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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-05-06 Daily Xml
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Public Works Committee: APY Lands Main Access Road Upgrade Project

Ms DIGANCE (Elder) (11:26): I move:

That the 517th report of the committee, entitled APY Lands Main Access Road Upgrade Project, be noted.

The main access road is currently used by more than 60 per cent of the total APY population, providing access to health and education, as well as being the main route for food delivery, medical supplies and export of animals. The road is highly corrugated and frequently floods, rendering it impassable. This increases the cost of service delivery, damages vehicles and goods, and contributes to the high rate of vehicle accidents in the region.

This project will see the upgrade of the current main access road from the Stuart Highway to Ernabella (approximately 210 kilometres), as well as the upgrade of 21 kilometres of community access roads. Specifically, it will upgrade the unsealed main access road, provide sealed roads in key areas, such as access to sealed airstrips, to provide all-weather access for emergency service providers, such as the Royal Flying Doctor Service. It will also stabilise floodways at major watercourse crossings. It is a jointly funded project between the state and federal governments at a total cost of $106.25 million, GST exclusive, to be undertaken over four years and managed by the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure.

This was an interesting project to review, and I am sure all Public Works Committee members would agree, given its location and challenges. The department is seeking to use this project to encourage development of skill and employment in the APY lands, with a minimum target of 30 per cent of local Indigenous people to be employed on the project. The committee wishes them every success in achieving this absolutely worthy target and with the successful completion of the project. Given this, and pursuant to section 12C of the Parliamentary Committees Act 1991, the Public Works Committee reports to parliament that it recommends the proposed public works.

Mr PENGILLY (Finniss) (11:28): Again, the opposition clearly supports this project. It was an interesting submission, and the hearing was interesting in itself, on some of the problems that are anticipated to be faced during the course of this $106 million project. I would like to particularly congratulate the federal government—they are the principal funders of this project—the Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, and his cabinet colleagues, who have seen fit to improve markedly, by this project, the life of those people who live on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara lands.

The federal government and the Prime Minister are belted around the ears pretty regularly on a lot of things, but let me tell you that the task at hand they have committed to here is an excellent one, and I do not think anybody could dispute that. It is living proof that the Abbott federal government looks after all Australians as best they can. This $100-odd million to be spent, with some state money in it, will make it dramatically easier for the Aboriginal people who live on the APY lands.

Let me also say that the employment that is going to be created will be a good thing, and we asked questions about that. I have no doubt that they anticipate issues regarding employment, the use of contractors, where they get everything from and the very logistics of working in that isolated part of Australia. It will not be an easy project, but at the end of the day the people who live out there will have a vastly upgraded road, much of it a gravel road but with bitumen crossings over the places that are flooded out each year or whenever it rains, which is probably not each year up there. Once again, let me congratulate Prime Minister Tony Abbott and the federal government on providing that funding.

Mr WHETSTONE (Chaffey) (11:30): I too rise to support this project and air the same sentiments the member for Finniss has expressed, particularly in regard to the partnership between the state government and the federal government, and I too express congratulations on the long-term view of the benefits this upgrade of the road will give to the people there. This is the road from Pukatja to Iga Warta, from the Sturt Highway right the way through.

The committee was told that this is obviously a great opportunity to provide employment and opportunities for the people up in the lands. Of course, living in a regional part of South Australia, I too experience the wear and tear on vehicles, the dangers and the lack of safety on any unsealed road, particularly with floodways and with large corrugation and washouts, so I think this is a great project. It is an asset to that region, and it gives confidence that government support for a faraway, regional centre of South Australia is being addressed.

The fill materials will be brought up for this project to reshape the road and make it smoother, as a more advanced road base is better than the natural road terrain. Obviously, the floodways will be sealed, and that is a common issue with faraway, desert locations, particularly when they have little rain, but when they do have rain it always causes significant damage, so that will improve the safety on those roads. Accessibility, of course, is always an issue in isolated areas, so the plan to improve that is being addressed. This road will provide safer road conditions and employment opportunities, and I support the project.

Dr McFETRIDGE (Morphett) (11:33): Having travelled extensively in the APY lands by air but more particularly by road, I and, I imagine, Anangu Tjuta—all the Anangu—greatly appreciate this money being spent, because when you are going to land on an airstrip on the APY lands you just hope that, firstly, there are no camels on the airstrip and that, secondly, the airstrip is in a good enough condition for the plane to land. We have had to get out and push the aeroplane backwards to get it out of a bog at one end on one trip. You need to have good airstrips, but you also need good access to those airstrips, and you need to have good roads from the communities.

Let's just remind ourselves in this place that Pipalyatjara is right up in the north-west corner, and if you drive from Adelaide to Pipalyatjara it is further than driving from Adelaide to Sydney. Adelaide to Sydney is about 1,380 kilometres, according to the map on the iPhone this morning, and it is about 1,700 kilometres to Pipalyatjara—another 300-odd kilometres further than driving to Sydney. Even driving to Amata, which is where I understand the road is going to finish up, is further than driving to Sydney.

The tyranny of distance is so real out in the APY lands. I encourage every member in this place, if they have not been to the APY lands, to go up there—go up there with the local member or go up there with the Aboriginal lands committee. We are going up there again at the end of June, I think. We welcome other members of this place—there are spare seats on the plane—to come with us and see the APY lands, to come and see what a beautiful place it is and what fantastic people are living on those lands and to see where this money is going.

I am very concerned that the jobs that will be created in this particular project will not be the 30 per cent we are targeting. I hope that RASAC (Regional Anangu Services Aboriginal Corporation) gets some of the work here. I was speaking to Mark Jackman, the new general manager of RASAC, just last week, and he was concerned that there would not be the jobs there. We should be making it an imperative that, whoever is managing these contracts, whether it is DPTI or private contractors, those jobs will be given, wherever possible, to Anangu either for training or for on-the-job development.

The need for good roads up there is vital because you need to provide good food. Last week, I was with minister Maher out at the Toll depot at Regency Park for the launch of the Mai Wiru/Toll partnership. Mai Wiru is Aboriginal or Pitjantjatjara for 'good food'. Mai Wiru is the Aboriginal organisation that runs most of the stores on the APY lands. They now have, with the ability to travel, there weekly, an A-double refrigerated transport going up there—

Mr Pederick: A road train.

Dr McFETRIDGE: It is a road train, I am informed by the member for Hammond—taking fresh food. At the moment, those roads shake those vehicles to pieces. I travelled once in one of the new school buses out there, and I asked the teacher how long the new bus would last and he said, 'Only a matter of months, really, going over these roads,' as the roads up there are so rough.

We need this sort of project in place, not just to reduce the number of accidents and improve road safety and make it easier to access everything from the stores, to the communities and to the airstrips, but also to make the people who live on those lands feel that they are part of South Australia and not living in a different country. Many times, I think they are living in a different country up there. They might predominantly speak a different language, but they are part of South Australia and they deserve this money. I congratulate the federal government on stumping up the money, and I certainly look forward to the project being completed.

I will finish by saying one thing: we have seen a lot of issues in the media, and we have spoken about them in this place, about management of the finances of APY. Here is another case: the legal advice that was sought for the management of this contract between APY and the state government was put out for expressions of interest. I understood that there was one offer of solid legal advice from Alice Springs for $7,000, but for some reason the APY Executive decided to give the legal contract to Johnston Withers at $23,000. Why is that so?

This is why I was pleased to read minister Maher's ministerial statement yesterday that there will be this extra emphasis on managing, observing and opening up for more transparency the financial management on the APY. This is a great project, it needs to be managed well, it needs to be completed on time and on budget, and we need to make sure that we continue to advance the issues for Aboriginal people, not just in the APY but all over South Australia.

Ms DIGANCE (Elder) (11:38): I recognise the contributions of both the member for Finniss and the member for Chaffey, members of the Public Works Committee, and also from the member for Morphett. I am pleased that we have bipartisan support for this project because it is a necessary project and socially just. I know from speaking to some of the elders from the land just recently that they are welcoming this project for many reasons, not just for accessibility but also for the employment opportunities. I thank everyone involved in this project: the witnesses, the executive officer and the administrative officer of the Public Works Committee and fellow committee members.

Motion carried.

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