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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2008-11-25 Daily Xml
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SOUTH AUSTRALIAN COUNTRY ARTS TRUST (CONSTITUTION OF TRUST) AMENDMENT BILL

Introduction and First Reading

Received from the House of Assembly and read a first time.

Second Reading

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Small Business) (17:19): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading explanation inserted in Hansard without my reading it.

Leave granted.

This Government recognises that South Australia’s regions play a vital role in the economy and social fabric of our State. With more than a quarter of our population living in regional areas, and the regions making a major contribution to our exports and to our economy, the prosperity and well-being of regional communities is critical to the sustainability of the entire State.

Country Arts SA plays a major role in ensuring that regionally-based South Australians have access to arts and cultural development opportunities that enrich their lives and contribute to their well-being. This organisation works with and for regional South Australians towards building a culture of creativity. It delivers a range of arts programs and services including:

managing and operating the State’s 4 regional theatres in Whyalla, Port Pirie, Renmark and Mount Gambier

touring performing arts performances and visual arts exhibitions to regional communities across the State

managing arts development and community artist funding programs

developing sustainable arts and well-being programs, in collaboration with other agencies, to meet developing health challenges, particularly for young people in regional areas

providing an arts information and advisory service to regional South Australia.

The South Australian Country Arts Trust Act 1992 established a two-tiered system for the governance of country arts within the State, being the central South Australian Country Arts Trust and 4 regional Country Arts Boards (Central, Riverland/Mallee, South East and Western). The South Australian Country Arts Trust Regulations 2004 sets out how nominations for membership of the regional Boards are to be made. The Act stipulates that 4 of the 9 trustees are the presiding members of the regional Boards. This results in a double set of meetings and responsibilities for these office-bearers.

New regional boundaries for the delivery of services in regional South Australia were determined by State Cabinet in December 2006, and government entities, including Country Arts SA, as a statutory authority, were required to operate in accordance with these new boundaries by the end of 2008. The regions for the existing Country Arts boards do not match with these boundaries.

At its meeting on 22 February 2008, the South Australian Country Arts Trust gave its unanimous approval for Country Arts SA’s governance arrangements to be restructured. It is proposed to restructure the governance model for the Trust into a single tiered structure with 5 of its 9 members representing areas incorporating the revised South Australian Government regional boundaries. The proposed new structure would:

maintain a board of trustees comprising 9 members appointed by the Minister

reconstitute the Trust’s membership to comprise 1 presiding trustee, 5 regionally-based trustees, 1 Local Government Association nominee, and 2 other trustees with management, entrepreneurial, legal or arts expertise, with the 5 regionally-based trustees representing areas incorporating the revised SA Government regional boundaries

abolish the 4 regional Country Arts Boards

allow for the establishment of advisory committees comprised of trustees.

It is proposed that 1 trustee be appointed to represent each of the following groupings of new State Government regions:

Barossa, Yorke/Mid North

Eyre and Western/Far North

Fleurieu and Kangaroo Island/Adelaide Hills

Murray and Mallee

Limestone Coast

Under the proposed amendments, a person will not be eligible to be appointed to represent a proclaimed region unless that person resides in the region.

In addition, under section 11 of the Act, the Trust proposes to establish a Grants Assessment Committee comprising 10 regionally-based people (with 2 to be selected from each of the 5 new regional groupings listed above). Through the establishment of a register of interested peers, Country Arts SA will identify and nominate suitable candidates to serve on this committee. This will ensure that decisions on arts grant applications are made by regionally-based people with knowledge and experience in the arts.

Country Arts SA has asked for these changes. The changes are unanimously supported by the Trust since they will provide for both a higher level of, and more equitable, regional representation on the board of trustees and also provide trustees with an opportunity to be more involved across all aspects of Country Arts SA’s activities.

The Government therefore proposes to amend the South Australian Country Arts Trust Act 1992 to remove references to the regional Country Arts Boards and to allow the Trust to be reconstituted, with its membership being drawn directly from regional South Australia, and reflecting the new groupings of regional boundaries, as previously outlined.

The Government also proposes to revoke the South Australian Country Arts Trust Regulations 2004 and proclaim new regional boundaries for the delivery of services by Country Arts SA.

This Bill removes references in the Act to Country Arts Boards and provides for more trustees to represent the new regional areas of the State that are to be proclaimed.

I commend the Bill to Honourable Members.

Explanation of Clauses

Part 1—Preliminary

1—Short title

2—Commencement

3—Amendment provisions

These clauses are formal.

Part 2—Amendment of South Australian Country Arts Trust Act 1992

4—Amendment of long title

This clause amends the long title to remove the reference to Country Arts Boards. This amendment is consequential on the amendments to section 5.

5—Amendment of section 3—Interpretation

This clause amends section 3 to remove definitions that will become unnecessary when Country Arts Boards cease to exist. It also provides for the creation of regions by proclamation. These amendments are consequential on the amendments to section 5.

6—Amendment of section 5—Membership of Trust

This clause amends section 5 so that the South Australian Country Arts Trust consists of a presiding member, 5 persons appointed to represent proclaimed regions, 1 person chosen from a panel of persons nominated by the Local Government Association and 2 persons with legal, managerial, entrepreneurial or arts skills. To be eligible to be appointed to represent a proclaimed region, a person must reside in the region.

7—Amendment of section 6—Terms and conditions of office

The amendments to section 6 are consequential on the amendments to section 5.

8—Amendment of section 7—Procedures of Trust

The amendment to section 7 is consequential on the repeal of section 8.

9—Repeal of section 8

This clause repeals section 8 which is no longer necessary because members of the Trust are members of a public sector agency and hence subject to the conflict of interest provisions in the Public Sector Management Act 1995 (the PSM Act).

10—Amendment of section 9—Functions and powers of Trust

11—Amendment of section 12—Delegation

The amendments made by these clauses to sections 9 and 12 are consequential on the amendments to section 5.

12—Amendment of section 17—Budget

This clause amends section 17 by replacing subsection (1) with a new provision that omits the transitional portion of that subsection which became spent once the Trust had submitted its first budget after the Act came into operation in 1992.

13—Repeal of Part 3

This clause repeals Part 3 which established the Country Arts Boards and defines their functions and powers.

14—Substitution of sections 29 and 30

29—Immunity from liability

Under the PSM Act members and employees of the Trust, being respectively members and employees of a public sector agency, enjoy protection from civil liability for acts and omissions in good faith in the exercise or purported exercise of official functions or powers. This protection does not, however, extend to delegates of the Trust.

Hence, section 29 has been redrafted so that no civil liability attaches to persons to whom the Trust delegates functions or powers for acts or omissions in good faith in the exercise or purported exercise of those delegated functions or powers. An action lies instead against the Crown.

30—Regulations

Section 30 which empowers the Governor to make regulations has been redrafted so as to omit those provisions which will no longer be necessary when Country Arts Boards cease to exist.

15—Repeal of Schedule

This clause repeals the Schedule which contains spent transitional provisions.

Schedule 1—Transitional provisions

1—Interpretation

This clause contains a definition.

2—Transfer of assets, etc of Country Arts Boards to Trust

This clause transfers all assets, rights and liabilities of Country Arts Boards to the Trust.

3—Transitional provision relating to Trust

This clause provides for existing members of the Trust to vacate their offices so that fresh appointments can be made.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. J.M.A. Lensink.

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