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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-09-14 Daily Xml
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ABORIGINAL LANDS PARLIAMENTARY STANDING COMMITTEE: ANNUAL REPORT

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. J.M. Gazzola:

That the annual report of the committee 2009-10 be noted.

(Continued from 27 July 2011.)

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS (17:49): I rise to speak briefly to the Aboriginal Lands Parliamentary Standing Committee report. I note that I have not been a member of this committee for very long; in fact, I have been a member of the committee for a very brief period of time. Certainly, on the crossbenches, the Hon. Robert Brokenshire preceded me on the committee.

As members are aware, this is a multipartisan committee. It has a great commitment to ensuring the oversight of Aboriginal affairs in this state, with particular regard to the various acts that have been committed to the jurisdiction of this committee. I rise because I wish to note that I believe that the committee as it is currently constituted, with a minister being on the committee, is not necessarily tenable into the long term. Certainly that was the view of many of the members of the previous incarnation of the committee, as outlined in the report we have before us. I note the words of the Hon. Lyn Breuer, who believes that this committee is seen as a conduit to government by Aboriginal people. It is a sounding board and a place for mediation, and it is a vital role. It is the only contact for many Aboriginal people with parliament and with government, so there must be good people on the committee. To quote her, 'If you are just going on it because it would be good to have on your CV, then do not bother; we do not want you here.'

I certainly do not think that any member of the committee is there for their CV but, at the tabling of the previous committee's report, she went on to say that, historically, the committee was set up with the involvement of a very enthusiastic and engaged minister and that as that situation has changed, not necessarily in terms of the enthusiasm or engagement of various ministers but certainly their capacity to be engaged fully with the committee itself, perhaps we should look at the committee not having the minister on it into the long term.

I understand that not only the Hon. Lyn Breuer but also the former minister for Aboriginal affairs and reconciliation (Hon. Jay Weatherill), Duncan McFetridge (member for Morphett) were of that opinion; and various other longstanding members of the committee had arrived at the same conclusion. I draw members' attention to this because I do not think that this committee can continue to be functional in its current composition, where a minister is not available to take part in the workings of the committee and is typically not only not able to come to meetings but also not able to engage with the various witnesses, hearings and visits.

With that, I hope that in future weeks we will see the tabling of the next year's committee report, which I believe is in its final stages, and that this report, which was in fact some seven months overdue, will not bear unfavourably on the following report. With that, I hope that the minister and the Rann government will give us some clarity soon about the minister's role on this committee.

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE (17:52): I will be brief, but I rise to also support the tabling of the report of the Aboriginal Lands Parliamentary Standing Committee 2009-10. As the Hon. Tammy Franks has already advised the house, she took that position following my time on the committee, and that is why I want to speak briefly to this report. I certainly enjoyed my time on this very important standing committee. I can recall, going back to when I was police minister, the issues and concerns on the lands when I visited on a couple of occasions and then coming and listening to a lot of evidence, with further visits there. There are some real issues that are still not being addressed that simply cannot go unaddressed any longer.

I just want to add my support to the idea that the minister of the day should not be on that committee. It is not a reflection upon any of the ministers who have been on the committee of any political persuasion. It is just that I have found that, first, often the minister cannot not get there; secondly, ministers have a lot on their plate; and, thirdly, I feel that the committee is working to an extent with one arm behind its back, intimidated by the fact that the minister is there. The committee starts to take evidence or deliberate, the minister is invariably going to be late because of their workload and then they come in, move into the chair and take over.

I think it also gives the wrong impression, particularly to our Aboriginal people when they come to give evidence. As the Hon. Tammy Franks pointed out, it is a conduit for all those people and it should be between Aboriginal people and the parliament. The minister has other roles. I always felt intimidated, to be frank, by that fact that you would go in there—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE: Yes, me of all people! You would go in there wanting to be totally open and frank on concerns and issues but feeling that some members of the committee thought we should hold back because of the minister's position on that committee. I do not advocate or support ministers chairing, or being on, any standing committees, quite frankly; I think that is a role for non-ministers. Hopefully, when we start to see some reform through these houses that will be one of them, including debate on whether government members should chair the committees. Certainly they want to when they are in government but I am not sure that they want to when they are in opposition, and when you sit on the crossbenches you can see the difficulties when the percentage of the committee weighs in favour of the government of the day.

In conclusion, again I say that it is no reflection on any minister for Aboriginal affairs. They do the best they can. It is not an easy portfolio. It does need a lot more focus on delivery of service and real outcomes, and I would support any colleague who advocates that the minister not be on that committee.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. T.J. Stephens.

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