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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-07-06 Daily Xml
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Aboriginal Rangers

Mr HUGHES (Giles) (14:35): My question is to the Minister for Climate, Environment and Water. Can the minister inform the house about co-management of protected areas and the commitment to employ 15 new Aboriginal rangers?

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Deputy Premier, Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, Minister for Defence and Space Industries, Minister for Climate, Environment and Water) (14:35): It's a delight to answer this question from the member for Giles, who has a very high proportion of Aboriginal constituents in his electorate and a very strong relationship with them.

Given that it's NAIDOC Week, it's probably a very fitting question to have as well about how this government is partnering with Aboriginal people. There are two ways in which we can take a practical approach in my portfolio to this: the co-management of our state's parks and the employment of 15 new Aboriginal rangers as part of our election commitment.

The state government has committed to a greater number of parks being co-managed. Co-management involves the management of a park with First Nations people—that is, to have Aboriginal values on Aboriginal lands. First Nations people being involved in the management of traditional lands helps to protect cultural sites, maintain cultural practices and allows for uses of both traditional knowledge and contemporary science to manage parks.

There are currently 12 co-management agreements in place over 35 of South Australia's parks and reserves, which cover some 13.5 million hectares—64 per cent of the reserve system. The process for co-management includes undertaking cultural surveys, updating park interpretation for cultural perspectives, management planning and other establishment activities, as well as executive support for the board and an Aboriginal ranger position.

The state government will undertake the expansion of co-management arrangements. An agreement has been prepared with Kaurna Yerta Aboriginal Corporation to establish the Kaurna Parks Advisory Committee over three parks. One is the Adelaide International Bird Sanctuary National Park, Winaityinaityi Pangkara Torrens Island Conservation Park and Aldinga Conservation Park. Negotiations are also well advanced for co-management of Wapma Thura-Southern Flinders Ranges National Park with the Nukunu people. In fact, I visited there just last week after some cultural training had happened with the Nukunu people and the employees of the department, which was very successful.

Employing Aboriginal rangers is also an integral part of having Aboriginal values on Aboriginal lands, and I am proud that the state government has a commitment to employ 15 new Aboriginal rangers, with an announced funding commitment of $4.8 million over four years. The Department for Environment and Water works with Aboriginal people across many aspects of its work. The National Parks and Wildlife Service's current ranger workforce of 139 positions includes 21 Aboriginal people.

The increased numbers of Aboriginal rangers will lead to a greater involvement of Aboriginal people in the management of protected areas, greater opportunities to care for country and establish career pathways. This will in turn enhance the capability of the National Parks and Wildlife Service to manage national parks. The current cohort of Aboriginal rangers is most typically associated with co-managed parks, such as Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park and Dhilba Guuranda-Innes National Park. The new Aboriginal rangers will be recruited for deployment across a variety of parks.

The Australian government offers funding opportunities to employ First Nations people through the Indigenous Rangers Program. We are investigating opportunities to leverage funding for achieving even further outcomes for Aboriginal ranger numbers in South Australia.

Aboriginal people have lived on this land for time immemorial and hold cultural wisdom that many more recent arrivals are yet to appreciate. Partnering with First Nations people, with Aboriginal people, is a core value of this state government, and South Australians can be proud of the steps that we are taking as a state.

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