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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-05-14 Daily Xml
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UMOONA TJUTAGKU HEALTH SERVICE

The Hon. L.R. BREUER (Giles) (15:42): Last time I stood in this place, I spoke of the Umoona Tjutagku Health Service and the important role it plays in Aboriginal lives in Coober Pedy. Last Monday, I attended the opening of their new drug and alcohol centre, which is part of the Umoona Tjutagku Health Service. It was a delightful day. I would say that at least 150 people attended the ceremony. There were some visitors from Adelaide, but the local community turned out in full force. So, it was a very good day.

It was opened by the Hon. Warren Snowdon. There was traditional inma that was held there. There was some wonderful dancing by the Kungkas from Coober Pedy and also an incredible emu dance by the men from there. It was just really exciting to watch. So, it was a wonderful day, a wonderful lunch; to see so many sectors of the community represented there and that they were able to pull people in from all over the Coober Pedy community was a great credit to the Health Service. I congratulate them all on what they did, and well done to you all.

Today it is my great delight to congratulate the CEO of the Umoona Tjutagku Health Service, Priscilla Larkins, who has just won the Aboriginal Nurse/Midwife Award at the 13th Annual Nursing and Midwifery Excellence Awards. I understand this was held at the Adelaide Convention Centre late last week, and Priscilla was able to take out that award. It is a very significant award, of course. It recognises the contribution that she has made to Aboriginal health and particularly to the Coober Pedy community. I understand it is there to recognise exceptional professionalism that is demonstrated by people that win those awards, and certainly Priscilla has done that.

Priscilla has brought that service, I think, to a standard that is a model for health services in Aboriginal communities all over the country. It is a vibrant service that is operating very well. The clients are very satisfied with the service that they receive there, so I want to congratulate Priscilla. She has done a wonderful job and she deserves to win that award. I know her husband, Patrick Larkins, was also there. He also plays a very important role in the Coober Pedy community as a police officer. He is respected and appreciated and is a very important part of that community.

Once I was in Coober Pedy when there was an incident at the hotel I was staying at involving an Aboriginal woman. I called the police because she was injured and in trouble and I was very pleased for Patrick to come along. He just took over the situation and managed it very well. He showed great respect and looked after the woman and sorted it very well. He is an excellent police officer. So, congratulations to both of them, but particularly to Priscilla for her award.

The day before they opened new playground facilities in Coober Pedy. I actually opened new playground facilities that the councillors developed and, again, it was a very well-attended event and very significant for the community. I particularly noted the excellent artwork that was there that was done by Aboriginal artists in the Coober Pedy community; absolutely outstanding work and it looks amazing. It is a facility that will be used by locals and by tourists, and I congratulate the Coober Pedy Council for not only their vision in building this park but also their wonderful efforts at reconciliation with the artwork that was there.

This brings me to an issue that is of major concern in Coober Pedy and that is the issue of visitors to the town, particularly from the APY lands and from the Northern Territory, who are causing many problems in their community. I know that last week they had the Liquor Licensing Commissioner there to talk to them about what can be done about the problem. It is causing great embarrassment to the local Aboriginal community and it is becoming quite significant. I am not sure what the answer is for that community, but I would urge them to work together, which I know they are doing, and to support the transitional accommodation camp that is being planned. Somehow we need to overcome the problem.

Finally, I want to pay tribute to Kuminara Thompson, who passed away last week in the APY lands. He was a very important man in the lands. My dealings with him go back a long way. I am very sorry to see him go, as with many other old Tjilpis who are passing away now. There is a generation of men and women who are being lost to the Aboriginal communities in the APY lands. Kuminara Thompson's experience, wisdom and kindness are going to be very greatly missed, and I certainly send my sincere sympathy to all his family and to the APY community. A great man who will be sadly missed.

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