Flinders, not the One And All.

Ms CHAPMAN: I am very happy to get to the point, Madam Deputy Speaker.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: That would be excellent.

Ms CHAPMAN: I am sure that you would appreciate that. Why this is so important is because, when you lose another program, a good program, like the sail training available for juvenile justice, for rehabilitation and for team work building, etc., and the crew are all sacked by the government, we need Operation Flinders even more. So, what is important here is that you dump one program, having failed to properly manage it, and you put it out to tender, which is what is happening to the One And All trust at the moment; and, if the ship ever sees the light of an ocean horizon again, I will be surprised.

I am very deeply concerned about it because the people—like Alec Mathieson—who sat on that board were also involved in this operation and they understand the importance of this for the young people of South Australia. I say to the government through this motion that it is very important that it understands how significant this operation is. It is preciously left as one of the few programs that is actually working, and it is functioning where, unfortunately, other programs had the hearts ripped out of them and are no longer available for the children of South Australia. I commend the motion and I commend the member for Schubert for bringing it.

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (12:33): I fully support this motion by the member for Schubert and support all the words made by members on this side of the house. In the last couple of months, I had the privilege of going out with Operation Flinders. I know that John Shepherd and the crew had been trying to get me up there for a little while. Things just clashed, but I was very, very pleased to go up and have a look at the operation.

They are now based at Yankaninna Station, which adjoins Mount Serle Station. Mount Serle Station had power connected in quite a few of its buildings, but now (for a range of reasons which I will not go through today) it is an abandoned property; but it is adjoining Yankaninna. We see that Mount Serle has power—the power poles are put through, and all the infrastructure is there—and then at the next property, Yankaninna, we see Operation Flinders having to set up its new base. As a result of another range of reasons it has had to move its base and depend on government support and corporate funding.

I certainly appreciate the support that the government is putting in there, and it should stay that way. I certainly also support all the corporates that support this program. It is a very, very worthwhile program to support children who are essentially at risk—basically kids who have not quite found their way in life. It puts them in an environment that takes them out of their comfort zone. They cannot run down the road to Macca's or Hungry Jacks, and they cannot go down the street and perhaps get into some strife. They are up there for eight days, hiking around, totally out of their comfort zone, carrying all their equipment, and setting up camp.

An interesting point was made by some of the volunteers at Operation Flinders. They said that if the kids do not like the food, they go hungry, essentially. They have reasonable food. Good camping food goes out with them. If they do not set up their hutchie (their little cover for their swags) and it rains, they get wet. They learn some valuable lessons that you need to be part of the team and you need for own survival, to a degree, to be part of the action.

It is interesting that we heard a story from one of the members in regards to someone throwing rocks. We heard a story about that when we were up there, about one of the participants throwing rocks. They were made to carry quite a heavy rock for quite a while, and I think they lost the urge to throw rocks after that. It is a very, very good program. I must admit I was not that keen to be involved in the abseiling, and I certainly made my feelings known in no uncertain terms to the abseiling coordinators.

The Hon. R.B. Such interjecting:

Mr PEDERICK: Well, when the rope did move at one stage, I said, 'What was that?' They said, 'It's just pulled against the rock.' I said, 'Yeah, no worries.'

Mr Whetstone: It's called the stretch factor.

Mr PEDERICK: Yes, it's called the stretch factor. As I was backing over the edge and my whole body was literally shaking—and I am quite happy to admit that—they said, 'Look down.' I said, 'No, no; I've looked down once and that's enough. If I look down again I'm not going down.' They do a good job in taking the sponsors and politicians out of their comfort zone as well in doing the abseiling activity. I must admit that I had to complete that activity once I heard that the member for Schubert had successfully completed it. I could not let him get away with that and hold it over me.

It was great just watching that one activity, and the kids being involved in it and coming down the 35 metre rock wall and seeing their confidence levels increase and how pleased they were at completing the task. It was good: I ran into a few participants from my electorate and had a good chat to them. I said, 'I hope that you make yourselves known to me when I see you in the electorate.' They were having a very good time on their eight days.

I have heard anecdotally that a lot of these participants do not realise that straight after they have participated in Operation Flinders—and it may be a little time down the track—they suddenly realise it was the best thing that happened to them. It is great thing that John Shepherd and his crew, and all their volunteers, do for this state. They do great work, and it is making the lives of so many children and so many people in this state so much better. I felt privileged to witness the operation. I wish it all the best in the future and personally thank all the corporate sponsors for being involved as well.

Debate adjourned on motion of Mrs Geraghty.

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