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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-11-28 Daily Xml
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Grievance Debate

APY LANDS

Dr McFETRIDGE (Morphett) (15:42): On this last day of this parliament, I would like to speak about one of my particular passions, and it has been since coming into this place—

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis: Me!

Dr McFETRIDGE: And it's not the member for West Torrens, I can guarantee that. It is an issue very dear to the member for Giles. I know it is her last day, so I am looking forward to listening to her valedictory speech. It is the APY lands—103,000 square kilometres of some of the most beautiful country in South Australia, from Mount Woodroffe, the highest point in South Australia, to Watarru, also known as Mount Lindsay, over by the Western Australian border. It is a cross between Uluru and Kata Tjuta. It is an amazing number of monoliths grouped together.

South Australians do not get to see these, though, as part of a normal experience of South Australians travelling around, because it is such a remote area. It is further to drive from Adelaide to Pipalyatjara than it is to drive from Adelaide to Sydney. Driving around the APY lands on the roads (which are at best described as ordinary, at worst described as deplorable) is something that certainly the driver for the member for Giles, Gary Hough, is well and truly adept at, and has served the member for Giles very well. They can testify to the fact that this land, the APY lands, is part of South Australia that we have neglected for many years.

The people up there are desperate to see that the benefits of living in South Australia are being shared with them, because what we have is about 2,500 people—Pitjantjatjara, Yankunytjatjara and some Ngaanyatjarra coming across from Western Australia—living up there, doing their very best to eke out an existence in communities despite having been provided in many cases with millions and millions of dollars worth of infrastructure such as schools, clinics, transaction centres, CFS trucks in some cases, lots of houses—extraordinarily expensive houses. I don't know why they are so expensive.

But we do have an opportunity, and we are seeing that opportunity again presented with the 5th annual report to the Minister for Education from the Commission of Inquiry into Children's Care on the APY Lands. We have seen that there is an opportunity to continue to improve things on those lands. We have seen the deplorable school attendance that continues there. I have been up there many times and seen for myself that the people living in those communities are the most wonderful people you could ever come across, but they are struggling against the tyranny of distance and also the mountains of bureaucracy that they have to deal with. They are completely swamped by the bureaucrats up there, and the number of businesses that go up there and deliver services at very high cost. Sure, there are expenses to deliver those services there but it is an impediment on their welfare.

We have had a lot of discussion about the prices of goods in the stores, but that is just a small part of the trials and tribulations of people living on the APY lands. The power goes out all the time, and there are brown-outs. I know SA Power Networks, as they call themselves now, have put a lot of time and effort into improving the infrastructure and, yet, if you go just south of Umuwa and look at the sun farm there, there are $4½ million worth of solar arrays and they do not work at all—they have never worked properly. As a result of that, and as a result of the water supply issues up there, these people are really still struggling.

I can assure the member for Giles that if I am continuing on in this place I will continue her legacy of sticking up for the people in the APY lands, because I know she has been doing it for many, many years now. I look forward to her cooperation in the future in assisting me in this place in dealing with the APY lands, because I know that she has done everything she possibly can to keep this government honest, under the various ministers and premiers who have been on that side.

Unfortunately, we still have many problems up there, but with members like the member for Giles in this place, and members on this side—the Leader of the Opposition is very passionate about Aboriginal affairs in South Australia, and I look forward to working with him in a Liberal government after March next year, and we need to make sure that we do give every South Australian, particularly the residents in the APY lands, the best of the benefits that this state can offer.

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