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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-11-03 Daily Xml
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Parliamentary Committees

Aboriginal Lands Parliamentary Standing Committee: Report 2021-22

Mr HUGHES (Giles) (11:02): I move:

That the 2021-22 annual report of the committee be noted.

The Aboriginal Lands Parliamentary Standing Committee's functions include reviewing the operation of the Aboriginal Lands Trust Act 2013, the Maralinga Tjarutja Land Rights Act 1984 and the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Land Rights Act 1981. The committee can also inquire into matters affecting the interests of the traditional owners of the lands and the manner in which the lands are being managed, used and controlled. Other functions include inquiring into matters concerning the welfare of Aboriginal people.

The committee discharges its functions in part by visiting Aboriginal lands and Aboriginal communities, by maintaining strong relationships with Aboriginal landholding statutory authorities and by inviting representatives from those statutory authorities to appear before the committee to give evidence. During the 2021-22 year, the committee endeavoured to travel to various locations. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic seriously limited our opportunity to visit communities.

The committee continued its three active inquiries during the reporting period. The Aboriginal housing inquiry concluded with the tabling of a final report on 26 October 2021. The committee concentrated on receiving evidence in its Aboriginal governance inquiry for the majority of the 2021 calendar year. This inquiry into governance standards in Aboriginal community-controlled organisations was referred by the then Premier in February 2021.

On 26 October 2021, after receiving oral evidence from a further 13 witnesses in the reporting period, the committee tabled the interim inquiry report. The report contained nine recommendations, which were responded to by the Hon. Josh Teague MP at the state level and the Hon. Ken Wyatt MP at the commonwealth level. After the 2022 March state election, a new committee was established in May 2022. The new committee decided to readvertise this inquiry and allowed for new submissions to be received by 22 July 2022.

There was probably one really important submission. We asked for the Western Australia Attorney-General, the Hon. John Quigley, to provide evidence to the committee because of the work that had been done in Western Australia when they looked at governance in Aboriginal communities. I think that their brief was a bit wider than ours, but the initiative came from me to look at governance, given that organisations were the beneficiaries of millions of dollars and that serious concerns had been raised by a whole range of Aboriginal people when it came to expenditure of moneys.

Therefore there needed to be a legislative framework to tighten up what was going on and to give people confidence that there was going to be a far greater degree of openness, accountability and transparency. I strongly recommend that people take the opportunity to look at what John Quigley had to say because it might well be a model adapted to various state needs as well as a model for other states in Australia. I believe they are the first to do this. It was a very informative submission.

On 15 February 2021, the committee resolved to inquire into Aboriginal heritage issues, in particular the operation of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1988 and how Aboriginal heritage is managed in this state. This is particularly relevant given the findings of the federal parliament's joint committee inquiry into the destruction of Indigenous heritage sites at the Juukan Gorge in Western Australia. That inquiry led to a renewed call for reforming and modernising Aboriginal cultural heritage protection across all Australian jurisdictions. Much of the evidence that has been given to date has been, to say the least, very interesting.

As at 30 June 2022, the committee had received 33 written submissions in the Aboriginal heritage inquiry. Since the 2022 March state election, the committee has focused on advancing this inquiry and received oral evidence from a further six witnesses by 30 June 2022. The committee is continuing to receive evidence in this important inquiry.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all stakeholders who spoke with the committee and who provided evidence in three inquiries, especially those people who travelled down to Adelaide, sometimes a great distance, to give evidence. I also acknowledge the current members of the Aboriginal Lands Parliamentary Standing Committee: in the other place, the Presiding Member, the Hon. Tung Ngo; the Hon. Stephen Wade; and the Hon. Tammy Franks. From the assembly, I thank the member for Newland and the member for Heysen.

I would like to thank the staff for their assistance, and I would particularly like to thank Lisa Baxter for her highly organised, highly efficient approach to her duties. They have been exemplary. I would also like to take this opportunity to offer my condolences at the passing of her father. I commend the report to the house.

Mr TEAGUE (Heysen) (11:08): I thank the member for Giles for his contribution to this debate and very much endorse all that he has contributed. I will just say one or two things further in relation to the work of the committee, and where we have got to as at the date of the annual report because the annual report also reflects upon very much the core ongoing work of the committee in this new parliament.

First, I just refer to the receipt of the committee's interim report in relation to the governance inquiry. As the member for Giles has indicated, I had the opportunity to respond to that interim report by my letter of 18 February this year, that there was a considerable amount of work yet to be done coming into the end of the Fifty-Fourth Parliament. To have found myself then on the committee as a member contributing to that work since then, I have been pleased to do so.

I just want to underscore the important determination of the committee at the outset to continue that work. The committee has determined that there is important further work to do in relation to the governance inquiry, and so we see that ongoing. We will be drawing to a conclusion before too long, but it is important work the committee is undertaking in that inquiry. The annual report provides some insight into why that is the case, and I hope my response by letter to the previous Presiding Member, the Hon. Terry Stephens, on 18 February puts that into some context as well.

The second matter the member for Giles has referred to, being the heritage inquiry, is also productive and ongoing work beyond the time of the annual report. As the member for Giles has adverted, the committee has received a really wideranging and substantial number of inputs into the heritage inquiry. That is recorded in the annual report but it is also ongoing since. Clearly, there are a number of perspectives that are drawn both from representative bodies and from individuals. I, too, recognise and pay tribute to those who have travelled from a long distance and entered into and engaged with this committee in circumstances with which they are not all necessarily familiar, to make a contribution.

For the record at this point, in terms of reflecting on the annual report, the heritage inquiry comes along at a time when there is certainly a focus on not repeating the disaster at Juukan Gorge and also very much in terms of reviewing an act that has its origins in pre native title—it is a 1980s act. When originating, it was a primary reference point in terms of considering Aboriginal heritage. To see that act in the historical context, we now have the native title overlay and we have seen significant reform to the act in the last decade, but it is still in a rather in-between environment now that there is the overlay of native title and, indeed, 30 years of native title history. The two can be better reconciled, and I look forward to the continuing work of the committee in relation to the heritage inquiry.

I also wish to highlight one person who has assisted the committee in giving evidence from Western Australia, the Attorney-General over there, John Quigley. He was kind to give evidence to the committee in relation to the Western Australian experience, which in the particular historical context of Western Australian legislation has led to reforms in relation to their trusts act. That evidence was of assistance to the committee, as was a great deal of other input. There are two parallel inquiries that are adverted to in the report. There have been important inputs into both of them and I look forward to seeing that work continue.

The member for Giles also mentioned the intent of the committee to visit, indeed plans to visit, the APY lands recently, but that has just not been possible this year. That is a source of regret. It is an important thing and I think the committee ought to be making sure that it is taking all reasonable steps it can to travel to the APY lands, in particular, and to other parts of the state. I look forward to the opportunity to do that. The more we can do to have a relevant relatable connection to, in many respects, remote parts of our state the better.

I note in that regard Peter Goers has been broadcasting from Umuwa these last days. From an ABC radio broadcasting point of view, highlighting that a popular source of reference for people throughout the state in the evenings is now coming to us from Umuwa I hope can bring all South Australians that bit closer to and more familiar with the territory in the APY lands. I called in briefly and extended greetings the other night. He was in the process of engaging with all sorts of aspects of day-to-day life on the APY, and I indicated that regretfully the committee has not been able to get there as we had planned to earlier this year.

Finally, I share with the member for Giles in extending my thanks to Lisa Baxter for her service to the committee. It is not overstating to highlight just how skilled and dedicated Lisa Baxter has been to the committee. She is a tremendous asset to the committee. I for one sincerely trust that we will be able to continue to secure Lisa Baxter's services to the committee for a long time to come. I share with the member for Giles, and I am sure all of us, in extending our condolences to Lisa and to her family on the recent passing of her father. I commend the report to the house.

Motion carried.

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